Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2009

City

Dayton

Abstract

As aircraft manufacturers use increasing amounts of composite materials in primary aircraft structures, an understanding of how composite damage may occur is crucial. One likely setting for composite damage events is the ramp and gate areas where “ramp rash” is a common occurrence. Costly consequences to airlines and the potential to jeopardize safety are an everyday hazard. In order to better understand how such events unfold in today’s operations, 104 ramp damage reports that were voluntarily submitted to the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) were analyzed. Factors including environmental conditions, aircraft state, aircraft damage locations and types of ramp vehicles or equipment involved were examined in order to describe the scenarios in which damage occurs. Results provide a starting point for identifying and characterizing possible operational risks for tomorrow’s advanced composite aircraft.


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