Defect trend analysis of C-130 environmental control system by data mining of maintenance history

Environmental Control System (ECS) of an aircraft mainly consists of Air Conditioning and Pressurization systems. Both the systems are closely associated with each other and any malfunction in one may affect performance of the other. The ECS as a whole therefore is very critical for any aircraft flying at high altitudes and carrying passengers. Any abnormal behavior of the Cabin Pressurization or Air Conditioning system will not only have adverse affects on the aircraft structure, on-board electronic equipment and will also create discomfort for the occupants. C-130 aircraft is being used all over the world for military as well as civil purposes. It performs variety of operations in both the sphere which include short as well as long-haul flights at low as well as high altitudes carrying load and passengers. Present research was focused on applying a structured approach to identify and analyze ECS problems to minimize its occurrences to and suggest measures to avoid their recurrence. The defects data for ECS was collected from an aviation organization operating this aircraft under wide ranging temperature conditions from sub zero to over 55 degree Celsius, various roles and diverse geographical locations.