Basic Science and Art of Aircraft Wreckage Reconstruction, Second Edition

Don Knutson has performed hundreds of crash investigations domestically and internationally involving various models of civilian and military aircraft since 1991. He is President of Knutson Aviation Services, a consulting firm specializing in aircraft accident and wreckage reconstruction, airframe and power plant system failure analysis, and air safety education and research. Don has developed and taught college and continuing education courses on aircraft accident investigation for the Wichita State University Aerospace Engineering, Lewis University Aviation, and Capitol Technology University Aerospace Accident and Failure Analysis programs. For Boeing's military operations in Wichita, he instructed engineers in basic and advanced topics on supporting US Air Force crash investigations. Prior to starting KAS, Don was with Boeing as a Flight Test Engineer. He was the Director of Aviation for a forensic engineering firm, and he worked as an engineer and air safety investigator for Beech Aircraft Company where he evaluated mechanical system designs and was the engineering liaison between Beech and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and foreign government investigation agencies. He served as a Designated NTSB Representative for several international AAIs and helped train new air safety investigators during field investigations. Don is a full member of the International Society of Air Safety Investigators, a Technical Counselor and Young Eagles Pilot for the Experimental Aircraft Association, a certified fire and explosion investigator, and serves on a technical committee involving standard development of general aviation aircraft for the American Society for Testing and Materials International. He is an FAA-certified Airframe and Powerplant Mechanic (since 1981) and pilot.