TAMWORTH, Australia, March 4 (UPI) -- BAE Systems Australia has completed safety modifications for CT-4B training aircraft used by the Australian military.
The company said the incorporation of crash protection modifications, in line with contemporary civil aviation standards, will ensure that the fleet of CT-4Bs at a facility in Tamworth, New South Wales, will be capable of providing safe and effective flight screening and basic flight training in the future.
The modifications provide additional protection for pilots, including a new seat design that absorbs greater dynamic loads in a crash situation.
BAE, in partnership with Aeronautical Engineers Australia, successfully conducted dynamic testing on the new seat at the Autoliv Australia Test Center in Victoria in late February.
The complex test program involved several test runs of a modified CT-4B fuselage along a test track, occupied by a heavily instrumented Hybrid-III Anthropometric Test Dummy.
BAE and AEA will work with Australia's Civil Aviation Safety Authority to achieve a Supplemental Type Certificate for the CT-4B to meet federal regulations.
