Advanced Concept in Aircraft Crash Firefighting Using Carbon Tetrafluoride

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Advanced Concept in Aircraft Crash Firefighting Using Carbon Tetrafluoride

G. B. Geyer / L. M. Neri / C. H. Urban

The objective of this effort was to establish the feasibility of replacing a potentially lethal aircraft cabin environment with a cool habitable atmosphere which is nonsupportive of combustion during passenger evacuation in fire emergencies. For this purpose, carbon tetrafluoride (CF4) was chosen as the fire extinguishant because of its very low toxicity and high molecular stability under thermal insult. Four large-scale experiments were performed in the completely instrumented cabin of a DC7 aircraft employing both Class A and B combustible materials. Three experiments were performed using the habitable inert atmosphere (27-volume percent CF4) discharging at the rate of 3,300 cubic feet per minute into the aircraft cabin through a window exit. For comparative purposes, the fourth experiment was performed using neat CF4 discharged from two simulated points of fuselage penetration by a ballistically-powered aircraft skin penetrator nozzle. Both of these prototype fire extinguishing systems were designed to be employed by airport crash-fire-rescue services to extinguish aircraft cabin and compartment fires.