FLY-BAG - Blastworthy textile-based luggage containers for aviation security

The current threat of worldwide terrorism requires effective measures to protect aircrafts against bombs concealed within cargo. Despite the advancements in scanning technologies and the efforts carried out by governments and international bodies after the Lockerbie disaster of 1988, the eventuality that small-medium explosive devices could get undetected cannot be ruled out, as demonstrated by the attempted “Cargo planes bombing plot” in October 2010. A complementary passive security measure is thus needed.

The FLY-BAG consortium has developed a hybrid textile-composite luggage container with blast containment capabilities, protecting the airframe and passengers, exploiting high strength technical textiles and energy absorbing composites. Unlike the hardened ULDs that briefly appeared on the market in the 1990s, the FLY-BAG container is light, flexible and affordably priced; moreover it is suitable for narrow body aircrafts.

Prototypes have been successfully assembled and tested in loading operations on an Airbus A319 in November 2010; full scale blast tests have been performed in January 2011. The outcome was a complete success, with a FLY-BAG prototype able to resist four consecutive blasts of increasing energy, up to a level that would almost ceretainly cause collapse of an airplane. The prototype was substantially intact and mantained all its functionalities after the blasts.

FLY-BAG is an FP7 Collaborative project funded by the European Commission under theme Transport AAT.2007.5.1.1.