Incident: Unplanned Surge in Engine Power Causes Osprey Aircraft to Lift Off Deck

Published Date: 2011-10-13

Postmortem Analysis
Timeline 1. The software failure incident involving the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor occurred in March 2006 as reported in Article 8202.
System unknown
Responsible Organization unknown
Impacted Organization 1. The U.S. military's V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft experienced a software failure incident that caused it to fly upward out of control, resulting in major damage to the right wing and engine [8202].
Software Causes unknown
Non-software Causes 1. Unplanned surge in engine power causing the aircraft to lift off the deck and sustain major damage to the right wing and engine [8202]. 2. Design flaws and compromises in the V-22's construction, including issues with hydraulic lines, rotor length, engine thrust, and engine heat management [8202]. 3. Accidents and incidents related to engine fires, engine failures, hard landings, and landing gear collapses [8202].
Impacts 1. The software failure incident resulted in the aircraft, a V-22 Osprey tiltrotor, experiencing an unplanned surge in engine power, causing it to inadvertently lift off the deck and fly upward out of control, leading to major damage to the right wing and right engine [8202]. 2. The incident led to tweaks being made to the V-22's engine controls as a result of the investigation conducted by the Navy and manufacturers Bell and Boeing [8202]. 3. The software failure incident caused significant financial impact, with the cost to repair the self-flying Osprey totaling $7,068,028 [8202]. 4. The incident highlighted discrepancies in reporting and classification of mishaps, with the Marines neglecting to include certain serious accidents in their tally of flight mishaps for the Osprey, potentially due to under-reporting of repair costs and the "intent for flight" loophole [8202].
Preventions 1. Implementing more rigorous testing procedures during the development phase to identify and address potential issues before deployment [8202]. 2. Conducting thorough investigations into incidents like engine fires and failures to understand root causes and implement preventive measures [8202]. 3. Ensuring accurate and transparent reporting of software-related mishaps to track and address recurring issues [8202]. 4. Regularly updating and improving the software controls and systems to enhance safety and reliability [8202].
Fixes 1. Implementing comprehensive software updates to address any glitches or faults in the V-22 Osprey's engine controls [8202]. 2. Conducting thorough investigations into the causes of the unintended takeoff incident and making necessary adjustments to prevent similar occurrences in the future [8202]. 3. Enhancing the reporting and tracking mechanisms for aircraft mishaps to ensure accurate and transparent documentation of incidents, including engine fires and other failures [8202]. 4. Reevaluating the classification criteria for flight mishaps to ensure that all relevant incidents are appropriately categorized and addressed [8202].
References 1. The Naval Safety Center [8202] 2. Marine Corps officials [8202] 3. Bell and Boeing (manufacturers of the V-22) [8202] 4. Military records [8202] 5. Analysts' studies [8202]

Software Taxonomy of Faults

Category Option Rationale
Recurring unknown (a) In the provided articles, there is no mention of a software failure incident happening again at the same organization or with its products and services. Therefore, there is no specific information available regarding a similar incident happening again within the same organization. (b) The articles do not discuss a similar software failure incident happening again at other organizations or with their products and services. Hence, there is no relevant information provided in the articles about a similar incident occurring at multiple organizations.
Phase (Design/Operation) unknown The articles do not provide information about a software failure incident related to the development phases, specifically design or operation. Therefore, the information regarding failure due to contributing factors introduced by system development, system updates, or procedures to operate or maintain the system is unknown.
Boundary (Internal/External) outside_system (a) within_system: The articles do not provide information about a software failure incident related to contributing factors originating from within the system. (b) outside_system: The incident reported in the articles is related to an aircraft, the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor, experiencing an unplanned surge in engine power that caused it to inadvertently lift off the deck and sustain major damage to the right wing and engine [8202]. This incident was not classified as a serious flying accident by the Marines and the Naval Safety Center because the aircraft wasn't supposed to take off at that moment, and there was no intent for flight, thus not being considered a flight problem [8202].
Nature (Human/Non-human) human_actions (a) The software failure incident occurring due to non-human actions: - The article does not mention any software failure incident caused by non-human actions. Therefore, there is no relevant information available in the articles regarding this aspect. (b) The software failure incident occurring due to human actions: - The article discusses various incidents related to the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, including an accidental takeoff in March 2006 that resulted in a hard landing and significant damage to the aircraft [8202]. - The incidents mentioned in the article, such as engine fires, engine failures, and accidents, could be attributed to human actions related to maintenance, design flaws, or operational errors.
Dimension (Hardware/Software) unknown The articles do not provide information about a software failure incident related to either hardware or software.
Objective (Malicious/Non-malicious) unknown The articles do not provide information about a software failure incident related to either a malicious or non-malicious objective.
Intent (Poor/Accidental Decisions) unknown The articles do not mention any software failure incident related to poor decisions or accidental decisions.
Capability (Incompetence/Accidental) unknown The articles do not mention any software failure incident related to development incompetence or accidental factors.
Duration unknown The articles do not mention any software failure incident related to the duration of the failure being permanent or temporary.
Behaviour unknown (a) crash: The articles do not mention any software failure incident related to a crash. (b) omission: The articles do not mention any software failure incident related to omission. (c) timing: The articles do not mention any software failure incident related to timing. (d) value: The articles do not mention any software failure incident related to value. (e) byzantine: The articles do not mention any software failure incident related to a byzantine behavior. (f) other: The articles do not provide information on any specific software failure incident behavior.

IoT System Layer

Layer Option Rationale
Perception None None
Communication None None
Application None None

Other Details

Category Option Rationale
Consequence death, harm, property (a) death: People lost their lives due to the software failure - The article mentions a fatal incident where an Air Force CV-22 crashed under mysterious circumstances in Afghanistan, resulting in the loss of life [8202]. (b) harm: People were physically harmed due to the software failure - The article reports on various incidents where individuals were physically harmed due to V-22 accidents, such as a Marine crew chief being killed when he fell from a V-22 in Afghanistan [8202]. (d) property: People's material goods, money, or data was impacted due to the software failure - The software failure incident resulted in significant damage to the V-22 aircraft, with repair costs totaling millions of dollars in some cases [8202].
Domain transportation, government (a) The failed system was intended to support the production and distribution of information. The incident involved the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, which is used for military purposes and transportation. The system failure incident reported in the article did not specifically mention any software failure related to the production and distribution of information. (b) The failed system was intended to support transportation, specifically the military transport provided by the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft. The incident described in the article highlighted an unplanned surge in engine power that caused the aircraft to lift off the deck, resulting in major damage to the right wing and engine [8202]. (c) The failed system was not directly related to the extraction of materials from Earth. (d) The failed system was not directly related to sales or the exchange of money for products. (e) The failed system was not directly related to the construction industry. (f) The failed system was not directly related to the manufacturing industry. (g) The failed system was not directly related to utilities such as power, gas, steam, water, and sewage services. (h) The failed system was not directly related to the finance industry or the manipulation and movement of money for profit. (i) The failed system was not directly related to the knowledge industry, education, research, or space exploration. (j) The failed system was not directly related to the health industry, healthcare, health insurance, or food industries. (k) The failed system was not directly related to the entertainment industry, arts, sports, hospitality, or tourism. (l) The failed system was indirectly related to the government industry as it involved a military aircraft, the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor, which is used for military purposes [8202]. (m) The failed system was not directly related to any other specific industry mentioned in the options.

Sources

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