Japan Plane Crash Offers Test of Carbon-Composite Aircraft Construction

The Japan Airlines Co. passenger aircraft that burned on the runway of Tokyo’s Haneda Airport on Jan. 2 was the first civilian aircraft with an outer structure made largely of carbon composites to be lost in a fire. That gives investigators and aircraft designers an opportunity to collect vital information about the material’s response to stress and intense heat. Though the Airbus SE A350 aircraft quickly erupted in flames after colliding with a smaller Japanese coast guard plane, all 367 passengers and 12 crew members made it off the aircraft safely. For the next six hours, the widebody plane burned until it was reduced to a charred wreck, with only its wings remaining somewhat intact.

Both Airbus and rival Boeing Co. have developed jets using carbon composite material, which weighs significantly less than traditional aluminum. That saves fuel and reduces carbon dioxide emissions. The A350 is the European manufacturer’s first carbon composite aircraft; Boeing’s is the 787 Dreamliner. These planes are built using carbon fiber reinforced polymers, which consist of microscopic carbon fibers held together with a plastic resin. Airbus claims this composite material offers a better strength-to-weight ratio than metals, is less sensitive to fatigue and corrosion and needs less maintenance. The composition of the A350 is 53% carbon composites, Airbus said. Along with lightweight metals such as titanium, those composites help the plane burn 25% less fuel than previous generations of aircraft.