Set window back color, show msg, and OK button. This usually involves building a mathematical model, on a computer, of the airplane and the conditions under which it crashed. These might be complex combinations of many different factors, such as weather, mechanical failure, or pilot error. Formalization represents the choices which the computer programmers must make concerning the essential features of the aircraft and the external conditions. Ideally, each important factor must be accounted for in the model, and so must all of their essential interactions.
Mathematical deduction is the investigation of possible crash scenarios within the model.
Interpretation is the part of the process that the FAA might report at a news conference. For example, if no scenario involving various pilot errors or unusual weather conditions results in a model crash at all like the actual one, then the FAA may claim that these possibilities have been ruled out, and direct their efforts to an investigation of engine failure. If, on the other hand, a model simulation of the aircraft's encounter with a windy downburst produces a close match of what was observed, then the case may be closed. Click below to open an associated Studyworks worksheet. Inc. All rights reserved.