Flight test safety : lessons learned from an S-3B flight test mishap during a frequency domain test

In 1992, an S-3B Viking from the Force Warfare Aircraft Test Directorate broke apart in flight after the vertical stabilizer failed during a flight test event. The mishap flight was one element of a program designed to improve the flying qualities of the simulator by obtaining specific flight parameter data.

The intent of this thesis is to illustrate the process of discovering relevant "lessons to be learned" from the mishap and offer proof that an analysis and application of the lessons will result in improved flight test programs. These "lessons to be learned" were generated by a series of investigations that included documentation searches; interviews with those involved with the test program; and a careful analysis of the program's purpose and methods of data collection. After the extensive post-mishap investigation was completed, it became apparent that a number of errors had taken place during the flight test planning process. Mistakes were made in the areas of test-team composition, aircraft limitation research, test maneuver selection, test technique research, flight clearance authorization, and post-mishap reporting. The process of discovering and applying these lessons resulted in the eventual successful completion of the test program and yielded lessons that should be put into practice by any flight test program.