A s ur ve y of s e r i ous ai rcraf t

ac c i de nt s i nvol vi ng f at i gue f ract ure

G. S. C a mp b e l l a n d R. L a h e y
A worl d-wi de survey of serious ai rcraft accidents involving fatigue fracture has been carried out.
The study includes not onl y fatal accidents, but also those in which the damage t o the airframe
was substantial or greater. The accidents cover civil and, t o a l i mi ted extent, mi l i t ar y aircraft
A t ot al of 1885 accidents since 1927 were i denti fi ed as having fatigue fracture as a related
cause, and these accidents resulted in 2240 deaths. Engine/transmission fai l ure and landing-gear
fai l ure were the most common cause of recent fi xed-wi ng accidents, whi l e the most prevalent
rotary-wi ng problems were fai l ure of the engine/transmission and of the tai l -rotor. Currentl y
there is a yearl y average of about 100 serious fatigue accidents (69 fi xed-wi ng and 31 rotary-wing).
Key words: fatigue; fracture; air accidents; fi xed-wi ng ai rcraft; rotary-wi ng ai rcraft
Fat i gue fai l ures in ai r cr af t are, in pr i nci pl e, pr event ed by
design, t est i ng, l oads moni t or i ng, i ns pect i on and t he r et i r e-
ment of known f at i gue- pr one par t s at schedul ed i nt erval s.
When one l i nk in t hi s chai n fails, a f at i gue f r act ur e can
occur and, i f t he f ai l ed c ompone nt is cr i t i cal f or f l i ght
saf et y, an acci dent can resul t . As ear l y as 1943, Bl and
and Sandor f ~ war ned t hat because of design t r ends in
ai r cr af t at t hat t i me, mor e f at i gue pr obl ems coul d be
e xpe c t e d:
' I n mode r n ai r pl anes and in t he ai r pl anes now on t he
dr af t i ng boar ds, por t i ons of t he pr i mar y s t r uct ur e
. . do not have i nf i ni t e servi ce life. The desi gn
t r ends - hi gher wor ki ng stresses, l ower desi gn l oad
fact ors, gr eat er speeds - i ndi cat e t ha t t he c ondi t i on
can be e xpe c t e d t o become seri ous, and a revi ew of
t he pr es ent i nf or mat i on on t he subj ect s of f at i gue
and of servi ce l oadi ng i ndi cat es t hat t he ai r cr af t
desi gner is cur r ent l y unabl e t o cope sat i sf act or i l y
wi t h t he pr obl em. '
Fat i gue fai l ures have become mor e pr eval ent si nce
t hi s 1943 pr edi ct i on, but t o what ext ent ? A number of
ai r cr af t fat i gue fai l ures have been doc ume nt e d in t he
past , 2-1 s but of t en t he i nf or ma t i on pr ovi ded was i nsuf f i ci ent
t o i dent i f y ei t her t he ai r cr af t or t he dat e. Some gener al
summar i es of ai r cr af t f at i gue acci dent s have been given,
but onl y a smal l number of exampl es wer e pr ovi ded. 16-18
One of t he mor e det ai l ed lists hi ghl i ght i ng some of t he
i mpor t a nt f at i gue fai l ures in ai r cr af t was gi ven by Ander s on 19
in 1972.
In 1980, t he Nat i onal Resear ch Counci l of Canada
began a compr ehensi ve s t udy of ai r cr af t - r el at ed i nci dent s
i nvol vi ng met al f at i gue. The pur pos e was t o i dent i f y t he
f at i gue- pr one s t r uct ur al det ai l s of f i xed- wi ng and r ot ar y-
wi ng ai r cr af t , so t hat mor e research coul d be di r ect ed t o
t hese areas t o r educe t he number of f at i gue fai l ures. Because
of t he large number of f at i gue pr obl ems f ound ( mos t of
whi ch were mi nor in nat ur e) , t he s t udy was r est r i ct ed
t o f at al acci dent s, and t he resul t s wer e r e por t e d by
Campbel l . 2'21 That survey cover ed civil and, t o a l i mi t ed
ext ent , mi l i t ar y acci dent s wor l d- wi de f or t he per i od 1934
t o earl y 1980, and doc umc nt e d a t ot a l of 306 acci dent s in
whi ch a t ot a l of 1803 peopl e wer e ki l l ed. The resul t s al so
showed t hat t her e was an average of 18 f at al ai r cr af t
acci dent s per year r esul t i ng f r om met al fat i gue.
That s t udy excl uded a number of si gni f i cant f at i gue
fai l ures whi ch di d not l ead t o f at al acci dent s ei t her because
of pi l ot i ng ski l l or because of good f or t une. One such was
t he f at i gue f ai l ur e of t he l ower wi ng spar on a Zl i n dur i ng
an aer obat i c f l i ght in t he UK on 3 June 1970. 22 The wi ng
fai l ed, al t hough i t r emai ned a t t a c he d in such a way t ha t i t
woul d s uppor t ai r l oads dur i ng i nver t ed fl i ght . The pi l ot ,
Nei l Wi l l i ams of t he Bri t i sh aer obat i c t eam, f l ew t he air-
cr af t upsi de down unt i l j us t above t he r unway, t hen r ol l ed
t he ai r cr af t so t hat i t cr ash- l anded on t he r unway. Al t hough
t he ai r cr af t was a compl et e wr i t e- of f , t he pi l ot was unhur t .
To pr ovi de a mor e compr ehensi ve l i st of f at i gue
fai l ures, t he survey has now been expanded t o i ncl ude
acci dent s consi der ed ' ser i ous' . Ser i ous acci dent s are def i ned
in t hi s paper as t hose i nvol vi ng ei t her a deat h or s ubs t ant i al
or gr eat er damage t o t he ai r f r ame.
Acci dent s are i ncl uded in t he sur vey i f f at i gue f r act ur e
was a cont r i but i ng f act or , al t hough not necessar i l y t he
pr i mar y cause of t he acci dent . For exampl e, an acci dent
caused by a cr ack i ni t i at ed by mai nt enance damage or
cor r osi on woul d be i ncl uded in t hi s survey i f t he cr ack
pr opagat ed by f at i gue t o fai l ure.
Thi s wor l d- wi de sur vey covers bot h f i xed- wi ng and
r ot ar y- wi ng ai r cr af t and l i st s 1885 ser i ous acci dent s dur i ng
t he per i od 1927 t o 1981, r esul t i ng in 2240 deat hs.
Sources o f i nf or ma t i on
The f ol l owi ng sour ces wer e used f or i nf or ma t i on on f at i gue-
r el at ed acci dent s:
1) World Airline Acci dent Summary. 23 Thi s r ef er ence,
whi ch is upda t e d several t i mes per year, lists all civil
ai r cr af t acci dent s si nce 1946 t hat have occur r ed t o
f i xed- wi ng aer opl anes over 5700 kg ma xi mum gross
wei ght and acci dent s si nce 1956 t o hel i copt er s over
4550 kg.
2) I nt er nat i onal Civil Avi at i on Or gani zat i on ( I CAO) .
ICAO has a c omput e r dat a- bank of al l civil ai r cr af t
acci dent s f or 1970 and onwar ds. The dat a- bank covers
all civil ai r cr af t , bot h f i xed- wi ng and hel i copt er ,
whose gross wei ght is over 2250 kg.
3) Magazines, such asAviation Week & Space Technology,
Flight International, and International Helicopter.
0142--1123/84/010025--06 $3.00 1984 Butterworth & Co (Publishers) Ltd
I nt J Fatigue Vol 6 No 1 January 1984
25
4) Mann' s bi bl i ogr aphi es on t he f at i gue of mat er i al s z4'25
and Ande r s on' s revi ew paper ~9 on t he f at i gue of air-
cr af t st r uct ur es pr ovi ded r ef er ences t o much of t he
dat a avai l abl e in t he publ i s hed l i t er at ur e. Ander s on' s
paper al so lists some servi ce f at i gue exper i ences f or
t he per i od f r om ear l y in Wor l d War II unt i l 1970.
In addi t i on, me mbe r count r i es of I CAO were quer i ed
f or civil acci dent i nf or mat i on and nat i onal del egat es f r om
t he I nt er nat i onal Commi t t e e on Aer onaut i cal Fat i gue wer e
asked t o obt ai n what ever i nf or mat i on was openl y avail-
abl e f r om t he mi l i t ar y aut hor i t i es in t hei r count r y. A t ot a l
of 39 of t he I CAO count r i es r es ponded t o a r equest f or
civil ai r cr af t acci dent dat a. Because of secur i t y reasons,
onl y six count r i es ( Aust r al i a, Bel gi um, Canada, Sweden,
UK, and t he US Ar my) were abl e t o pr ovi de dat a on
acci dent s t o mi l i t ar y ai rcraft , al t hough some addi t i onal
mi l i t ar y acci dent i nf or mat i on was obt a i ne d f r om news
r epor t s and t r ade publ i cat i ons.
Dat a on acci dent s pr i or t o t he i nt r oduc t i on of t he
I CAO r epor t i ng s ys t em in t he l at e 1940s are ver y di f f i cul t
t o obt ai n. Det ai l s of acci dent s t o ai r cr af t bel ow 2250 kg
gross wei ght ( t he l ower l i mi t f or whi ch acci dent s are
r epor t ed t o ICAO) are scarce pr i or t o t he mi d- 1960s, when
count r i es began t r ansf er r i ng t o c omput e r st or age and
r et r i eval of acci dent dat a. Ther e are al most no acci dent
dat a avai l abl e f r om communi s t count r i es, as t he y do
not di vul ge acci dent dat a, even t o ICAO.
Resul t s
The resul t s of t he sur vey are s ummar i zed in Tabl e 1. A
t ot a l of 1466 f i xed- wi ng and 419 r ot ar y- wi ng acci dent s
wer e f ound, whi ch r esul t ed in 2240 deat hs. The number
Table 1. Summary of serious accidents
Category
Number
Number of Number
of ai rcraft of
accidents destroyed fatalities
Fixed-wing aircraft
Landing gear 542 9 21
Engine or transmission 408 144 536
Propeller failure 232 52 162
Wing 137 119 400
Fl i ght controls 48 28 68
Tail 37 21 244
Miscellaneous 37 11 285
Fuselage 25 9 145
Fixed-wing totals 1466 393 1861
Rotary-wing aircraft
Engine or transmission 136 40 44
Tail rotor 100 43 81
Main-rotor system 55 31 167
Miscellaneous 45 18 22
Fl i ght controls 37 18 34
Ai rframe 35 13 25
Landing gear 11 2 6
Rotary-wing totals 419 165 379
Overall totals
(fixed-wing + rotary-
wing) 1885 558 2240
Table 2. List of repeated fixed-wing accidents
Number
of
Aircraft accidents Failure area
Cessna 182 21 Nose gear fork
Vickers-Armstrongs
Wellington 20 Wing spar boom
Mooney M-20 15 Propeller blade
Piper PA-28 Cherokee 14 Propeller blade
Boeing Stearman 12 Propeller blade
Grumman AgCat 11 Main landing gear
Cessna 180 10 Main landing gear leg
(at axle attachment
bol t holes)
of ai r cr af t des t r oyed was 393 f i xed- wi ng and 165 r ot ar y-
wing. A list of t he acci dent s is given in a t wo- vol ume
r epor t by Campbel l and Lahey. 26'27
For f i xed- wi ng ai r cr af t , f ai l ur e of t he l andi ng gear
was t he mos t c ommon f at i gue pr obl em and account ed
f or 37% of t he acci dent s. A l andi ng-gear fai l ure, however,
sel dom resul t s in a f at al acci dent ; in onl y 5 of t he 542
l andi ng-gear acci dent s (1%) was anyone ki l l ed. Next
were engi ne/ t r ansmi ssi on fai l ures (28% of t he fi xed-wi ng
acci dent s) and pr opel l er fai l ures (16%).
Fai l ur es of t he l ef t and ri ght wi ngs occur r ed a bout
equal l y, 32 of t he fai l ures bei ng of t he por t wi ng and 34
of t he s t ar boar d wing.
The earl i est r e por t e d acci dent was t he wi ng-fai l ure
of a Dor ni er Mer kur on 23 Sept ember 1927, a single-
engi ned, si x-passenger ai r l i ner bel ongi ng t o Luf t hansa.
The ai r cr af t crashed at Schl ei z, Thur i ngen, Ger many,
ki l l i ng six peopl e. The wi ng s t r ut f ai l ed cl ose t o t he upper
a t t a c hme nt poi nt . 4' 2s- 3
For r ot ar y- wi ng ai r cr af t , fai l ure of t he engi ne or
t r ansmi ssi on was t he mos t c o mmo n f at i gue pr obl em and
account ed f or 32% of t he acci dent s. Next wer e t ai l r ot or
fai l ures (24% of t he r ot ar y- wi ng acci dent s) , and t hen
fai l ures of t he mai n- r ot or syst em (13 %).
The earl i est r e por t e d r ot ar y- wi ng acci dent was t he
f ai l ur e of a mai n r ot or bl ade of a US Ai r For ce aut ogyr o
of unspeci f i ed t ype in 1937. 31 For t una t e l y, as t he r ot or
bl ade was shed, t he pi l ot and obser ver wer e bot h t hr own
cl ear and par achut ed t o saf et y. The t ubul ar bl ade spar
was at t ached t o a f or k at t he i nboar d end of t he bl ade
by means of pins, and f ai l ur e occur r ed at t he out boa r d
pi n hol e.
Fixed-wing repeated accidents
Tabl e 2 lists f i xed- wi ng ai r cr af t t hat have had mor e t han
10 seri ous acci dent s r esul t i ng f r om met al f at i gue of t he
same gener al area. Unf or t unat el y, t her e was gener al l y
i nsuf f i ci ent i nf or mat i on avai l abl e t o det er mi ne i f t hese
fai l ures wer e in pr eci sel y t he same par t and l ocat i on.
It is be yond t he scope of t hi s r e por t t o exami ne
each of t he cases of r epeat ed f ai l ur e t o det er mi ne whi ch
are st i l l ongoi ng and r equi r ed f ur t her act i on t o ar r est t he
pr obl em. An exami nat i on of t he Ai r wor t hi nes s Di rect i ves
f or t he ai r cr af t in quest i on woul d be r equi r ed, as wel l as
a det ai l ed review of t he acci dent r epor t s t o det er mi ne
i f t he acci dent was not si mpl y a r esul t of i nadequat e
mai nt enance by t he oper at or . Tabl e 3 gives a list of r ecent
f at i gue fai l ures t hat have occur r ed at l east f our t i mes. Some
of t hese pr obl ems have been ongoi ng f or a number of
26 I nt J Fatigue January 1984
T a b l e 3 . Repeat ed f i x e d - wi n g acci dent s w i t h a t least one r ecent f a i l u r e
Number of
Ai rcraf t Failure area accidents Dates
Aero Commander S-2R Engine cyl i nder 4 1974--81
Beech Bonanza Propeller blade 4 1967- 80
Beech Baron/Cochise Propeller hub 5 1974-81
Cessna 140 Main landing gear (bol t hole at step attach poi nt) 4 1964-81
Cessna 150 Propeller blade 6 1967- 80
Cessna 150 Engine cyl i nder 5 1968-81
Cessna 150 Nose gear f ork 4 1964- 80
Cessna 170 Main landing gear axle 7 1966-81
Cessna 172 Propeller blade 6 1970-81
Cessna 180 Main landing gear leg (at axle attachment bol t holes) 10 1959-81
Cessna 180 Main landing gear leg (at fuselage) 8 1959- 80
Cessna 185 Propeller blade 5 1964- 80
Cessna 185 Outer main landing gear support bracket 5 1976-81
Douglas B-26 Invader Wing spar 4 1964- 80
Grumman AgCat Engine cyl i nder 4 1968- 80
Mooney M-20 Propeller blades 15 1965- 80
Piper PA-25 Pawnee Wing 5 1967- 80
T a b l e 4 . Re pe a t e d r o t a r y - wi n g acci dent s
Number of
Ai r cr af t accidents Failure area
Bell 47 42 Tail rot or blade
Bell 47 7 Tail rotor blade yoke
Hughes 269 7 Tai l boom
Bell 47 6 Tail rotor retention bol t
Brantl y B-2 6 Tail rot or blade
T a b l e 5 . Repeat ed r o t a r y - wi n g acci dent s w i t h a t l east one
r ecent f a i l u r e
Number
of
Ai rcraf t Failure area accidents Dates
Bell 47 Tail rotor blade 42 1963-81
Bell 47 Tail rot or blade yoke 7 1973--80
Bell 47 Connecting rod 5 1964--81
Bell 204/205 Cross tube of landing 4 1968- 80
gear fl oats
Brantl y B-2 Tail rot or blade 6 1965-81
Hi l l er 360/ Connecting rod 4 1952- 80
UH-12E
Hi l l er 360/ Tail rot or blade 4 1966-81
UH-12E
Hughes 269 Tai l boom 7 1970-81
years, such as t he t wo probl em areas in t he Cessna 180
mai n landing gear leg.
R o t a r y - w i n g r epeat ed acci dent s
Tabl e 4 lists r ot ar y- wi ng aircraft t hat have had mor e t han
six serious acci dent s f r om met al fat i gue of t he same general
area. Again, t her e was generally i nsuffi ci ent i nf or mat i on
available t o det ermi ne if these failures were in precisely
t he same part and l ocat i on. Exampl es of recent rot ary-wi ng
fatigue failures occurri ng at least f our times in t he past are
given in Table 5.
Some of t he fat i gue probl ems have been ongoi ng f or
a number of years, f or exampl e t he Bell 47 tail r ot or blades
(42 acci dent s in 19 years), t he Hughes 269 t ai l boom
(7 acci dent s in 12 years) and t he Br andy B-2 tail r ot or
blades (6 acci dent s in 17 years).
Br e a k d o wn o f acci dent s b y y e a r
The t ot al number of r epor t ed fixed-wing plus rot ary-wi ng
acci dent s in each year is pl ot t ed in Fig. 1. The big increase
in t he mi d-1960s is t he result of i mpr oved availability
of acci dent i nf or mat i on because of t he i nt r oduct i on of
comput er-based i nf or mat i on syst ems in a number of
count ri es (part i cul arl y t he i nt r oduct i on of t he US Nat i onal
Tr anspor t at i on Safet y Board syst em in 1964). Over t he
last five years t here has been an average of 100 fatal
acci dent s (fixed-wing plus rot ary-wi ng) per year resulting
f r om met al fatigue.
The number of fixed-wing acci dent s f or each year is
pl ot t ed in Fig. 2; t he average over t he last five years is 69
serious acci dent s per year. Fig. 3 shows t he yearl y number
of rot ary-wi ng accidents, and t he latest five-year average is
31 acci dent s per year.
1 2 C- -
I 1 0 - -
I 0 0 - -
9 0 - -
8o-
~ 7 0 - -
~6c-
g
~ 4C- -
]~3C--
E
~ 2 c -
i
1 9 4 6 4 8 5 0 5 2 5 4 5 6 5 8 6 0 6 2 6 4 6 6 6 8 7 0 7 2 7 4 7 6 7 8 8 0
Ye o r
F i g . 1 T o t a l n u m b e r of acci dents per y e a r ( f i x e d - w i n g p l u s r ot ar y-
wi ng)
I nt J Fatigue January 1984 2 7
I1
IOC~-
9C
~ 8 C -
.~ 5o
15
1946 4 8 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80
Yeer
Fig. 2 Number of f i xed- wi ng acci dent s per year
I . . , l - - r ' 1 - - . I ~ I I . . - - r - - I I
1946 48 50 52 54 56 56 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80
Yeor
Fig. 3 Number of r ot ar y- wi ng acci dent s per year
I I I I 1 1 ~ I
48 50 52 54 56 56 60 62 64 66 66 70 72 74 76 78 80
L
L
C 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80
~ d 1 9 4 s 48 5 0 52 54 56 58 6 0 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 BO
J . . . . . .
e 4 8 s o ~ ~ 6 o ~ 6 4 6 6 ~ 7 0 -m -r4 76 -m ~
_ _ 5~ . . . . . . . I ~ 6 2 1 " ~ - ~ 6 6~ 7~1 t , l I
f l 48 50 59. 54 56 58 70 74 76 78 80
~94~r, , , ~, , , , ~ r - r 1 r - I - L _ _ , - r L r - ~ - r ' w
g l 46 ~ 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80
_ ,
h l 9 4 6 48 5 0 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80
Yenr
Fig. 4 Br eakdown of f i xed- wi ng acci dent s by year : (a) l andi ng gear,
( b) engi ne or t r ansmi ssi on, ( c) pr ope l l e r , ( d) wi ng, ( e) t a i l , ( f ) fuse-
lage, (g) f l i ght cont r ol s and (h) mi scel l aneous
i ~ I I r - I I--I i i L L i i i i
a 48 ~52 54 ~ 5660
48 50 52 54 56 56 60
8 U I 9 4 6 48 50 52 54 56 58 6 0
62 6 4 6 6 6 8 7 0 7 2 74 7 6 7 8 80
62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80
m
- 0 ~ * ' j ~ j ~ ' ~ J ~ ~ ~ ' J , ~ ~ J r ' l - ~ ~
~ d l 9 4 6 46 ~ 52 ~ ~ 56 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 ~ 76 78 80
e l ~ 6 48 ~ ~ ~ 56 ~ 6 0 6 2 ~ ~ 68 7 0 ~ ~ 7 6 7 8 8 0
f l 48 50 52 54 56 58 60 62 64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80
5
4 8 _ _ _ 56 5 6 6 0 6 2 6 4 6 6 6 8 7 0 72 74 76 7 8 6 0
Y e o r
Fi g. 5 Br e a k d o wn of r o t a r y - wi n g acci dent s b y y e a r : ( a) engi ne or
t r ansmi ssi on, ( b) t ai l r ot or , ( c) ma i n r ot or , ( d) a i r f r a me , ( e) f l i g h t
cont r ol s, ( f ) l andi ng gear a n d (g) mi scel l aneous
Fig. 4 gives t he br e a kdown of fi xed-wi ng acci dent s
by f ai l ur e t ype. Fai l ur es in t he wi ng pr i mar y st r uct ur e have
occur r ed f ai r l y cons i s t ent l y si nce t he ear l y 1950s, and are
st i l l a pr obl em: t he l at est fi ve-year average is a bout t hr ec
per year. Si nce 1976 engi ne/ t r ansmi ssi on fat i gue fai l ures
have been t he most c ommon acci dent cause, wi t h 26
acci dent s per year on average. Pr i or t o t hat , l andi ng-gear
fai l ures were t he most f r equent acci dent , wi t h a peak of
58 acci dent s r e por t e d in 1965, but t hese have dr oppe d t o
a bout 20 per year r ecent l y. As poi nt e d out by Buxbaum, 32
t he l oads seen by a l andi ng gear are ver y compl ex, and i t
is appar ent f r om t he number of acci dent s t hat l andi ng gears
have been under - desi gned in t he past .
Pr opel l er fai l ures have a fi ve-year average of 11
acci dent s per year. Most of t he cur r ent pr opel l er pr obl ems
are f or l i ght ai r cr af t , and ma ny of t hese fai l ures i ni t i at e
f r om dent s, ni cks or pi t s, whi ch shoul d be det ect abl e by
t he pi l ot dur i ng his pr e- f l i ght i nspect i on. Pr opel l er fai l ures
were a c ommon pr obl em in t he 1930s but no speci fi c det ai l s
are available. 7 The i nt r oduc t i on of vi br at i on dampener s in
t he l at e 1930s cons i der abl y r educed t he number of pr opel l er
pr obl ems.
Fig. 5 shows t he br e a kdown of r ot ar y- wi ng acci dent s
by fai l ure t ype. Si nce 1976, engi ne/ t r ansmi ssi on fat i gue
fai l ures have been t he most c ommon acci dent cause, wi t h
11 acci dent s per year on average, f ol l owed by t ai l r ot or
pr obl ems (seven per year ) and fai l ures in t he mai n r ot or
syst em ( f our per year).
C r a c k i n i t i a t i o n s i t e s
The f at i gue- cr ack i ni t i at i on si t es f or t he f i xed- wi ng acci dent s
are l i st ed in Tabl e 6. Some fai l ures are l i st ed under mor e
2 8 I n t J F a t i g u e J a n u a r y 1 9 8 4
Table 6. I ni ti ati on sites for fixed-wing accidents
Number of
I ni t i at i on site accidents %
Bol t, stud or screw 108 24
Fastener hole or ot her hole 72 16
Fi l l et , radius, or sharp notch 57 13
Weld 53 12
Corrosi on 43 10
Thread (other than bol t or stud) 32 7
Manuf act uri ng defect 27 6
Scratch, ni ck, or dent 26 6
Fret t i ng 13 3
Surface or subsurface f l aw 6 1.3
Improper heat t reat ment 4 0.9
Mai ntenance-i nduced crack 4 0.9
Work-hardened area 2 0.4
Wear 2 0.4
Total 449
Table 7. I ni ti ati on sites f or rotary-wing accidents
Number
of
I ni t i at i on site accidents %
Bol t, stud or screw 32 26
Fi l l et , radius, or other stress 22 18
concent rat i on
Corrosion 19 15
Fastener hole or ot her hole 12 10
Fret t i ng 10 8
Manuf act uri ng defect or t ool mark 9 7
Bri nnel l i ng, galling or wear 7 6
Thread (other than bol t or stud) 4 3
Weld 3 2
Su bsu rface f l aw 3 2
Softened condi t i on or subsurface 2 1.6
decarburi zati on
Surface scratch or damage 2 1.6
Total 125
t han one cause. For exampl e, an acci dent i ni t i at ed by a
cor r osi on pi t in t he bor e of a bol t hol e woul d be l i st ed
under ' Fa s t e ne r hol e' as wel l as ' Cor r os i on' . The t ot al
number of acci dent s in t hi s t abl e is much less t han t he
number of acci dent s in t he survey, si nce i nf or mat i on about
t he i ni t i at i on si t e is unavai l abl e in many cases. The mai n
i ni t i at i on cause was t hr e a de d f ast ener s such as a bol t , st ud
or screw (24% of causes), and hol es such as t hose f or
f ast ener s (16%).
Crack i ni t i at i on si t es f or r ot ar y- wi ng acci dent s are
given in Tabl e 7. Agai n, t hr eaded f ast ener s l ead t he list
wi t h 26% of t he i ni t i at i ons, whi l e stress concent r at i ons
were second at 18%.
Hut h and Schut z 33 s t udi ed 529 cases of f at i gue
cr acks in 27 di f f er ent ai r cr af t t ype s ( bot h service and
ful l -scal e f at i gue t est s). They f ound t hat over 70% of t he
f at i gue cr acks occur r ed in j oi nt s. Of t hese j oi nt fai l ures,
87% of t he cr acks i ni t i at ed at a hol e. The pr i nci pal causes
of damage di scover ed in t hei r i nvest i gat i on were excessi ve
l oad t r ansf er , doubl e stress concent r at i ons and desi gn
stresses.
Concl usi ons
1) Fat i gue f r act ur e has been a f act or in 1885 f i xed- wi ng
and r ot ar y- wi ng ai r cr af t acci dent s wor l d- wi de, cl ai mi ng
2240 lives. Ser i ous f at i gue- r el at ed acci dent s are st i l l
occur r i ng at a r at e of a bout 100 per year.
2) Fi xed- wi ng ai r cr af t account ed f or 1466 acci dent s and
1861 fat al i t i es. Recent l y, t her e has been an average
of a bout 69 f i xed- wi ng f at i gue acci dent s per year.
3) Rot ar y- wi ng ai r cr af t account ed f or 419 acci dent s
and 379 fat al i t i es. Recent l y, t her e has been an
average of about 31 r ot ar y- wi ng f at i gue acci dent s
per year.
4) For f i xed- wi ng ai rcraft , fai l ure of t he l andi ng gear
has been t he mos t c o mmo n f at i gue pr obl e m over t he
years, account i ng f or 37% of t he acci dent s. However,
a l andi ng-gear fai l ure onl y i nvol ves f at al i t i es a bout
1% of t he t i me.
5) The most c ommon causes of fi xed-wi ng f at i gue
fai l ures over t he past few year s have been engi ne
f ai l ur e/ t r ansmi ssi on f ai l ur e (averagi ng 26 per year ) ,
l andi ng gear (20 per year ) , pr opel l er f ai l ur e (11 per
year ) and t he wi ng pr i mar y st r uct ur e ( t hr ee per year ) .
6) The c ommon causes of r ot ar y- wi ng f at i gue f ai l ur es
over t he past few year s have been engi ne f ai l ur e/
t r ansmi ssi on fai l ure (averagi ng 11 per year ) , t ai l
r ot or (seven per year ) , and mai n r ot or syst em ( f our
per year ) .
7) Ther e are many cases of r epeat ed acci dent s f r om t he
same cause. Twent y- f i ve exampl es are given of
ai r cr af t t hat have bad at l east f our f at i gue fai l ures,
one of whi ch was recent . A mor e t hor ough revi ew
of t he acci dent r epor t s and Ai r wor t hi nes s Di rect i ves
woul d be r equi r ed t o det er mi ne whi ch of t hese
pr obl ems st i l l exi st and r equi r e f ur t her act i on t o
solve t he pr obl em.
8) The five most c ommon i ni t i at i on sites f or f at i gue
cracks t hat have r esul t ed in f i xed- wi ng acci dent s
are: bol t , st ud, or screw; f ast ener hol e or ot he r hol e;
fi l l et , radi us, or sharp not ch; wel d; and cor r osi on.
9) The five most c ommon i ni t i at i on si t es f or f at i gue
cracks t hat have r esul t ed in r ot ar y- wi ng acci dent s
are: bol t , st ud, or screw; fi l l et , radi us, or ot her stress
concent r at i on; cor r osi on; f ast ener hol e or ot her
hol e; and f r et t i ng.
Ref er ences
1 Bland, R. B. and Sandor f f , P. E. ' The cont rol of life expec-
tancy in airplane structures' Aer onaut i cal Engng Revi ew
(August 1943) pp 7--16 & 21
2 Johnson, J. B. and Dani el s, S. ' St udy of some failures in
aircraft plane and engine parts' Trans A m Soc f or Steel
Treati ng (September 1922) pp 1167- 1176 & 1212
3 Johnson, J. e. ' Fati gue of ai rcraft parts' Avi at i on (August
1939) pp 462--464 & (September 1939) pp 542--546
4 Arnstei n, K. and Shaw, E. L. ' Fatigue probl ems in the ai rcraft
i ndust ry' Metals and Al l oys (Jul y 1939) pp 203--209
5 Nissen, O. ' Fatigue in aeroplane structures" Ai r cr af t Engng
(October 1940) pp 293--295 & 306
6 St a f f o f Bat t el l e Me mor i a l I nst i t ut e Prevent i on o f the Fai l ure
o f Metals under Repeated Stress (John Wi l ey & Sons, New
York, NY, 1941)
7 Mart i n, E. ' El i mi nat i ng propel l er failures' Avi at i on (March
1941) pp 40--41, 118& 120
I nt J Fatigue January 1984 29
8 Jewet t , F. D. and Gor don, S. A. ' Repeat ed l oad tests -- some
exper i ment al i nvesti gati ons on ai r cr af t component s' Proc
Soc f or Experi mental Stress Anal ysi s III No 1 (1945) pp
123--130
9 Davis, D. M. ' Fat i gue of ai r cr af t parts -- t hei r cause and
cure' Aut omot i ve and Avi at i on Industries (1 May 1945)
pp 34- - 37, 67- - 68, 72 & 74
10 MacLean, J. A. ' Ai r pl ane landing-gear f at i gue probl ems'
Aeronauti cal Engng Review ( November 1945) pp 12--21
11 Owen, J. B B. 'Service f ai l ures in ai r cr af t structures associ-
ated wi t h fati gue, repeated or dynami c l oads' Aeronaut i cal
Research Counci l R & M No 2688 (1952)
12 Bennet t , J. A. and Qui ck, G. W. ' Mechani cal f ai l ures of
metals in servi ce' Nat i onal Bureau of Standards Circular 550
(1954)
13 Long$on, J. ' A phot ogr aphi c st udy of t he or i gi n and devel op-
ment of f at i gue fractures in ai r cr af t structures' RAE
Report No Structures 267 ( Royal Ai r cr af t Establ i shment,
Farnborough, UK, 1961)
14 St one Jr, F. R. ' Met al f at i gue and its r ecogni t i on' US Ci vi l
Aeronauti cs Board Engng Di v Bul l No 6 3 - I (1963)
15 Gran, R. J., Orazi o Jr, F. D. , Paris, P. C. , I r wi n, G. R. and
Hertzberg, R. ' I nvest i gat i on and analysis devel opment of
earl y l i f e ai rcraf t st ruct ural f ai l ures' AFFDL- TR- 70- 149
(1971)
16 Owen, J. B. B. and Grinstad, F. ' The i nvest i gat i on of acci dents
i nvol vi ng ai rf rame f ai l ur e' Aeronaut i cal Research Counci l
R & M No 2300 (1949)
17 Teed, P. L. ' The f at i gue of ai r cr af t ' , in J. A. Pope Metal
Fatigue (Chapman & Hal l , London, 1959)
18 Williams, J. K. ' The ai rwort hi ness approach t o st ruct ural
f at i gue' , in Gassner & Schutz Fatigue Design Procedures
(Pergamon Press, Oxf or d, 1969)
19 Anderson, W. E. ' Fat i gue of ai r cr af t structures' I nt Met al l
Reviews 17 (1972) pp 2 4 0 - 2 6 3
20 Campbel l , G. S. ' A survey of f at al ai r cr af t acci dents i nvol vi ng
metal f at i gue -- f i nal r epor t ' Nat i onal Research Counci l o f
Canada NAE L TR-ST-1219 (1980)
21 Campbel l , G. S. ' A not e on f at al ai r cr af t acci dents i nvol vi ng
metal f at i gue' I nt J Fatigue 3 No 4 ( Oct ober 1981) pp
1 8 1 - 1 8 5
22 Williams, N. ' St ruct ural f ai l ur e' Fl i ght I nt ernat i onal ( 18 June
1970) pp 993- - 994
23 Worl d Ai r l i ne Acci dent Summary (Civil Avi at i on Aut hor i t y
(Great Bri t ai n), Techni cal Publ i cati ons Dept , Chel tenham,
England, wi t h Amendment s t o December 1982)
24 Mann, J. Y. Bi bl i ography on the Fatigue of Materials, Com-
ponents, & Structures, 1838--1950 (Pergamon Press, Oxf or d,
1970)
25 Mann, J. Y. Bi bl i ography on the Fatigue of Materials, Com-
ponents, & Structures, 1951- 1960 (Pergamon Press, Oxf or d,
1978) 2
26 Campbel l , G. S. and Lahey, R. T. C. ' A survey of serious
ai r cr af t accidents i nvol vi ng f at i gue f ract ure. Vol 1 - f i xed-
wi ng ai rcraf t " Nat i onal Research Counci l of Canada NAE
AN- 7 (1983)
27 Campbel l , G. S. and Lahey, R. T. C. ' A survey of serious
ai r cr af t acci dents i nvol vi ng f at i gue f ract ure. Vol 2 - r ot ar y-
wi ng ai r cr af t ' Nat i onal Research Counci l of Canada NAE
AN- 8 (1983)
28 Mon Brenner, P. ' Dynami sche f est i gkei t von flugzeug-
konst r uct i onst ei l en' DVL Jahrbuch (1929) pp 149- - 155
29 Brenner, I. V. and Rostan, I. A. pri vat e communi cat i on
f r om Dor ni er GmbH t o t he aut hor (1982)
30 Mann, 3. Y. ' Ai r cr af t f at i gue -- wi t h par t i cul ar reference
t o its i mpact on Aust ral i an operat i ons and research' 12th
I CAF Symp, Toulouse, France, 25- - 27 May 1983
31 Boswel l Jr, C. C. and Wagner, R. A. ' Fat i gue in r ot ar y- wi ng
ai r cr af t ' in Sines, George and J. L. Waisman Metal Fatigue
(McGraw-Hi l l , NY, 1959) p 355- - 375
32 Buxbaum, O. ' Landi ng gear loads of ci vi l t r anspor t ai rpl anes'
Proc 11th I CAF Symp, Noor dwi j ker hout , The Netherlands,
20--22 May 1981
33 Hut h, H. and Schutz, D. ' The col l ect i on and analysis of
f at i gue damage occurri ng in ai r cr af t in service' RAE Li brary
translation 1934 ( Royal Ai r cr af t Establ i shment, Farnborough,
UK, 1977)
Aut hor
Mr Campbell and Miss Lahey are with the National Aero-
nautical Establishment, National Research Council of
Canada, Montreal Road, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada KIA 0R6.
Inquiries should be directed to Mr Campbell.
3 0 I n t J Fa t i g u e J a n u a r y 1984