Last week there was another fatal aircraft accident in my neck of the woods. A DeHaviland Beaver on floats in bad weather with six people on board crashed into the woods in a remote part of Vancouver Island. It appears that all six people survived the crash, but the pilot and one passenger died in the resultant fuel fed fire.
In the Vans RV community I personally know of three fatalities and I'm sure there are many more in both amature and small certified aircraft accidents where post crash fires have claimed lives. Not a nice way to go.
A lot of these crashes where survivable, but the major aircraft damage that resulted involved electrical components and wiring that is fractured, torn and compromised, causing shorts and arcing and fire.
In the RV community we have much expertise, skill and knowledge and are often way ahead of industry in innovation, solution and problem solving.
The problem is-----Post Crash Fires----- caused by shorted and arcing electrical wiring.
The solution is to disconnect the battery from the electrical system by incorporating a G activated switch. This could be as simple as the solid state G switch in our ELT s.
Most small aircraft have a master solenoid that is activated by providing a ground to the solenoid coil. The G switch would be connected to this terminal and in the event of a crash - say 10 Gs - would disconnect the ground connection and open the master solenoid contacts, thus removing the battery from the aircraft electrical system. ----No arcing, shorting and very likely, no post crash fire.
If there was any concern about loosing power to aircraft systems during turbulence or IFR, a simple panel mounted by pass toggle switch would solve that concern.
For some of our electronic wizards this would be a simple technical challenge that has commercial potential, but far more importantly it would save lives.
I invite comment and discussion.
In the Vans RV community I personally know of three fatalities and I'm sure there are many more in both amature and small certified aircraft accidents where post crash fires have claimed lives. Not a nice way to go.
A lot of these crashes where survivable, but the major aircraft damage that resulted involved electrical components and wiring that is fractured, torn and compromised, causing shorts and arcing and fire.
In the RV community we have much expertise, skill and knowledge and are often way ahead of industry in innovation, solution and problem solving.
The problem is-----Post Crash Fires----- caused by shorted and arcing electrical wiring.
The solution is to disconnect the battery from the electrical system by incorporating a G activated switch. This could be as simple as the solid state G switch in our ELT s.
Most small aircraft have a master solenoid that is activated by providing a ground to the solenoid coil. The G switch would be connected to this terminal and in the event of a crash - say 10 Gs - would disconnect the ground connection and open the master solenoid contacts, thus removing the battery from the aircraft electrical system. ----No arcing, shorting and very likely, no post crash fire.
If there was any concern about loosing power to aircraft systems during turbulence or IFR, a simple panel mounted by pass toggle switch would solve that concern.
For some of our electronic wizards this would be a simple technical challenge that has commercial potential, but far more importantly it would save lives.
I invite comment and discussion.