Crack Growth Analysis of the Landing Gear Pull Rod of the Fighter Jet Aircraft

This paper describes the problem of searching for the causes of damage in the form of rupture of a strength member of the main landing gear. There have been two incidents noted which both occurred during hangar storage. It should be pointed out that the two occurrences mentioned concern a particular aircraft currently in operation, and that these incidents occurred a few days after the last flight.

This article presents part of the investigation process needed to determine the causes of cracks in the test item. The crack growth analysis of the pull rod was performed using the NASGRO software. In order to perform the calculations, the information was gathered during previously conducted material studies and flight tests.