Automakers hire rocket firm to probe air bag problems
DETROIT (AP) — The auto industry, fed up with slow progress toward finding the cause of air bags to explode with too much force, has hired a Virginia rocket science company to investigate the matter.
Ten automakers whose vehicles have been recalled because of problems with Takata Corp. air bags said today they have jointly hired Orbital ATK to figure out the problem. The suburban Washington, D.C., company makes rocket propulsion systems, small arms ammunition, warhead fuses and missile controls.
The companies also named David Kelly, a former acting administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, as project manager for the investigation.
Air bags inflators made by Takata of Japan can explode with too much force, sending shrapnel into car and truck cabins. At least six people have been killed and 64 injured due to the problems, which surfaced a decade ago. So far, about 17 million cars and trucks have been recalled in the U.S. to replace the inflators, but Takata has been unable to pinpoint the cause.