Pilot error is the number one cause of plane crashes, accounting for just over 50% of total accidents, according to statistics dating back to the 1950’s up to the present. Mechanical failure comes in second, at 20% of accidents, with weather third at 12%.
Much has been done to reduce accidents due to pilot error and new designs and technology are always under development in order to reduce mechanical failures. But dealing with weather is not an area that has had a lot of research until recently.
A team at Oxford University is studying the “collapsible wings” found in eagles and other birds as a way to develop a better understanding of how to help planes cope with air turbulence. The team fitted an eagle named Cossack with a camera and flight recorder and monitored 45 flights in windy conditions, when Cossack would often collapse his wings in response to strong gusts rather than holding them out, like an aircraft.
Data from the device showed that when Cossack would experience a significant loss of lift when flying through a pocket of turbulence. He would tuck his wings in, streamlining his body to pick up speed and better respond to unpredictable wind patterns.
In a paper published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface, Graham Taylor of Oxford University’s Department of Zoology wrote:
Our evidence suggests that wing-tucking (collapsing the wings) is a direct response to a substantial loss of lift that occurs when a bird flies through a pocket of atmospheric turbulence. We think that, rather like the suspension on a car, birds use this technique to damp the potentially damaging jolting caused by turbulence. Whilst we won’t see large aircraft adopting collapsible wings this kind of technique could potentially be used to keep micro air vehicles aloft even in very windy conditions.’
Related articles on IndustryTap:
- AeroMobil’s Flying Car Prototype Completes Its Maiden Flight
- PIBOT: South Korean Robot Capable of Flying a Plane On a Flight Simulator
- DeepFlight Is Taking Preorders For This Crazy Personal Submarine For $1.5 Million…
- The New Amelia Earhart Completes Her Namesake’s Failed ‘Round The World Flight
- A Glimpse Into the Secret Flight Attendant Rooms on Boeing’s 777 and 787 Airliners
- The DOT Takes the Next Step to Ban In-Flight Cell Phone Calls
- All Flights To Ebola-Affected Countries Suspended By British Airways
- Was Malaysian Flight 370 a Sitting Duck for High-Tech Electronic Warfare?
- Amazing Footage Takes You Inside the Flight of a Mig-29 Fighter Jet
- HondaJet Successfully Completes Its 84-Minute Maiden Flight…
References and related links:
- Collapsible wings help birds cope with turbulence, eagle sporting ‘black box’ shows — ScienceDaily
- How Soaring Birds Tackle Turbulence: Collapsible Wings
- American Airlines Flight Turbulence Lands 5 in Hospital – ABC News
