

George Bibel
The black box is orange—and there are actually two of them. They house the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder, instruments vital to airplane crash analyses.
But accident investigators cannot rely on the black boxes alone. Beginning with the 1931 Fokker F-10A crash that killed legendary football coach Knute Rockne, this fascinating book provides a behind-the-scenes look at plane wreck investigations. Professor George Bibel shows how forensic experts, scientists, and engineers analyze factors like impact, debris, loading, fire patterns, metallurgy, fracture, crash testing, and...
The black box is orange—and there are actually two of them. They house the cockpit voice recorder and the flight data recorder, instruments vital to airplane crash analyses.
But accident investigators cannot rely on the black boxes alone. Beginning with the 1931 Fokker F-10A crash that killed legendary football coach Knute Rockne, this fascinating book provides a behind-the-scenes look at plane wreck investigations. Professor George Bibel shows how forensic experts, scientists, and engineers analyze factors like impact, debris, loading, fire patterns, metallurgy, fracture, crash testing, and human tolerances to determine why planes fall from the sky—and how the information gleaned from accident reconstruction is incorporated into aircraft design and operation to keep commercial aviation as safe as possible.
The author does a first-rate job... The easy-to-read and engaging manner of the writing makes this an interesting historical as well as scientific text.
Bibel takes the reader, chattily and with skill, through his analysis of a series of fatal accidents.
Offering insights into how aviation accident investigations are conducted, Bibel addresses the causes of such accidents, from in-flight breakup to metal fatigue and combustion, and the lessons learned. Enriched with many drawings, graphs, and equations... Highly recommended.
A fascinating book.
The author succeeds in both science and storytelling.
The easy-to-read and engaging manner of the writing makes this an interesting historical as well as scientific text.
Beyond the Black Box provides a behind-the-scenes look at plane crash investigations.
Bibel takes responsibility for his readers' understanding... using similes based on everyday events and objects.
Terrific book.
A good book that explains how and why airplanes can crash through descriptions of a wide variety of crashes and near-crashes followed by explanations of the science that governed those incidents. The stories of the accidents, and their explanations, read like mysteries; I found myself reading faster to get to the end of the story and find out why things happened the way they did. Bibel clearly has a love for all things aeronautical and that shines through on every page.
Preface
1. The Crash Investigation Process
2. How Planes (Often) Crash
3. In-Flight Breakup
4. Pressure, Explosive Decompression, and Burst Balloons
5. Jet Propulsion, Burst Engines, and Reliability
6
Preface
1. The Crash Investigation Process
2. How Planes (Often) Crash
3. In-Flight Breakup
4. Pressure, Explosive Decompression, and Burst Balloons
5. Jet Propulsion, Burst Engines, and Reliability
6. Metal Fatigue: Bending 777s and Paper Clips
7. Combustion: Fire and Explosion
8. Crash Testing
9. Human Tolerances to G Loads and Crash Forces
Notes
References
Index
with Hopkins Press Books