Program Plan - National Aging Aircraft Research Program
Abstract
The inevitable effects of aircraft aging are progressive increased in the probability of damage from fatigue and corrosion. The continued safe operation of the United States commercial fleet will depend on the ability to anticipate required adjustments in the inspection and maintenance activities to compensate for the aging process. Increasing numbers of aircraft are exceeding their economic design life--the age at which they have historically been retired from major airline service. Presumably, commercial aircraft are designed for infinite life with proper maintenance. But public confidence in operators' abilities to properly maintain older aircraft significantly diminished following the widely publicized failure of the Aloha Airlines 737 fuselage in 1988. The FAA established the National Aging Aircraft Research Program (NAARP) to address this diminished public confidence in the airlines' ability to properly maintain their older aircraft. The goal of the program is to assure continued airworthiness of the United States commercial fleet of in-service and future aircraft beyond their economic design life. This will be achieved through improvements in equipment, techniques, practices, and procedures in aircraft and engine design, repair, maintenance, and inspection. The FAA will identify and direct the research to reach this goal. The results of the program will include a technical information data base that will be used by the FAA and/or industry to update or develop new rules, standards, advisories, and facilities.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA242891
Entities
Organizations
- Federal Aviation Administration