An article in the LA Times this morning said the American Airlines inspection
of the A300 tail fins was visual. A visual inspection of composites
is next to useless!! They need to get their acts in gear and do at least
an ultrasonic test. NTSB also needs to do a destructive test of
the mechanical properties of a sample of the aged composite material
that came from the failed fin and compare that with a new sample.
It amaze me how ignorant these NTSB and FAA people are sometimes.
What is taking them so long to announce their testing intentions?
Sure, test take time, but at least they can tell us they intend
to do the test.
Paul Lamar
The AirCraft Rotary Engine NewsLetter. Powered by Linux.
ACRE NL web site.
http://home.earthlink.net/~rotaryeng/ http://www.linux.org