BOAC Flight 781 Crash

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Summary

Entering service in 1952, the de Havilland Comet I, was the first commercial airliner equipped with jet engines and swept wings. British Overseas Airways Company (BOAC) operated the Comet I with service around Europe, Africa, and the Middle East. Regrettably, after only a year in service in 1953, BOAC suffered the first in-flight loss of a Comet I, along with all aboard. Shortly after takeoff from Calcutta, India, the aircraft broke up after encountering a thunderstorm killing all 43 on board (Withey, 1997). However, it was two events in 1954 would doom the Comet I. On January 10, 1954, BOAC Flight 781 takeoff from Rome bound for London broke up only 20 minutes after takeoff killing all on board (Withey, 1997). Flight 201 from Rome …show more content…

Advantages. By examining the wreckage investigators, can use various techniques find evidence of what the cause of the breakup.

Disadvantages. The debris lay at the bottom of the Tyrrhenian Sea and will take months to recover. Possible loss of life in the recovery efforts. The possibility of missing a key piece of evidence is high.

Alternative Action 2: Use an existing aircraft to perform tests to determine a possible cause of the incidents.

Advantages. Having an entire aircraft that has been in service should display some of the same flaws the incident plane may have been subject too. The ability to compare elements of the wreckage to an intact example to see if any damage was a result of the breakup or the cause of the breakup. The ability to perform experiments to create a similar failure mode for different assemblies.

Disadvantages. Utilizing in operational aircraft to a failure point that may or may not be reparable after the fact would be extremely expensive. Testing of an entire airframe would require large and yet uninvited testing equipment and procedures. Could the results of any testing be trusted to represent the incident aircraft

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