Plane Crash in Tokyo Raises Design Concerns

Plane Crash in Tokyo Raises Design Concerns

东京的飞机坠毁引发了设计问题的担忧

【听力音频】

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

　　By Mario Ritter, Jr

　　04 January 2024

　　Investigators are studying what went wrong when a Japanese coast guard aircraft and a passenger jet crashed into each other on Tuesday at Haneda Airport in Tokyo.

　　Officials want to find out what caused the crash. But there are also many questions about the fire that broke out when the planes collided on the runway.

　　The body of the passenger jet, an Airbus 350, was made of carbon-composite fibers. Passenger aircraft bodies have traditionally been made of aluminum.

　　The crash may become an important test of the safety of composite materials for some uses in aircraft.

　　The crash

　　Communications from air traffic control at the airport describe some of the events leading to the crash. The larger Japan Airlines (JAL) passenger jet was given permission to use the runway where the coast guard plane, a Bombardier Dash-8, was preparing for takeoff.

　　When they struck each other, an orange fireball exploded from the aircraft and the passenger jet continued down the runway covered in flames.

　　When the plane stopped, crew members and all 379 passengers slid down emergency chutes within 20 minutes. All survived. The captain of the coast guard plane got out, but five members of the crew died in the crash.

　　Safety experts are praising the airline's crew and the passengers for escaping the burning plane. The crew shouted, warning the passengers to run away from the plane.

　　The composite material

　　Composite materials have been used for many years inside commercial aircraft. But the first commercial plane to have its body, or fuselage, and wings reinforced with carbon fibers was the Boeing 787. It went into service in 2011. About 1,100 of the planes have been produced.

　　The Airbus A350 followed in 2018. About 570 have been sold.

　　Aircraft designers use composite materials because they strengthen plastics and other materials. Boeing says the material can save 20 percent of the weight of aluminum. The reduced weight saves fuel.

　　Boeing and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) tested the strength of composites to get certification for the 787 jet. But concerns remain about gases released from such materials when they burn.

　　John Goglia is a former member of the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates aircraft accidents. He said, "There has always been a concern about composites if they catch fire." Goglia noted that the gases released when composites burn are dangerous. They can even be dangerous after the fire is put out because the fibers might remain in the air.

　　The FAA has said for more than 20 years that there are dangers related to composite materials. FAA officials say the main health dangers include sharp pieces of material, dust and poisonous gases caused by burning substances that hold the material together.

　　Did it make a difference?

　　Although the inside of the passenger plane filled with smoke after the explosion, all 379 passengers were able to escape.

　　John Cox, a safety expert, noted: "That fuselage protected them from a really horrific fire — it did not burn through for some period of time and let everybody get out."

　　Goglia said there is no real evidence whether composite materials or aluminum are better at resisting fire long enough to protect people.

　　However, one passenger on the JAL flight said the smoke "stung" very much.

　　Todd Curtis, a safety expert and former Boeing engineer, warned that injuries from dangerous smoke could take a long time to show up. Passengers involved in accidents usually are in shock and often do not recognize their injuries.

　　Another concern, experts noted, was the amount of time it took firefighters to put out the fire. Pictures show the JAL flight's burned wreckage near one of the runways. The body was almost completely destroyed by fire.

　　In 2013, a fire at London's Heathrow Airport involving an Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 was difficult to stop. Safety expert Curtis said, "putting out the fire took much more effort that a typical airliner fire." Curtis said he worried at the time about composite fuselage fires.

　　Those concerns, he said, have not gone away.

　　I'm Mario Ritter Jr.

　　David Koenig reported this story for the Associated Press. Mario Ritter, Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

　　作者：Mario Ritter Jr.

　　2024年1月4日

　　调查人员正在研究周二在东京羽田机场，一架日本海岸警卫队飞机和一架客机相撞时出了什么问题。

　　官员们想要找出导致坠机的原因。但是，飞机在跑道上相撞引发火灾的问题也引发了许多疑问。

　　这架客机，一架空客350，其机身由碳复合纤维制成。传统上，客机机身是由铝制成的。

　　这次坠机可能会成为测试复合材料在某些飞机用途中安全性的重要试验。

　　坠机

　　机场空中交通控制的通信描述了导致坠机的一些事件。较大的日本航空公司（JAL）客机获得了使用跑道的许可，而海岸警卫队的飞机，一架庞巴迪Dash-8，正在准备起飞。

　　当他们相撞时，一团橙色的火球从飞机上爆炸出来，客机继续在火焰中滑行在跑道上。

　　当飞机停下来时，机组人员和所有379名乘客在20分钟内滑下了紧急滑梯。所有人都幸存下来。海岸警卫队飞机的机长逃出来了，但是五名机组人员在坠机中丧生。

　　安全专家们赞扬了航空公司的机组人员和乘客们能够逃离燃烧的飞机。机组人员大喊，警告乘客们远离飞机。

　　复合材料

　　商用飞机内部已经使用复合材料多年。但是，第一架使用碳纤维加固机身或机壳和翼的商用飞机是波音787。它于2011年投入使用。已经生产了大约1100架飞机。

　　空客A350在2018年跟随其后。已经售出了大约570架。

　　飞机设计师使用复合材料是因为它们可以增强塑料和其他材料。波音公司表示，这种材料可以节省铝的20%的重量。减轻的重量可以节省燃料。

　　波音和联邦航空管理局（FAA）测试了复合材料的强度，以获得787喷气机的认证。但是，人们仍然对这种材料燃烧时释放的气体表示担忧。

　　John Goglia是国家交通安全委员会的前成员，该委员会负责调查飞机事故。他说：“如果复合材料着火，一直都有担忧。” Goglia指出，复合材料燃烧时释放的气体是危险的。即使在火被扑灭后，这些纤维可能仍然留在空气中，这也是危险的。

　　联邦航空管理局（FAA）已经表示，复合材料存在危险超过20年了。FAA官员表示，主要的健康危险包括锐利的材料碎片、灰尘和由燃烧的粘合材料产生的有毒气体。

　　有什么区别吗？

　　尽管爆炸后客机内部充满了烟雾，但所有379名乘客都能够逃生。

　　安全专家John Cox指出：“那个机身保护了他们免受一场可怕的火灾——它在一段时间内没有烧穿，让所有人都能逃出来。”

　　Goglia表示，没有真正的证据表明复合材料或铝在抵抗火焰以保护人们方面哪个更好。

　　然而，日本航空公司航班上的一名乘客表示，烟雾“刺痛”得很厉害。

　　安全专家和前波音工程师Todd Curtis警告说，由危险烟雾引起的伤害可能需要很长时间才能显现。事故中的乘客通常会处于震惊状态，往往无法认识到自己的伤害。

　　专家们还关注的另一个问题是，消防员扑灭火焰所花费的时间。照片显示，日本航空公司航班在跑道附近烧毁的残骸。飞机机身几乎完全被火焰摧毁。

　　2013年，伦敦希思罗机场发生了一起涉及埃塞俄比亚航空公司波音787的火灾，这场火灾很难扑灭。安全专家Curtis说，“扑灭火焰所需的努力比一般的客机火灾要大得多。”Curtis说，他当时就担心复合材料机身的火灾。

　　他说，这些担忧并未消失。

　　我是Mario Ritter Jr.

　　David Koenig为美联社报道了这个故事。Mario Ritter Jr.为美国之音学习英语改编了它。

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

　　这个故事中的词汇

　　collide –v.通常因为两个物体都在运动，所以以力量相撞

　　composite–adj. 由至少两种不同的材料组成

　　fiber –n. 一种长而细的材料

　　certification –n. 对产品进行官方批准以供工业或公众使用的过程

　　resin –n. 一种使物体紧密粘合在一起的物质

　　sting –v. 引起剧烈的疼痛