International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET)
e-ISSN: 2395-0056
Volume: 12 Issue: 10 | Oct 2025
p-ISSN: 2395-0072
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Quantitative Analysis of Lift, Drag and Energy in Air India AI171 Accident -Prabhjot --------------------------------------------------------***---------------------------------------------------------------Abstract - Aviation accidents, though statistically rare, remain a critical focus area in safety engineering and
aerodynamics research. The study investigates the causes, trends, and mitigation strategies related to aviation accidents, emphasizing aerodynamic failures such as stall, loss of lift, drag imbalance, and structural fatigue. By analyzing historical accident data from 2000–2025, the paper quantifies the fatality rate per million population and correlates it with aerodynamic factors influencing aircraft stability and control. A mathematical model is proposed to estimate the fatality rate (F) as a function of total fatalities, population exposure, and flight frequency. The findings indicate that improvements in aerodynamic design, such as enhanced laminar flow control and adaptive wing structures, have significantly reduced accident rates. However, pilot error and weather-induced aerodynamic anomalies continue to pose challenges. The study concludes with recommendations for integrating real-time aerodynamic monitoring and AI-based control systems to minimize risks in future aviation operations.
1. Introduction: Aviation safety is a complex issue determined by technological, aerodynamic, and human factors. Although one of the safest transport modes, aviation accidents may produce disastrous effects. Most accidents are directly or indirectly connected to aerodynamic irregularities — such as stall conditions, boundary layer separation, degradation of lift, and turbulence-induced instability. Aerodynamics thus is the center of accident prevention and aircraft performance optimization. Aerodynamic design evolution — from fixed-wing optimization to active flow control — has been instrumental in improving flight safety. Yet, the intricacy of real-environment phenomena like wind shear, icing, and compressibility effects close to transonic speeds can still cause loss-of-control (LOC) modes. Knowledge of these aerodynamic phenomena informs accident mechanisms and underlies predictive safety models. For the evaluation of the social impact of aviation accidents, quantitative risk models are needed. The fatality rate per million population offers a normalized measure of the safety performance of aviation in different regions and over different time periods. This research combines aerodynamic theory with statistical analysis of accidents to offer an overall appreciation of aviation risk. Aviation accidents are unforeseen and frequently disastrous occurrences of aircraft in flight, takeoff, or landing that cause extensive damage, harm, or loss of lives. Even though aviation is one of the safest means of transportation, accidents still take place because they are caused by a mixture of human, technical, mechanical, environmental, and aerodynamic factors. Accidents must be understood in order to enhance aircraft design, flight operations, and general aviation security systems. The majority of aviation crashes result from a series of events instead of one single cause. Aerodynamic problems including stall, loss of lift, instability due to turbulence, and malfunction of control surfaces are some of the prime contributors. For example, when wind flow above the wings is disrupted by too high an angle of attack or bad weather, lift reduces precipitously, leading to a stall — one of the most common reasons for loss-of-control (LOC) crashes. Sophisticated aircraft have been built with automated systems to warn of and avoid such scenarios, but sensor malfunctions or improper pilot responses can still be disastrous. Aside from aerodynamics, pilot mistake, mechanical failure, inappropriate maintenance, miscommunication of air traffic, and poor weather can also play a role. As an illustration, malfunctioning Angle of Attack (AoA) sensors on new planes like the Boeing 737 MAX resulted in faulty inputs to the control system, leading to fatal crashes in Indonesia (2018) and Ethiopia (2019). Aerodynamic overloads and structural failures in or during illegal maneuvers or turbulence have also brought about crashes in past decades. Current research in aviation safety targets aerodynamic optimization, flight control redundancy, real-time measurement of aerodynamic parameters, and pilot training through flight simulators. These initiatives are intended to reduce risk factors and increase the robustness of aircraft against aerodynamic and environmental uncertainties. Every accident, although
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