Engineering Commons^™

Deficiencies In Safe Practices By Pilots Operating General Aviation Aircraft In Weather Conducive For Icing, Douglas Boyd Phd, Thomas Guinn Phd

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Introduction: Flights of general aviation aircraft in icing conditions pose safety hazards especially since few airplanes are equipped with ice protection systems (FIKI). Herein, we sought to answer the following questions not previously addressed: (i) Has the general aviation icing-related accident rate declined over time? (ii) Which phase(s) of flight lead(s) to the highest fraction of fatal accidents? (iii) Do general aviation pilots adhere to safe practices when operating in forecasted icing?

Methods: Retrospectively, icing-related accidents were per the National Transportation Safety Board database. Prospectively, non-FIKI single-engine airplanes, operating in forecasted icing, were tracked (January–March 2023) using FlightAwareR. Presumptive icing …

Integration Of Advanced Qualification Program Into Aviation Education, Jorge L. D. Albelo, Victor Fraticelli Rivera, Robert L. Thomas

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

The Federal Aviation Administration places aviation safety as a top priority, continuously striving to improve safety standards within the National Airspace System. In 2004, the Federal Aviation Administration introduced the Advanced Qualification Program (AQP) as an alternative methodology for pilot training and evaluation. This study explores the impact of AQP-centered aviation education on student performance, particularly in the context of learning advanced jet transport systems. The AQP model, based on aligning training with operational aviation requirements, emphasizes cognitive skill training and evaluation. Theoretical foundations underpinning this study include Karp’s integrated aviation learning model, which seamlessly integrates various instructional approaches, fostering …

Impact Of Weather Factors On Airport Arrival Rates: Application Of Machine Learning In Air Transportation, Robert W. Maxson, Dothang Truong, Woojin Choi

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Weather is responsible for approximately 70% of air transportation delays in the National Airspace System, and delays resulting from convective weather alone cost airlines and passengers millions of dollars each year due to delays that could be avoided. This research sought to establish relationships between environmental variables and airport efficiency estimates by data mining archived weather and airport performance data at ten geographically and climatologically different airports. Several meaningful relationships were discovered from six out of ten airports using various machine learning methods within an overarching data mining protocol, and the developed models were tested using historical data.

Comparative Evaluation Of Investigation Methods For Estimating The Load-Dependent State Of Charge And End Of Discharge Of A Multirotor Uav Battery, Hanna Dibbern, Morten Roßberg, Claudia Werner

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

As the scope of multirotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) applications increases, more attention is being paid to UAV energy requirements, which vary depending on the mission profile. To obtain accurate information about the UAV battery during flight, the idea of a digital twin including a battery state estimation model is promising. For battery state estimation, a Kalman filter combination is the preferred approach in the literature. Comparing different Kalman filters, the unscented Kalman filter has a more accurate estimation for nonlinear systems compared to the extended Kalman filter. In the application of UAV flight with load-dependent flight missions, the comparison …

A Qualitative Ethnographic Case Study Exploring The Hispanic/Latinx Interpretations Of Collegiate Aviation Safety Culture, Jorge L. D. Albelo Ph.D., Leo G. Acosta, Flavio A. C. Mendonca Ph.D., Eugene Kim, Felipe Almodovar

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Through a combination of ethnographic principles and a qualitative case study structure, this study strives to understand how Hispanic/ Latinx aviation students perceive the current aviation safety culture in their flight training program. Grounded in the reciprocal safety culture model, the researchers attempt to answer how does Hispanic/Latinx culture influence perceptions towards commitment to aviation safety? and what are Hispanic/Latinx students’ perceptions of their ability to influence aviation safety culture? Three major themes emerged from the data: behavioral signs of safety culture at the collegiate level, obstacles to a sound safety culture, and methods to improve the safety culture. Moreover, …

Evaluating The Efficacy Of Virtual Reality (Vr) Training Devices For Pilot Training, Ryan Guthridge, Virginia Clinton-Lisell

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Virtual Reality (VR) technology is a quickly advancing field that has many documented benefits, including highly detailed environments, accuracy to the real world, and low cost of entry in the flight simulation market. At the time of this study, VR technology has not been well tested or widely accepted in the aviation industry. In this mixed methods study, quantitative and qualitative data was collected on beginning-level instrument pilots (n = 120) while performing a visual traffic pattern at an airport. A one-way ANOVA was used to evaluate the equivalence of each group in the study based on previous flight and …

A Literary Survey On The Challenges Of Adopting Lean In Aerospace Production And Aviation Maintenance, Seanan C. Lee

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Lean production began as a new method for creating value through the elimination of waste, continuous process improvement by workers, and fostering respect for people. Despite its success in other industries, the significantly lower production volume, the substantially higher complexity, and the service-oriented nature of aviation maintenance demand significant adaptation of Lean principles to be effective. The lack of a holistic study on Lean adoption for aerospace production and aviation maintenance organizations hinders transformation as the two industries are intertwined in product and characteristics. Lean adoption in aerospace production is hindered by the lingering notion that it is an ‘‘automotive …

Covid-19: Visualized Qualitative Aviation Research Themes, Chien-Tsung Lu, Huabo Sun

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

The purpose of this study is to review pandemic-related publications that help the aviation industry cope with pandemic outbreaks like that of COVID-19. Published documents were searched and downloaded from academic libraries including Web of Science for a qualitative analysis. After the triangulation of publications for decisionmakers, and researchers, all important research clusters were visually generated based on the VOSviewer process. Some research clusters were further discussed for a thorough understanding of existing research perspectives. The result discovered that wearing a face mask and vaccination have been the two most effective means to counteract pandemic outbreaks. Additional findings were extracted …

A Comparison Of Airport Risks: Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Uas) Sightings, Wildlife Strikes, And Runway Incursions, Cheng Wang, Sarah M. Hubbard

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

To provide a context for the potential threat of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) sightings on airport operations, this paper compares the characteristics of UAS sightings with two common airport threats: wildlife strikes and runway incursions. This study analyzed over 60,000 events in a three-year period (September 2016 to August 2019), including 6,551 UAS sightings from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) UAS Sightings Report database, 47,574 wildlife strikes from the FAA Wildlife Strike database, and 6,041 runway incursions from the FAA Runway Safety database. The results suggest both similarities and differences among the airport threats. Both UAS sightings and wildlife strikes …

Safety Management Of Wildlife Hazards To Aviation: An Analysis Of Wildlife Strikes In Part 139 Airports In Florida 2011–2020, Tiago Dikerts De Tella, Flavio A. C. Mendonca

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Purpose: The purpose of this study was threefold: (1) to investigate wildlife strike reporting trends in Part 139 airports in the state of Florida (2011–2020); (2) to evaluate the existence of a difference in the rate of reported wildlife strikes between the seasons of the year (2011–2020); and (3) to develop information based upon the data analyzed that can be used for the safety management of wildlife hazards in Florida.
Design/methodology: The researchers in this study answered the research questions through the analyses, revision, and evaluation of existing wildlife strike and aircraft operations data. The data analyzed in this …

Characteristics Of Unmanned Aircraft System (Uas) Sightings And Airport Safety, Cheng Wang

Purdue Road School

The prevalence of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) has grown dramatically in recent years. With increasing UASs, an important consideration is UAS sightings around airports. A UAS sighting may result in an airport delay or shutdown, which disrupts airport operations and can lead to significant economic losses. This presentation discusses the characteristics of UAS sightings based on reports from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and how these UAS sightings relate to airport operations.

Airport Operational Sustainability Practices In Us Small Hub Airports, Caroline K. Marete

Purdue Road School

Operational sustainability focuses on everyday activities that facilitate seamless and efficient operations of an airport. While a holistic view of sustainability is necessary when planning for the long term, each of the four dimensions of sustainability can be assessed independently. This session will analyze data, including sustainable master plans, from US small hub airports to assess the effectiveness of operational sustainability initiatives. Participants will learn the benefits of incorporating sustainability in airport planning and promoting the adoption of sustainability planning in airports of all sizes.

Evansville Airport Terminal And Passenger Access, Jamin Heldt, Nate Hahn

Purdue Road School

The Evansville Airport has completely updated the terminal area and passenger access to the terminal. A plan is underway to expand the passenger parking area in the future. This presentation will review the past updates and walk through future goals.

South Bend Airport Tw B Realignment And Apron Project, Lisa Kinsman, Patrick Mac Carthaigh, Jeff Thoman, Ashley Thorsen

Purdue Road School

South Bend Airport is in the process of a major reconstruction project to realign Taxiway B to provide a Runway Incursion Mitigation (RIM), separate Taxiway B from the Terminal Apron, and make adjustments to the terminal apron to correct drainage. This presentation will provide a full review of the project.

Flight Testing Gls Approaches Enabled By Wide Area Corrections In Kerkyra, Greece, Thomas Dautermann, Thomas Ludwig

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Many airports with a high value to commercial air traffic have spatial or budgetary constraints which prevent the installation of a precision approach system. We previously designed a low-cost precision approach system which combines the advantages of both ground-based and satellite-based augmentation systems by using a converter between them in order to allow GAST-A approach types. We installed, operated, and flight-tested such a system at Kerkyra Airport using an A320 aircraft. During these, we recorded data from a commercial multimode receiver as well as GPS raw data in order to prove the feasibility of the system. Data were analyzed using …

Modeling Airport Catchment Areas: Using Spatial Analysis Approach, Sitong Chen

The Journal of Purdue Undergraduate Research

Th e airport catchment area is the geographic area from which an airport can reasonably expect to draw commercial air service passengers. Th e purpose of this interdisciplinary research is to estimate airport catchment areas using a spatial analysis method for informed airport management. In order to ensure the comprehensiveness and reliability of the research, we chose to analyze the catchment areas for five airports of different sizes and in different geographic locations in the United States. The Huff model, which is usually used in marketing, economics, and retail research, was adopted in this study. We applied this model in …

The Impact Of Passenger Characteristics On Use Of Self-Service Technologies For Check-In Process: A Case Study Of Sydney Airport, Sarika Tyagi, Gabriel Lodewijks

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Due to the severe global competition in the aviation industry, airports give top priority to passenger services. Therefore, a study of characteristics associated with passenger services is one of the most important measurements in the aviation industry. The objective of this study was to analyze the impact of passenger characteristics on the use of self-service technology (SST) for the check-in process at Sydney Kingsford Smith Airport. A survey was conducted online amid the COVID-19 pandemic for data collection. Based on the collected responses, this study analyzed the sociological and demographic characteristics of the passengers and situational factors related to characteristics …

Adherence To Selected Air Carrier (Airline) Operational Regulations For Improved General Aviation Flight Safety In Degraded Visibility, Douglas D. Boyd, Mark T. Scharf

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Introduction: General aviation largely comprises fixed-wing piston-engine light aircraft (,12,500 lbs). Unfortunately, this civil aviation sector suffers a vastly inferior safety record when compared with air carriers (60- to 80-fold higher accident rate). Additionally, such mishaps pose a considerable financial burden to both the affected family and the United States: US$1.64–4.64 billion annually. We hypothesize that this safety disparity partly reflects more stringent operational regulations for air carriers. Herein, we determined whether compliance with six selected air carrier regulations could potentially reduce general aviation accidents in degraded visibility (IMC) the majority of which are fatal. Methods: Accidents (2005–2019) were identified …

Qualitative Findings From The Practice Of Outsourcing By The Aviation Technical Services Industry In Northern Europe: Comparison With Literature, Jukka Holkeri

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

The outsourcing of maintenance and other technical services is a trend in both military and civil aviation. This article uses input from real outsourcing cases in Northern Europe to verify previous literature findings and to introduce new viewpoints to fill an identified research gap.

Interviews of deeply involved individuals from six cases were selected and analyzed using the Delphi method. The findings were synthesized using a framework that articulates contexts, observed outcomes, and generative mechanisms.

Many of the key literature findings were verified by this case analysis, but there were also some contradictions and new observations that had not been …

Assessing Unstabilized Approaches: A Phenomenology Study Of The Risk Perceptions And Decision-Making Thought Process Of Collegiate Aviation Pilots, Shlok Misra, Jorge L.D Albelo, Victor Fraticelli Rivera

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

The Federal Aviation Administration emphasized the need to focus on and develop human factors training as early as 1993 in official Human Factors Policy Order 9550.8. The purpose of this study was to conduct a detailed qualitative phenomenological analysis of the risk perceptions and decision-making model of collegiate aviation pilots for unstabilized approaches. The study focused on understanding how collegiate aviation pilots perceive unstable approaches, the risk associated with unstable approaches, and the factors that trigger pilots to execute a go-around. The International Air Transportation Association warns that continuing an unstabilized approach can lead to runway excursions, hard landings causing …

Characteristics Of Unmanned Aircraft System (Uas) Sightings And Airport Safety, Cheng Wang, Sarah M. Hubbard

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

This paper presents the characteristics of unmanned aircraft system (UAS) sightings and discusses these characteristics in the context of airport safety using airport operational data. An unmanned aircraft in the vicinity of a commercial airport may be a potential threat to aircraft operations, and may result in operational and economic impacts if it causes an airport delay or shutdown. To ensure a record of UAS activity, the Federal Aviation Administration collects and publishes a UAS Sightings Report. This study analyzed UAS sightings and found that they vary by time of year and time of day, with more sightings in the …

Female Relief Systems In U.S. Military Fighter Ejection Seat Aircraft, Marian C. Schultz, James T. Schultz, Joshua J. Schultz

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

In early aircraft, the amount of fuel the aircraft could carry usually determined how long it could stay in flight. Today, with aircraft being able to air refuel, the time they are able to stay aloft is based more on human needs, one being waste management. Voiding urine in a single-seat ejection seat aircraft has been an issue for male pilots in the past, but with the increasing numbers of female pilots in single-seat aircraft, finding a solution has intensified. This paper reviews the various methods that are available for both male and female pilots, including the newest method which …

A Brief History Of The Making Of An Astronaut, Sharon J. Kulali

Ideas: Exhibit Catalog for the Honors College Visiting Scholars Series

With more advancement in technology, recreational travel to space is increasingly becoming common. This raises the question of whether all individuals who travel to space are considered astronauts. In this paper, the astronaut requirements that the United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has had throughout the years are broken down. Furthermore, renowned former astronaut, Colonel Richard O. Covey, is used as an example to demonstrate these requirements.

Case Study Of An Automated Mower To Support Airport Sustainability, Sarah Hubbard, Adam Baxmeyer, Bryan Hubbard

Aviation Technology Faculty and Staff Publications

This paper documents a case study of an automated mower to support sustainability at an airport. Mowing is an essential component of an airport’s Wildlife Hazard Management Plan (WHMP), which reduces the risk of birds and other wildlife to aircraft operations. Many airports have large areas of land (hundreds or even thousands of acres), which requires significant resources to manage and mow; experience at the Purdue Airport (KLAF) suggests that automated mowing may support economic and environmental aspects of sustainability. Automated mowing supports economic efficiency by reducing personnel requirements, although personnel are still needed for inspections, maintenance, and “mower rescue” …

Fatigue And Its Management In The Aviation Industry, With Special Reference To Pilots, Rajee Olaganathan, Timothy B. Holt, Jackie Luedtke, Brent D. Bowen

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Abstract Fatigue is a significant contributing factor that reduces human ability and leads to accidents and threatens the safety of aircraft and human lives. Approximately 70% of fatal accidents that occur in commercial aviation operations are due to human factors. More specifically, crew fatigue contributes to nearly 15 to 20% of the accidents (Akerstedt, 2000). These accidents and incidents are associated with pilot fatigue because of the long duty periods, disruption of circadian rhythms, and inadequate sleep that are common among both commercial and military pilots. Though fatigue is seen in all the disciplines associated with the aviation industry, this …

Service Quality And Passenger Satisfaction In Air Transportation In A Developing Economy: Evidence From Nigeria, Obioma R. Nwaogbe, Innocent C. Ogwude, Ejem E. A, A Pius

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

This study investigates the quality of service provided for air travel in Nigeria and the level of satisfaction of passengers with the service encountered. It does so by focusing on both the airports and the airlines as service providers. In that way, the study captures much of the effects of the organizational culture, employee behavior, and general norms which influence passenger attitudes. The SERVQUAL model was used in measuring the five dimensions of service. Domestic travel only was studied, with data obtained from well-structured questionnaires to evaluate perception–expectation gaps in airports as well as in airlines. The overall gap score …

Changing The Process In Educational Field And Air Navigation Through Advances In Hologram Technology, Camilo Fernandez Sr.

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

The objective of this piece is to propose reasons that change the way air traffic controllers and others learn and work in air navigation, but also how they can improve workloads, due to the implementation of holographic radar. This research also aims to describe how this could reduce the cognitive load of an operator, thanks to the improvement of visual perspective and capacity of analysis, in order to more easily control an aircraft.

Seeing that the visual facilitation is well known, radar is able to represent in three dimensions and in detail that which could not previously be perceived. This …

In Their Own Words: Forgotten Women Pilots Of Early Aviation, Fred Erisman

Purdue Studies in Aeronautics and Astronautics

Amelia Earhart’s prominence in American aviation during the 1930s obscures a crucial point: she was but one of a closely knit community of women pilots. Although the women were well known in the profession and widely publicized in the press at the time, they are largely overlooked today. Like Earhart, they wrote extensively about aviation and women’s causes, producing an absorbing record of the life of women fliers during the emergence and peak of the Golden Age of Aviation (1925–1940). Earhart and her contemporaries, however, were only the most recent in a long line of women pilots whose activities reached …

An Hfacs Analysis Of German F-104 Starfighter Accidents, Steven Esser, Hans-Joachim K. Ruff-Stahl

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

From 1961 onwards, Germany acquired 916 Lockheed F-104 Starfighters, of which 292 aircraft crashed and 116 pilots lost their lives. The purpose of this research project was to find out why these aircraft crashed and whether the Starfighters crashed for reasons different from those for other military aircraft in Germany. Seventy-one German F-104 accidents between 1978 and 1986 were analyzed by reviewing the original accident files. A Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) Level-1 analysis was used as methodology. It was found that more than 50% of the reviewed German F-104 accidents occurred due to technology and/or physical environment. …

Modeling Land And Hold Short Operations: Balancing Safety And Arrival Rate, Kenneth A. Ward, Heather Owen-Perry

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Many airports conduct simultaneous operations on intersecting runways to increase the rate of takeoffs and landings. This requires landing aircraft to hold short of the intersecting runway, which incurs a safety risk of runway incursions in the process. A Monte Carlo simulation was conducted to analyze the traffic load at maximum operational capacity at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport in order to analyze the fleet types and the rate of those landing aircraft unable to stop short of the intersecting runway. The researchers used the actual and four alternative compositions of the subject airline’s aircraft arrivals, interspersed among other airport traffic, to …