Fire Resistant Aircraft Unit Load Devices and Fire Containment Covers: A New Development in the Global Air Cargo Industry

Glenn Baxter,Kyriakos Kourousis,Graham Wild

doi:10.5028/jatm.v6i2.327

Glenn Baxter, Kyriakos Kourousis + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.5028/jatm.v6i2.327

Copy DOI

Abstract

Unit load devices (ULDs) are pallets and containers which are used to carry air cargo, mail and passenger baggage on wide-body aircraft. This paper analyses two important recent developments in the suppression of fires on freighter aircraft - fire resistant containers and fire containment covers for palletised cargo. In July 2013, United Parcel Service (UPS) placed an industry-first order for 1,821 fire-resistant shipping containers; this represented a major milestone in aviation history, offering unprecedented protection from intense fires on the airline's freighter aircraft. The new fire-resistant containers have been designed to withstand intense fires of four hours duration or longer, in order to provide pilots with sufficient time to land their aircraft during such an emergency. Fire containment covers have also been developed to enhance safety on freighter aircraft by isolating individual palletised cargo under special fire retardant covers that are capable of withstanding the intense heat and explosions associated with the ignition of dangerous goods.

Highlights

Innovation initiatives are becoming exceptionally important for firms seeking greater competitiveness (Maldonado et al, 2009)
Airlines utilise special containers that are designed to fit the lower deck belly holds of their wide-body passenger aircraft, together with specially designed containers to fit the main deck of their freighter aircraft (Baxter, 2011; Morrell, 2011)
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended that the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) require active fire-suppression systems in all cargo compartments of aircraft, the development of fire resistant containers/unit load devices (ULDs), and to improve the early detection of fires within cargo containers (ULDs) and pallets (Jansen, 2012; Sperry, 2012)

Summary

INTRODUCTION

Innovation initiatives are becoming exceptionally important for firms seeking greater competitiveness (Maldonado et al, 2009). An aircraft pallet and its net and/or igloo, and/or aircraft container, enable individual pieces of air cargo and passengers baggage to be assembled into a standard size unit which expedites the loading and unloading of aircraft having compatible handling and restraint systems during the aircraft’s ground turnaround time (Allaz, 2004). The dimensions (and capacities) of the aircraft container ULDs used by the world’s airlines depend on the aircraft flown and are often closed aluminium devices Their size and shape depend on whether they are loaded onto lower or upper aircraft decks and whether they have been designed for use on narrow or wide-bodied aircraft (Reynolds-Feighan, 2013). The shell is used in conjunction with the aircraft pallet but does not provide any structural strength (Ashford et al, 2011)

BACKGROUND

Findings

CONCLUSIONS