Controlled Impact Demonstration 
On the morning of December 1, 1984, a remotely controlled Boeing 720 transport took off from Edwards Air Force Base,
made a left-hand departure and climbed to 2300 feet. It then began a descent-to-landing to a specially prepared runway on the
east side of Rogers Dry Lake. Final approach was along the roughly 3.8-degree glideslope. The landing gear was left retracted.
Passing the decision height of 150 feet AGL, it was slightly to the right of the desired path. Just above that decision point for the
pilot to execute a "go-around," there appeared to be enough altitude to maneuver back to the centerline of the runway. Data
acquisition systems had been activated, and the aircraft was committed to impact. It contacted the ground, left wing low. The
fire and smoke took over an hour to extinguish
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about the test below photographs
 
   
 
 
  
 
 
  
 
 
  

 
This flight, called the Controlled Impact Demonstration (CID), was the culmination of more than a year's preparation in a joint
research project by NASA and the FAA to test the effectiveness of anti-misting kerosene (AMK) in a so-called survivable
impact. Added to typical Jet A fuel, the AMK was designed to suppress the fireball that can result from an impact in which the
airstream causes spilled fuel to vaporize into a mist.
The plane was also instrumented for a variety of other impact-survivability experiments, including new seat designs, flight data
recorders, galley and stowage-bin attachments, cabin fire-proof materials, and burn-resistant windows. Crash forces were
measured, and a full complement of instrumented crash test dummies was carried on the flight.
The aircraft was remotely flown by NASA research pilot Fitz Fulton from the NASA Dryden Remotely Controlled Vehicle
Facility. Previously, the 720 had been flown on 14 practice flights with safety pilots onboard. During the 14 flights, there were
16 hours and 22 minutes of remotely-piloted-vehicle control, including 10 remotely piloted takeoffs, 69
remotely-piloted-vehicle controlled approaches, and 13 remotely-piloted-vehicle landings on abort runway 25.
It was planned that the aircraft would land wings-level and exactly on the centerline during the CID, thus allowing the fuselage
to remain intact as the wings got sliced open by eight posts cemented into the runway. The Boeing 720 landed askew and
caused a cabin fire when burning fuel was able to enter the fuselage.
It was not exactly the impact that was hoped for, but research from the CID program yielded new data on impact survivability
which helped establish new FAA rules regarding fire prevention and retardant materials. Although proponents argued that
AMK prevented a hotter, more catastrophic fire during the CID, FAA requirements for the additive were put on the back
burner. 
 

 
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