London - British scientists have helped invent a bomb-proof bag that could allow passengers to survive future Lockerbie-style terrorist attacks.
The material, which is just 1.4mm thick, is capable of containing explosions - potentially allowing flights to stay in the air and land safely even after the detonation of a device in the hold.
The bags have previously passed tests in a blast laboratory at Sheffield University, and now it has emerged that trials on actual aircraft - at Cotswold Airport in Gloucestershire - have also been successful. The ultra-thin lining has been several years in development as part of a EU-funded Fly-Bag programme involving seven countries, in a bid to prevent a repeat of the Lockerbie bombing in 1988 in which 270 people died.
It can be used to contain passenger luggage and is designed to withstand temperatures of 3 000C and a blast shockwave at a speed of 20 000mph, as well as containing shrapnel from an explosion.
Several explosions were set off in luggage inside the bomb-proof bags in the holds of two disused passenger jets last week - with no major damage caused. Scientists then removed the bomb-proof material and set off explosions to show what would happen - with the Boeing 747 and Airbus A321 left with huge gaping holes in their sides.
Dr Andy Tyas, from Sheffield University's department of civil and structural engineering, said: “We placed sensors around the hold of the aircraft during testing to determine what damage had been caused to the aircraft during the explosions. Preliminary indications show that there was no major damage.”
Dr Tyas, one of the lead researchers on the Fly-Bag project, described the results as “extremely promising” and added: “Key to the concept is that the lining is flexible and this adds to its resilience when containing the explosive force and any fragments produced.”
The fabric is impregnated with shear thickening fluids, which strengthen in response to sudden force, and has four layers of material, including aramid - which is used in body armour. The bag is also coated with an elastomer - to enable it to stretch and withstand the extreme pressure of a bomb blast without breaking. Hundreds of items of passenger luggage could be placed in each bomb-proof bag before being stored in the hold.
The technology is an alternative to existing reinforced containers for luggage which are viewed as too heavy and expensive by many airlines, and is just months away from being commercially available, claimed a spokesperson for the Fly-Bag project, based in Genoa, Italy.
“It will probably be on the market after the end of the research project, ie after September 2015,” they told The Independent. Meetings with potential customers are being planned, with airlines from Europe and the US having shown an interest, the spokesperson added.
The British Airline Pilots' Association welcomed the news of the technological advance.
A spokesperosn said: “Pilots strongly support research into how to make flights as safe as possible, and combat threats whenever they arise. We hope the aviation industry looks at the potential in this emerging technology and how to make the most of it in the interests of the safety of our passengers.”
The Independent