Join us for our SWMA talk “Help, my airplane is on fire! – How to design composite aircraft interiors for FST regulations” by Dr Chris Dighton, an Advanced Sector Engineer at the National Composites Centre on Thursday 2nd May from 6:15pm in B004 Engineering Central, Swansea University Bay Campus & Online via Zoom. All are welcome. There will be the usual free food and drinks served before the talk begins at 6:30pm.

Talk Summary: Aircraft interiors are designed to meet stringent safety regulations to allow the swift disembarkation of passengers and crew, and to allow as much time as possible for this to be undertaken. A recent example of this was the Japan Airlines Flight 516, where after a runway collision all 379 passengers and crew members slid down emergency chutes and survived, with only the pilot sustaining injuries. Whilst the crew gave a masterclass in safely leading the evacuation, the aircraft interior of the Airbus A350 will have played a part in maximising the length of time for this to occur.

This talk will give an overview to the Fire, Smoke, and Toxicity requirements of aircrafts, cover the FST appropriate materials that are currently used for aircraft interiors, and introduce some novel materials and architectures that could be used in the future.

Biography: Dr Chris Dighton is an Advanced Sector Engineer at the National Composites Centre in Bristol. He is the Fire, Smoke, and Toxicity working group chair, and co-ordinates the NCC FST strategy and related projects. As part of the Aerospace Structural Systems and Interiors team, he acts as a technical authority or in governance roles for projects concerning landing gear systems and interiors.