Lesson plan
Lockheed Electra Action Program
The Lockheed Electra Action Program (LEAP) was the name of a program by Lockheed Corporation between 1960 and 1961 that was responsible for the design and deployment of modifications to the Lockheed L-188 Electra aircraft to resolve a critical fault that had caused two fatal airline crashes. The investigations of the crashes of Braniff Airways Flight 542 and Northwest Airlines Flight 710 revealed that a previously unanticipated phenomenon called "whirl mode wing flutter" could occur in certain circumstances, and when it did, it would lead to a rapid failure of the wings of the aircraft. Lockheed implemented LEAP to design the needed structural changes to the aircraft to prevent whirl mode wing flutter from occurring and to apply retroactive modifications to all Electras that were already in service. The changes were successful in resolving the issue, and modifications to the final aircraft were completed on July 5, 1961.
Article summary
The Lockheed Electra Action Program (LEAP) was the name of a program by Lockheed Corporation between 1960 and 1961 that was responsible for the design and deployment of modifications to the Lockheed L-188 Electra aircraft to resolve a critical fault that had caused two fatal airline crashes. The investigations of the crashes of Braniff Airways Flight 542 and Northwest Airlines Flight 710 revealed that a previously unanticipated phenomenon called "whirl mode wing flutter" could occur in certain circumstances, and when it did, it would lead to a rapid failure of the wings of the aircraft. Lockheed implemented LEAP to design the needed structural changes to the aircraft to prevent whirl mode wing flutter from occurring and to apply retroactive modifications to all Electras that were already in service. The changes were successful in resolving the issue, and modifications to the final aircraft were completed on July 5, 1961.
Key claims
No claims recorded.
Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
No sources recorded.
Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.