NASA's Fuel Fiasco: Boeing 720 Crash Tests Additive

NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) joined forces in 1984 to conduct an experiment known as the Controlled Impact Demonstration. The goal was to determine whether a special fuel additive called FM-9 could reduce the risk of post-crash fires.

The teams used an obsolete Boeing 720, which was modified to be flown remotely without a flight crew on board. Before the final crash, engineers conducted 14 preliminary flights with safety pilots aboard while introducing the modified fuel and monitoring engine performance.

On December 1, 1984, the remotely controlled aircraft completed a nine-minute flight before crashing into steel structures installed on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base. The impact did not go as planned, with the left wing striking the ground before reaching the intended target, resulting in a large fuel leak and fire.

The test produced two different outcomes: FM-9 failed to deliver the expected fire-reduction effect seen in earlier tests, while the crash generated significant full-scale data on aircraft structure and passenger survivability.