1.1.1 Disaster X: What happened?
• Describe the events of the disaster and the events leading up to it. You do not need to include any in-depth discussion of causes.
o Basically, just give a very brief play-by-play of what happened.
1.1.2 The technology/engineering involved (use a more descriptive heading for your particular topic)
• Describe the technology involved
o Describe its manufacture, if relevant
o Describe the testing procedures, if relevant
Figure 1.1 Figure 1.1 Image of the Challenger Shuttle explosion (http://images.jsc.nasa.gov, 2009.
2. The Investigation of Disaster X
2.1 The Investigation
Describe how the accident was investigated
• Who did the investigating?
• How did they determine what happened?
E.g. A Board of Inquiry was commissioned to investigate the crash. They reviewed cockpit-ground control transcripts, reviewed the data from the black box, examined the crash site, reconstructed the airplane, tested a number of parts and materials from the original plane and a second identical intact plane, and created computer simulations of the accident.
2.2 Findings
• What caused the accident?
• Who was at fault?
2.3 Recommendations
• What recommendations were made by the inquiry in terms of:
o Consequences for those at fault.
o New policies for the organization
o Consequences for the technology
? Did they recommend it be redesigned or terminated
? Did they recommend new testing procedures
3. Impact on Engineering Practices
• What was learned?
o Was the technology redesigned or terminated?
o How was it redesigned?
• What is being done differently now?
o Were new standards developed?
o Was new legislation proposed or passed?
4. Conclusion
• Briefly restate the thesis:
o specific engineering practices were changed due the events of the disaster
o technology x was redesigned due the events of the disaster
