The inclusion of large numbers of small
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) into the National Airspace System
(NAS) may pose unique hazards to other aircraft sharing the airspace.
It is necessary to determine the potential severity of sUAS mid-air
collisions with aircraft in order to define an Equivalent Level of
Safety to manned aviation.
Through H.R. 636 – FAA Extension,
Safety, and Security Act of 2016, Section 2212, Unmanned Aircraft
Systems – Manned Aircraft Collision Research, Congress mandated UAS
research to determine the impact severity of ground and airborne
collisions. The latest engine ingestion request from Congress came in
September 2019 and aligns with the Federal Aviation Administration’s
(FAA) readiness to conduct the final research phase.
The project is titled, “High-Bypass
Turbofan UAS Engine Ingestion Test,” according to contract
documents released Friday. This project encompasses the final
research phase which is a live engine ingestion test.
“Understanding the severity of the
ingestion event is critical to be able to estimate the extent of
damage encountered in a typical incident/accident,” the FAA said in
a Performance Work Statement released Friday. “To aid in the
longevity of the information gathered during this effort, high
fidelity data gathering, instrumentation, and model validation is
crucial for future FAA regulatory and policy development surrounding
safe UAS integration (here throughout to include sUAS) into the NAS.”
The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2016
states that “in continuation of ongoing work, shall coordinate a
program to conduct comprehensive testing or modeling of unmanned
aircraft systems colliding with various sized aircraft in various
operational settings, as considered appropriate by the FAA, including
subpart (4)(D) Collisions between unmanned aircraft systems and
various parts of an aircraft, including an engine.” Congressional
Mandate, H. R. 636 – FAA Extension, Safety, and Security Act of
2016, Section 2212 states, “in testing and providing a final report
detailing the overall risks associated with, and the underlying data
and analysis for an actual UAS ingestion into a representative mid-
to high-bypass gas turbofan engine of current commercial airliners.”
As sUAS become more prevalent in the
NAS, proper integration is necessary to help prevent collisions
between both unmanned and manned aircraft. In the final phase of this
research, this work effort is intended to provide high-fidelity data
from the actual ingestion of a market-representative sUAS into a
commercial airline mid- to high-bypass gas turbofan engine, with a
diameter of approximately 62 inches.
As sUAS operations become closer in
proximity to manned aviation operations, specifically around
airports, this effort will investigate the ingestion event
representative of incidents occurring during the landing and takeoff
phases of flight for a commercial airliner. This work effort is
intended to identify the risks and recommend manufacturing
best-practices for sUAS manufacturers, and inform the FAA on the
potential outcome of an ingestion event.
This work effort is intended to
identify risks and recommend solutions, or recommendations on the
risks associated with UAS operating near commercial airliner engines,
to the FAA that enable sUAS operations. This work effort will help
the FAA by providing justification for operational limitations that
can be used as inputs to FAA guidance and industry consensus
standards relating to the use of sUAS near manned aircraft
operations, specifically commercial airliner operations at airports.
The work effort will also be immediately helpful for providing
direction to FAA approvers for approving operations of sUAS that will
take place near manned aircraft operations. sUAS operations need to
have adequate standoff distances from flight obstacles and also avoid
conflicts and collisions with manned aircraft (e.g. commercial
airliners), specifically those sUAS that operate in the vicinity of
an airport for operations such as runway inspections.
The FAA is working on a timeline to
award contracts and move forward with the live ingestion test.
4 comments:
I'm placing my bet that it will stuff up the engine.
Iagree. You cannot put something the size of(say) a p4 battery through an engine and not expect to break off at least one fan blade. I imagine the engine would do a dance, and likely rip itself out of the airframe. Hitting a turboprop blade would almost certainly do the same thing. Sudden, huge, Unbalanced forces are not what rotating machinery is designed for.
Great information, Glad to find your article. It was quite beneficial and useful for me to understand about this.
IMO - I am guessing an engine manufacturer's test stand is the best place, as they have containment for exploding engines.
GE@Evendale or Pratt & Whitney or others. I agree it may cause serious damage. Looking forward to the results. Hope it never happens.
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