Customer Reviews

Beyond the Black Box: The Forensics of Airplane Crashes

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As an airline pilot and safety researcher, I ordered "Beyond the Black Box" as soon as it became available. This book is different from most books about aircraft accidents in that it focuses on the actual dynamics and mechanical processes of aircraft accidents rather than Human Factors: I found Dr. Bibel's book to be illuminating from a physical sciences viewpoint. The book uses very basic science and math principles (as well as simple experiments suitable for home or classroom use) to explain important points about these accidents.

Some of these accidents are quite well known, even outside of the industry (United 232), while most have been forgotten by everyone other than those directly involved in aviation safety and engineering (the Comet decompression accidents, the British Midland 737 accident at Kegworth, England, etc.), but all are excellent examples of different accident modes. I have studied numerous accidents over the years, and have taught several aviation safety courses, and I think this book is the best introduction to the physical sciences and engineering involved in aviation accidents available to the public. It is written with both expert professional and interested observer in mind, and is easily comprehended; all math and science concepts are thoroughly explained, as are higher order concepts like metal fatigue and fracture analysis.

I recently had the privilege of meeting Dr. Bibel and hearing him speak on aircraft accidents. He was very gracious and approachable, and I enjoyed both his presentation and his book greatly. This book is not written from a pilot's perspective, and as such contains some generalizations about flying procedures and techniques, but as an accessible scientific introduction to the science and dynamics of airplane accidents, this is an enjoyable and engaging book, and I recommend it without reservation.

I heartily recommend this book. Bibel gives lots of stories of airline crashes and diasters-a surprising number with reasonably happy endings. The stories themselves are fascinating and should be required reading for all pilots and flight attendants. But everyone should appreciate the stories and the care that the entire air industry puts into air safety-and much of the physics and engineering behind it. Very enjoyable read.

In correspondence with Mr. Bibel, we both agreed that one of the most startling conclusions: in many airliner crashes, at least some people get out safely and survive. Get Out Quick!

***

George Bibel has written a fascinating book about what happens in the crashes of commercial airliners. He presents several case studies of airplane accidents, investigations and lessons learned. The book contains many drawings, graphs, and equations that illustrate his points.

These investigations have led to many improvements in airliner design. For example, passengers are often disturbed when they see the wings flapping in turbulence. That's intentional. The wings of a 777, for example, must bend upward 24 feet so it can pull out of an emergency dive before it can be certified to fly.

Planes can survive major blast damage. In 1986, a TWA jet withstood the explosion of a bomb. Four passengers were killed, but the plane landed safely, and 117 people survived. Other survivable occurrences include violent engine shuddering, sputtering flames and engine shutdown.

Some of the statistics surprised me. Of the 446 DC-10s ever delivered, 27 were involved in crashes that led to "total hull loss." Most of the deaths occurred in four of the crashes. Overall, 69% survived, and in 23 of the crashes, over 90% survived. Bottom line: you are five times more likely to be in a crash that is survivable than in a crash that isn't.

Getting out quickly is critical. In a 1989 crash the plane broke into multiple sections and a fireball erupted, but 185 of 296 people survived, including a baby placed on the floor as instructed by the flight crew.

Important lessons for passengers:

First, listen carefully to the on board announcements. Many are delivered quickly over sometimes faulty sound systems. Surveys show that over half of the passengers don't pay any attention to the safety announcements.

Second, keep your seat belt fastened throughout the flight.

Third, in case of an emergency landing or crash, follow instructions carefully and get out of the plane quickly.

I found this a clearly written, very useful review of current airline safety. George Bibel also maintains an excellent website to update the information in his book.

Robert C. Ross 2008

As a pilot who has studied major air crash investigations over the years, this was a great read, with detailed information around the physics of aircraft accidents, backed by interesting statistics around various aspects of air safety today. However one aspect of the book that troubled me is Georges comments around TWA-800, specifically how he states that after the nose of the aircraft was blown off after the initial Centre Wing Tank (CWT) explosion, that the aircraft managed to fly on for a further 40 seconds before stalling. I am astounded that someone with so much aeronautical experience could make such a ridiculous statement, considering the physics involved. With the nose blown off, the CoG (Centre of Gravity) would have immediately shifted aft causing the aircraft to violently pitch up and stall within seconds. To say the aircraft merely flew on straight & level, or even climbed as per the preposterous video released (and subsequently withdrawn) by the CIA, is in my opinion disappointing considering Professor Bibel's extensive experience in this area.

With the exception of this particular comment, I found the book to be a very interesting read, with several case studies followed up with good diagrams, graphs and other illustrations complementing the text. It's a book that I highly recommend to anyone interested in understanding aircraft crashes in further detail to what's currently shown on recent TV documentaries of the same subject.

(by this persons daughter)
I was having a quarter life crisis (25 years old) when I had an epiphany one day. I always been fascinated by plane crashes, I had seen all the Air Crash Investigation (and Mayday) clips on plane incidents on YouTube.
I decided I needed to go back to school...and train to become an air plane mechanic (an AP). If you can't read this book and enjoy it....then becoming a mechanic is not up your alley.

But if you find the subject matter fascinating, and you end up going through 4 pens jotting notes, then perhaps becoming a mechanic is what you are destined for. This includes trying to talk to co-workers about how a 737 hull can fail, and still land safely, like what happened to South West April 2011, and trying to compare this incident to Aloha 243 on April 28,1988. Then comparing these two planes to the British Comet plane crashes.

Now keep in mind one person who gave this book 4 stars, obviously works (ed) for the NTSB or FAA did criticize the authors description of how TWA Flight 800 came apart, but went on to say he thought that the author did and overall good job.

The book even covers a brief, but exciting chapter on the perfection and testing of the ejection seat(and the passenger seat in commercial flight), the man who volunteered to be a human test dummy, and Murphy s law.

You will never look at a plane in the sky the same way again, complain on how uncomfortable the seats are in coach, or think about ones career possibility's in the aviation world.

I am not an aircraft enthusiast, which is perhaps one reason why I liked this book so much. I wanted a broad spectrum book about investigating aircraft accidents without getting too down in the weeds on any one topic and that was written for the laymen. This book is all that. As some have commented, this book does not cover how human error or weather contribute to accidents - not directly anyway. But you will learn about how metal fatigue can cause explosive decompression - and how engineers test and build better fuselages. About how those huge turbine engines can fail - as well as how they are built and include redundant safety features. Both of these topics were really interesting to me, though I can understand why one reader felt the turbine engine chapter was too detailed (depends on personal preference). And being able to determine that a fire may have blown up a fuel tank by looking at a single wire pulled from 100 feet of water after an in-flight breakup at 13,000 feet - that's amazing stuff.

You may be surprised to see that each chapter has several sections devoted to basic physics. This caught me off guard at first and diluted my enthusiasm for the book - but I ended up really liking the inclusion of those sections. Sometimes the author's real-world examples or anecdotes of the principles of physics are...convoluted and more confusing than they need to be, but overall they all built towards an overall understanding of the book as a whole. I have to admit I skipped rather quickly through the last 2 chapters, but this is a great book.

After reviewing the crash investigation process, Professor Bibel launches into riveting stories about crashes and introduces you to the mechanical reasons why & how such accidents occur. You'll soon be learning the science and engineering fundamentals concerning crash testing, inertial loading, material fatigue, propulsion, G-loads and combustion. It's chock full of tables, photos, diagrams and instructive illustrations with just a dash of math. Anyone with a high school education and natural curiosity will enjoy this book. BTW, in his op-ed article for the the New York Times (Jan 26, 2008) about the wisdom of listening to flight attendants, Professor Bibel also said he is also working on a similar science book about train disasters.

This is an interesting book if you want to know more about what causes airplane crashes. The book does NOT include pilot error or weather caused crashes - only mechanically caused accidents. and focuses on a few in great depth. There is a lot of detail about how engine blades are manufactured (because they have been the cause of many crashes) with more detail than most readers would care to know. This also includes a lot of physics and equations, and it is not a book to read for general recreational reading. You need to really digest this book. I wish I had bought a used copy because I know I will never read it again and it was a bit expensive for a once-around.

Great book that's hard to put down. It is too technical at times but still enjoyable to read and there are so many interesting facts to learn about.