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Seismic data can help air crash investigations
New Delhi, Sept 04: Seismic data can sometimes play a key part in determining the nature of an air crash and its location which may be vital to directing search efforts in remote, wooded or snow-covered areas, a report has said.
New Delhi, Sept 04: Seismic data can sometimes play a key part in determining the nature of an air crash and its location which may be vital to directing search efforts in remote, wooded or snow-covered areas, a report has said.
Detailed study of the seismic signals recorded from the impact of a crash can give insight into other related information, Dr David McCormack, who heads the nuclear explosion monitoring programme of the Geological Survey of Canada said in a newsletter of the preparatory commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO).
Seismic signals can provide information on whether the aircraft was intact when hitting the ground and an estimate of the speed at which it stuck the surface, McCormack said. "The strength of seismic signals from an impact depends on the energy contained in the falling object," he said adding this in turn is a function of the mass and velocity at the time of impact. Heavier the object or the faster it is travelling, the larger the resulting seismic signal.
"Adding up to these factors can give clues about whether the craft exploded in air, rapidly descended intact to the surface or was attempting to make a crash landing," he said. Such information is more important where traditional crash information from the "black box" is absent.
Bureau Report
Seismic signals can provide information on whether the aircraft was intact when hitting the ground and an estimate of the speed at which it stuck the surface, McCormack said. "The strength of seismic signals from an impact depends on the energy contained in the falling object," he said adding this in turn is a function of the mass and velocity at the time of impact. Heavier the object or the faster it is travelling, the larger the resulting seismic signal.
"Adding up to these factors can give clues about whether the craft exploded in air, rapidly descended intact to the surface or was attempting to make a crash landing," he said. Such information is more important where traditional crash information from the "black box" is absent.
Bureau Report