Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dzt6s Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T13:46:43.616Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Numerical investigation of the fatal 1985 Manchester Airport B737 fire

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 January 2017

E. R. Galea ,
Z. Wang  and
F. Jia
E. R. Galea*
Affiliation:
Fire Safety Engineering Group, University of Greenwich, Greenwich, London, UK
Z. Wang
Affiliation:
Fire Safety Engineering Group, University of Greenwich, Greenwich, London, UK
F. Jia
Affiliation:
Fire Safety Engineering Group, University of Greenwich, Greenwich, London, UK
*
e.r.galea@gre.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

In this paper, fire and evacuation computer simulations are used to reconstruct the 1985 Manchester Airport B737 fire that resulted in the loss of 55 lives. First the actual fire and evacuation are reconstructed. Secondly, the impact of exit opening times and external wind on the fire and evacuation are investigated. Finally, the potential benefit offered by modern materials is evaluated. The results suggest that the number of fatalities could have been reduced by 87% had the forward right exit not malfunctioned and by 36% had the right over-wing exit been opened without delay. Furthermore, given the fuel pool size and location, a critical wind speed of 1.5m/s is necessary to cause the fire plume to lean onto the fuselage eventually resulting in fuselage burn-through. Finally, it is suggested that the use of modern cabin materials could have made a significant difference to the fire development and survivability.

Keywords

aircraft firefire investigationfire simulationevacuation simulationforensic analysis
Type
Research Article
Information
The Aeronautical Journal , Volume 121 , Issue 1237 , March 2017 , pp. 287 - 319
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Aeronautical Society 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. King, D. Report on the accident to the Boeing 737-236 Series 1, G-BGJL at Manchester International Airport on 22 August 1985, Aircraft Accident Report 8/88, 1988, HMSO, London, UK.Google Scholar
2 NTSB Press Release, NTSB Issues update on the British Airways Engine Fire at Las Vegas, 09/10/2015, [online] http://www.ntsb.gov/news/press-releases/Pages/PR20150910.aspx.Google Scholar
3. Hall, J.E., Hammerschmidt, J.A., Goglia, J.J., Black, G.W. Jr. and Carmody, C.J. Safety study, Emergency evacuation of commercial airplanes, NTSB/SS-00/01, PB2000-917002, 2000, National Transportation Safety Board, Washington, DC, US.Google Scholar
4. Sarkos, C.P. Application of full-scale fire tests to characterize and improve the aircraft postcrash fire environment, Toxicity, 1996, 115, pp 79–87. doi: 10.1016/S0300-483X(96)03496-8.Google Scholar
5. Galea, E.R. and Markatos, N.C. A review of mathematical modelling of aircraft cabin fires, Applied Mathematical Modelling, 1987, 11, pp 162–176. doi: 10.1016/0307-904X(87)90001-1.Google Scholar
6. Galea, E.R. and Markatos, N.C. The mathematical modelling and computer simulation of fire development in Aircraft, International J Heat and Mass Transfer, 1991, 34, (1), pp 181–197. doi: 10.1016/0017-9310(91)90185-H.Google Scholar
7. Hadjisophocleous, G.V., Sousa, A.C.M. and Venart, J.E.S. Time development of convection flow patterns in aircraft cabins under post-crash fire exposure, AGARD Conference Proceedings on Aircraft Fire Safety, No. 467, 22-26 May 1989, Sintra, Purtugal, pp 18.1–18.4.Google Scholar
8. Galea, E.R. and Hoffmann, N. Using mathematical models to predict the development of aircraft cabin fires, AGARD Conference Proceedings on Aircraft Fire Safety, No. 587, 14-17 October 1997, Dresden, Germany, pp 7.1–7.12.Google Scholar
9. Suo-Anttila, J., Gill, W., Gallegos, C. and Nelsen, J. Computational fluid dynamics code for smoke transport during an aircraft cargo compartment fire: Transport solver, graphical user interface, and preliminary baseline validation, DOT/FAA/AR-03/49, Virginia, USA, 2003.Google Scholar
10. Galea, E.R. and Markatos, N.C. Modelling of aircraft cabin fires, fire safety science, Proceedings of the 2nd International Symposium, Tokyo, Hemisphere Pub Corp, Wakamatsu, T. et al. (Eds), June 1988, pp 801–810. doi: 10.3801/IAFSS.FSS.2-801.Google Scholar
11. Jia, F., Patel, M.K., Galea, E.R., Grandison, A. and Ewer, J. CFD fire simulation of the Swissair flight 111 in-flight fire Part I: Prediction of the pre-fire air flow within the cockpit and surrounding areas, Aeronautical J Royal Aeronautical Society, 2006, 110, pp 41–52. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0001924000004358.Google Scholar
12. Jia, F., Patel, M.K., Galea, E.R., Grandison, A. and Ewer, J. CFD fire simulation of the Swissair flight 111 In-flight fire – Part II: Fire spread within the simulated area, Aeronautical J Royal Aeronautical Society, 2006, 110, pp 303–314. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0001924000004358.Google Scholar
13. Wang, Z., Jia, F. and Galea, E.R. Computational fluid dynamics simulation of a post-crash aircraft fire test, J Aircraft, 2013, 50, (1), pp 164–175. doi: 10.2514/1.C031845.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14. Galea, E.R., Wang, Z., Veeraswamy, A., Jia, F., Lawrence, P.J. and Ewer, J. Coupled fire/evacuation analysis of station nightclub fire, Proceedings of the 9th IAFSS Symposium, 21-26 September 2008, Karlsruhe, Germany, pp 465–476.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15. Hu, X., Wang, Z., Jia, F. and Galea, E.R. Numerical investigation of fires in small rail car compartments, J Fire Protection Engineering, 2012, 22, (4), pp 245–270. doi: 10.1177/1042391512459640.Google Scholar
16. Galea, E.R., Fillippidis, L., Wang, Z. and ewer, J. Fire and evacuation analysis in BWB aircraft configurations: Computer simulations and large-scale evacuation experiment, Aeronautical J Royal Aeronautical Society, 2010, 114, (1154), pp 271–277. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0001924000003717.Google Scholar
17 Title 14, Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR), 1999, Federal Aviation Regulations, Washington, DC, US.Google Scholar
18. Galea, E.R. and Galparsoro, J.M.P. EXODUS: An evacuation Model for mass transport vehicles. UK CAA Paper 93 006, ISBN 0 86039 543X, 1993.Google Scholar
19. Galea, E.R. and Galparsoro, J.M.P. A computer based simulation model for the prediction of evacuation from mass transport vehicles, Fire Safety J, 1994, 22, pp 341–366. https://doi.org/10.1016/0379-7112(94)90040-X.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20. Court, M.C. Commercial aircraft-cabin egress: The current state of simulation model development and the need for future research, Simulation, 1999, 73, pp 218–231. doi: 10.1177/003754979907300404.Google Scholar
21. BLAKE, S.J., Galea, E.R., Gwynne, S., Lawrence, P.J. and Fillippidis, L. Examining the effect of exit separation on aircraft evacuation performance during 90-Second certification trials using evacuation modelling techniques, Aeronautical J Royal Aeronautical Society, 2002, 106, pp 1–16. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0001924000018054.Google Scholar
22. Galea, E.R., Blake, S.J., Gwynne, S. and Lawrence, P.J., The use of evacuation modelling techniques in the design of very large transport aircraft and blended wing body aircraft, Aeronautical J Royal Aeronautical Society, 2003, 107, pp 207–18. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0001924000013270.Google Scholar
23. Galea, E.R., Blake, S.J. and Lawrence, P.J. Report on the testing and systematic evaluation of airExodus aircraft evacuation model, CAA (Civil Aviation Administration) Paper 2004/2005, ISBN 0 86039 966 4. http://publicapps.caa.co.uk/modalapplication.aspx?catid=1&pagetype=65&appid=11&mode=detail&id=1706 Google Scholar
24. Kirchner, A., Klüpfel, H., Nishinari, K., Schadschneider, A. and Schreckenberg, M. Simulation of competitive egress behaviour: Comparison with aircraft evacuation data, Physica A, 2003, 324, pp 689–697. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-4371(03)00076-1.Google Scholar
25. Sharma, S., Singh, H. and Prakash, A. Multi-agent modelling and simulation of human behaviour in aircraft evacuations, IEEE Transactions on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, 2008, 44, (4), pp 1477–1488. https://doi.org/10.1109/TAES.2008.4667723.Google Scholar
26. Hedo, J.M. and Martinez-Val, R. Assessment of narrow-body transport aircraft evacuation by numerical simulation, J Aircraft, 2011, 48, (5), pp 1785–1794. doi: 10.2514/1.C031397.Google Scholar
27. Miyoshi, T., Nakayasu, H., Ueno, Y. and Patterson, P. An emergency aircraft evacuation simulation considering passenger emotions, Computers & Industrial Engineering, 2012, 62, (3), pp 746–754. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cie.2011.11.012.Google Scholar
28. Mackenzie, A., Miller, J.O., Hill, R. and Chambal, S.P. Application of agent based modelling to aircraft maintenance manning and sortie generation, Simulation Modelling Practice and Theory, 2012, 20, (1), pp 89–98. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.simpat.2011.09.001.Google Scholar
29. Fang, Z., Lv, W., Liu, X. and Song, W. Study of Boeing 777 evacuation using a finer-grid civil aircraft evacuation model, Transportation Research Procedia, 2014, 2, pp 246–254. doi: 10.1016/j.trpro.2014.09.044.Google Scholar
30. Liu, Y., Wang, W., Huang, H., Li, Y. and Yang, Y. A new simulation model for assessing aircraft emergency evacuation considering passenger physical characteristics, Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 2014, 121, pp 187–197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ress.2013.09.001.Google Scholar
31. Wang, Z., Jia, F. and Galea, E.R. Fire and evacuation simulation of the fatal 1985 Manchester Airport B737 fire, Proceedings of the 5th International Symposium, Human Behaviours in Fire 2012, Interscience Communications Ltd., 2012, pp 159–170.Google Scholar
32 AircraftFire, Periodic report summary 2 - AIRCRAFTFIRE (fire risks assessment and increase of passenger survivability), Project No. FP7-2010-265612-CP-FP, [online] http://cordis.europa.eu/result/rcn/168294_en.html.Google Scholar
33. Galea, E.R., Jia, F., Wang, Z. and Ewer, J. Deliverable D4.1: Modified Smartfire fire simulation tool, AircraftFire, Project No. FP7-2010-265612-CP-FP, 2014.Google Scholar
34. Ewer, J., Jia, F., Grandison, A., Galea, E.R. and Patel, M.K. Smartfire V4.1 user guide and technical manual, 2008, Fire Safety Engineering Group, University of Greenwich, UK.Google Scholar
35. Purser, D.A. Toxicity assessment of combustion products, The SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering (3rd ed), Dilenno, P.J. (Ed), Drysdale, published by the National fire protection, Quincy, MA, 2002.Google Scholar
36. Jin, T. and Yamada, T. Irritating effects from fire smoke on visibility, Fire Science And Technology, 1985, 5, pp 79–90. http://doi.org/10.3210/fst.5.79.Google Scholar
37. Owen, M., Galea, E.R. and Dixon, A.J.P. 90-second certification trial data archive report, prepared for the U.K. CAA for project 049/SRG/R&AD, March 1999.Google Scholar
38. Wang, H.Y. and Wang, G.D. Interaction between crosswind and aviation-fuel fire engulfing a full-scale composite-type aircraft: A numerical study, Aerospace, 2015, 2, 279–311; doi:10.3390/aerospace2020279.Google Scholar
39. Galea, E.R., Togher, M. and Lawrence, P.J. Investigating the impact of exit availability on egress time using computer based evacuation simulation, Proceedings of the International Aircraft Fire & Cabin Safety Conference, 29 October-1 November 2007, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US.Google Scholar
40. Galea, E.R., Finney, K., Dixon, A.J.P., Siddiqui, A. and Cooney, D.P. An analysis of exit availability, exit usage and passenger exit selection behaviour exhibited during actual aviation accidents, Aeronautical J Royal Aeronautical Society, 2006, 110, pp 239–248. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0001924000001214.Google Scholar
41. Galea, E.R., Finney, K., Dixon, A.J.P., Siddiqui, A. and Cooney, D.P. An Analysis of human behaviour during aircraft evacuation situations using the AASK V3.0 database, Aeronautical J, 2003, 107, (1070), pp 219–231. doi: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0001924000013294.Google Scholar
42. Marker, T.R. Full-scale test evaluation of aircraft fuel fire burn-through resistance improvements, DOT/FAA/AR-98/52, 1998, the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Springfield, Virginia, US.Google Scholar
43. Cherry, R.G.W. and Warren, K. Fuselage burnthrough protection for increased postcrash occupant survivability: Safety benefit analysis based on past accidents, DOT/FAA/AR-99/57, 1999, the National Technical Information Service (NTIS), Springfield, Virginia 22161.Google Scholar
44. Quintiere, J.G. Surface flame spread, SFPE Handbook of Fire Protection Engineering, 2nd ed., 1995, National Fire Protection, Quincy, Massachusetts, US, pp 2–205.Google Scholar
45. Babrauskas, V. Chapter 15, Tables, in Ignition Handbook, 2003, Fire Science Publishers, Issaquah, Washington, US.Google Scholar