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In an effort to advance the state of aircraft flight control, NASA has initiated theIntegrated Resilient Aircraft Control (IRAC) project. The long-term goal of theproject is to arrive at a set of validated, integrated aircraft control design tools thatenable safe landing in the presence of adverse conditions. Adverse conditionsinclude point-source damage events such as that experienced in 2003 when anAirbus A300 operated by DHL was struck by a surface-to-air missile shortly aftertake-off from Baghdad, resulting in severe damage to both the aileron and rearspar of one wing. A more recent example occurred in July of 2008 when aBoeing 747-438 operated by Qantas Airways incurred significant fuselagedamage due to the explosion of an on-board oxygen tank. In light of these kindsof serious adverse flight conditions, the Cornell Fracture Group (CFG) isdeveloping a finite element-based fracture mechanics analysis methodology topredict growth of point-source damage within airframe structures under realisticconditions and in real-time.