Acoustic blockage-detection system could prevent aircraft accidents

Pitots, which provide airspeed data, have played a role in several aircraft accidents, including the fatal Air France Flight 447 in 2009. New research by aerospace engineers at the University of Bristol has found that an acoustic blockage-detection system could prevent future accidents by making pilots aware of a blocked Pitot before a situation becomes critical. Acoustic methods have been used for detecting blockages in pipes and even the ears of newborn babies for many years. The study, published in Journal of Aircraft , set out to discover if similar methods could be used for real aircraft Pitot tubes, which can contain irregular shapes and passages, without needing a very complicated detection method. The approach has been proposed before, but no substantial data, either experimental or simulated, has been published until now. The researchers wanted to find out if it would be possible to detect common blockage types that aircraft face, including tape, ice and insects. Three Pitot-statics from two different commercial aircraft were X-rayed by a CT scanner and an acoustic study was carried out to find out the variation between blocked and unblocked reflected acoustic waves.