Vol.9, No2, 2009, pp. 71-87
UDC 629.735.018.4

A review is given of several notable aircraft and aeroengine service failures investigated by the NLR since the mid-1970s. These failures have been chosen partly to illustrate the specialist knowledge required for determining the physical causes of failure, but attention is also paid to the broader aspects of structural safety and preventing additional failures. The selected failures are: Sikorsky S-61N helicopter rotor blade (1974); General Electric CF6-50 G40 turbine blades (1977-9); Air Tractor AT-301 propeller blade (1987): Aérospatiale Alouette III helicopter tail lug (1990); General Dynamics F-16 / Pratt & Whitney F100-PW-220 RCVV lever arm pin (1992); Boeing 747-258F engine losses owing to a wing pylon failure (1992); Westland Lynx SH14D helicopter rotor hub (1998).

Keywords: aircraft, service failures, fatigue, fracture