Earlier this year, a Boeing aircraft's door plug fell out in flight – all because a bolt was missing. The incident shows why simple failures are often a sign of larger problems.
Earlier this year, a Boeing aircraft's door plug fell out in flight – all because a bolt was missing. The incident shows why simple failures like this are often a sign of larger problems, says John Downer.
Dangerous failures in modern jetliners are extremely uncommon events in general, but even in this context, the plug blowout looks unusual and concerning.. The errant door-plug was missing four crucial bolts when it was discovered in a residential neighborhood, and subsequent inspections have reportedly revealedconcludes, then it will be the sheer ordinariness of the failure that sets it apart.
To appreciate this relationship, consider the work of building a system that is reliable 99.99% of the time . To achieve this, engineers need to understand how the system will behave over that period of time: the external conditions it might face, how its many elements will interact with those conditions, and a great deal else.
With each increment, therefore, it becomes increasingly likely that their reliability calculations will be undone by something esoteric and improbable that eludes their understanding of how the system functions: some property, or combination of circumstances that nobody thought to test or model. While rigorous analysis and oversight are sufficient in most engineering circumstances, therefore, their usefulness wanes long before they can deliver the kind of performance jetliners demand. Engineers working in this domain need to push past the limits and uncertainties of their abstractions, and herein lies the true challenge of extreme reliability.
Perhaps most significantly, it depended on a deep-rooted adherence to a consistent and stable jetliner design paradigm: a willingness to greatly delay, or forgo entirely, implementing tantalising innovations – new materials, architectures, technologies – that, on paper, promised significant competitive advantages.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
New Boeing whistleblower Sam Mohawk claims ‘defective parts likely being used on Boeing planes & were h...
Read more »
Prisoners likely to be released earlier as part of Labour plans to tackle prison overcrowdingThe home secretary warned easing prison overcrowding is not going to be a 'quick fix' and said she is 'extremely concerned' by the system inherited from the Conservatives.
Read more »
Long-term convicts could be released years earlier to relieve pressure on Scotland's prisonsThe Scottish government is seeking views on changing the point of release under licence conditions for prisoners serving a custodial sentence of four years or more.
Read more »
Calls for new DWP boss to scrap PIP changes proposed by Tories earlier this yearTen leading charities have written to Liz Kendall urging her not to ‘condemn disabled people to a life of poverty’.
Read more »
Rocco Vata breaks silence on 'earlier than expected' Celtic exitRocco Vata has admitted his Celtic transfer exit came 'earlier than expected' as he sealed a switch to Watford.
Read more »
Jeremy Clarkson issues major Diddly Squat update to fans after tragic deaths earlier this year...Jeremy Clarkson issues major Diddly Squat update to fans after tragic deaths earlier this year_1
Read more »