Japan's Takata Corp., maker of airbags have been sued and fined for a number of times resulting to decline in sales and loss of clients.  A case of 10 deaths and 139 injuries worldwide have been reported. The airbag manufacturer uses ammonium nitrate that produces small explosion which inflates the airbag during a crash. Due to the slow pace on the investigation and lots of explanations, automakers decided to hire someone that could get the work done and explain accurately the real reason behind the incidents.

Millions of vehicles have been recalled in the United States alone because of software glitch, ignition, and most especially the with the airbag issues.  Takata has been the major supplier of these recalled vehicles and is facing left and right lawsuit and fines from different parts of the world.  To resolve and find out the reason of the issue, 10 automakers agreed for an independent investigation.

These automakers consist of Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Fiat Chrysler, Subaru, BMW, Ford, General Motors, Mitsubishi and Mazda. They created the Independent Testing Coalition and in February of last year hired the service of Orbital ATK.  The said company manufactures small arms ammunition, missile controls, rocket propulsion and warhead fuses, according to MSN.

Based on the Utah-based Orbital ATK team, the reason for the explosion is due to design and manufacturing issues, use of volatile chemical ammonium nitrate and humidity.  The investigation team said the airbag explodes because of the usage of ammonium nitrate propellant without moisture-absorbing desiccant, long period of exposure to repetitive high-temperature circulation in the presence of moisture and 'an inflator assembly that does not sufficiently stop the unwanted moisture.

Takata said on Tuesday that the findings were congruent with their own findings along with Germany's Fraunhofer Group hired by Takata to perform more testing.  On the same day, NHTSA said in a statement that, "all Takata ammonium nitrate-based inflators must eventually be recalled unless Takata can establish their long-term safety," including those with the drying agent, as reported by The Globe and Mail.

According to Sun Times Network, David Kelly, previous acting administrator of NHTSA and the project manager of the coalition said that since ammonium nitrate and humidity have discussed as the agents, it would be the first time that scientists have were able to pinpoint all the factors that caused the explosion.  He added that the inflator's design is getting more examined compared in the past.

The combined efforts of the 10 automakers and Orbital ATK team have led to the answers why Takata airbag explodes sending shrapnel to poor driver and passengers.  Because of the discovery, Takata will now know what improvements the company will undertake to prevent injuries and unexpected death from happening again.