Analyzing Aircraft Controllability After Engine Failure During Takeoff in Adverse Weather Conditions

When an aircraft experiences an engine failure during takeoff, it must be able to either reject or continue the takeoff without exceeding the longitudinal or lateral dimensions of the usable runway. This paper focuses on the lateral deviation. During certification, the minimum control speed ground is determined in certification tests; at this speed, the allowable maximum lateral deviation is 30 ft. These tests are done with a free castering nose wheel and other requirements such as not using ailerons. These are all V-mcg increasing factors. On the other hand, the aircraft manufacturer chooses the most favorable conditions, new tires, a dry runway, and no crosswind. It is unclear if the free castering nose wheel is a stringent-enough requirement to compensate for reduced runway friction, and the effect of crosswind is not considered in the certification tests. Furthermore, the rejected takeoff condition is not certified against a lateral excursion limit. Therefore, in this paper, a model is developed to determine the lateral deviation in a continued as well as a rejected takeoff, including the effect of pilot reaction time, runway surface condition, and crosswind. For the present evaluation, a Boeing 737-300 model was used.