American Notes: Air Safety

Authorities in Tucson recently learned that explosives will be detonated in more than two-dozen aircraft beginning this week, but they are not trying to stop the bombings. In this case the Federal Aviation Administration will have a hand in the blasting.

Thanks to last year's disarmament agreements with the former Soviet Union, 30 B-52 bombers are among the weapons that will be destroyed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. The demolition provides the FAA with a chance to learn how to design passenger airliners that are more resistant to terrorist explosives. "The B-52s are a real windfall," says Lyle Malotky, the FAA's scientific adviser for aviation security. "When we laid out this program two years ago, we didn't expect to have such resources."

Sorting through the debris of terrorist bombings like that of Pan Am Flight 103, which killed 259 passengers, investigators found that while the blast blew a hole in the plane's fuselage, the breakup of the aircraft was caused by cracks that allowed the craft's skin to peel away. The theoretical answer: use materials that prevent cracks from forming, and the plane's structural , integrity will be maintained to allow for a safe landing. The B-52 bombings will help determine how much force will punch a hole in an airliner's skin.