What better way to test a crash absorber shield than by crashing a helicopter into it? NASA basically dropped an "Army MD-500 from 35 feet, to determine whether a new honeycomb cushion made of Kevlar strapped to the bottom of the copter could absorb the brunt of the impact." Video after the break.
The test - which imitated the conditions of a "relatively severe helicopter crash" - appeared to be a success, although NASA is still going through the data collected by the 160 sensors on board.[via Gizmodo - Popsci]
