The turbulent air above a wildfire is punishing to aircraft structures. The excessive and frequent loads place an inordinate number of loading cycles on an aircraft, leading to accelerated crack ...

Professor K R W Wallin is a recognised expert in the field of fracture mechanics. Indeed his work has provided a major input to the currently accepted ASTM Standard on the Master Curve Method , E1921.

The probable cause of the American Airlines Flight 587 crash on Nov. 12, 2001, was "in-flight separation of the vertical stabilizer as a result of the loads beyond ultimate design that were created by ...