Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Assessing Past Airworthiness Directives And How Safety Management Systems May Benefit Aviation Product Design And Manufacturing, Damon Lercel Ph.D., Manoj Patankar Ph.D., Richard Steckel Ph.D.

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) continues to promulgate Safety Management Systems (SMS) across aviation organizations when it recently issued SMS requirements for EASA certificated Part 145 maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) organizations and Part 21 Design & Manufacturing (D&M) organizations. Currently, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has no such rule in place for these U.S.-based organizations, which may challenge those doing business in countries where EASA policies apply. Given that a majority of the United States’ D&M and MRO population is made up of smaller organizations, it is likely a U.S. SMS regulation will require justification of the …

Optimization Of A Customized Leadership Development Program Upskilling English Language Fluency In Brazil Aviation Leaders, Robin A. Roberts

Publications

Objective: The present study explored how a customized leadership development program (LDP) with coursework taught in English to non-native English speakers could optimize English language fluency in Brazil airline leaders.

Background: Currently, problems exist with a myriad of native language accents and phraseology interfering with cognitive reflexes especially for aircrews and air traffic controllers to safely do their work. Executives from four Brazilian airlines proactively implemented a 14-month LDP focused on English language fluency and leadership enhancements collectively for leaders within their firms.

Method: Blended learning as proposed by the International Civil Aviation Organization provided the experiential …

From Classroom To Industry: Human Factors In Aviation Maintenance Decision-Making, Bettina Mrusek, Stephanie Douglas

Publications

The presence of human factors in aviation remains a critical area of research given the safety implications of human error. Understanding what specific factors contribute to human error allows managers and operators to take steps to mitigate these hazards. Several methods have been tested in the cockpit and cabin crew environments, but less attention has been given to the aviation maintenance sector, despite the prevalence of accidents resulting from human error. With the introduction of AC-172A, the FAA validated the need for additional research and training on the role of human factors in aviation maintenance errors. However, a key component …

An Analysis Of Self-Reported Sleepiness And Fatigue Measures From Collegiate Aviation Pilots, Flavio A. C. Mendonca, Julius Keller, Thomas Laub, Sarah Wolfe

Publications

Fatigue can be deleterious to pilot performance. The National Transportation Safety Board has called on the aviation community to reduce fatigue related accidents. Currently, there are few studies and guidance specific to collegiate aviation pilots. The current study is part of a larger effort by the authors to gain a clearer understanding of fatigue within the collegiate aviation environment. Collegiate aviation pilots are a unique group with different schedules, lifestyles, and demands when compared to airline, military, and on-demand pilots. The purpose of this study was to examine self-reported fatigue and sleepiness measures. Research instruments included the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale …

Alaska Part 135 Operations: The Need For Additional Regulatory Oversight And Continuous Aircraft Tracking, April A. Larsen

Student Works

With a focus on Alaska, this research illustrates the lack of regulatory oversight pertaining to Title 14 CFR Part 135 operators, including SMS, training, and equipment requirements. As of January 2020, under the Federal Aviation Administration’s NextGen initiative, all aircraft flying in controlled airspace are required to have an Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS– B) system installed and operational. Many Alaskan operators fly in hazardous terrain, and marginal weather, with little to no communication, yet ADS-B is not a requirement as they are in uncontrolled airspace. Alaska also lacks vital aviation infrastructure including adequate instrument approach procedures, weather monitoring …

Global Aviation System: Towards Sustainable Development, Marina P. Bonser Dr.

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Aviation around the world has integrated into a global system. As the integration process continues, more aspects and levels of it need to be lead towards the sustainable development of the whole system via advancing strategic management, global communication proficiency, and technological expertise. It becomes essential to enrich global language (English) proficiency with cross-cultural communication competence not only for communication in the air but also for airport security, passenger and cargo services, aircraft and equipage engineering, building, and maintenance. Nowadays lower levels of management need more advanced strategic thinking and problem solving skills, and higher levels of management need global …

Fatigue Identification And Management In Flight Training: An Investigation Of Collegiate Aviation Pilots, Flavio A. C. Mendonca Ph.D.

Publications

Pilot fatigue is a significant hazard affecting flight operations;

• Generally the product of one or more factors: Disrupted or lack of sleep;
• Inadequate food and or fluid intake;
• Mental;
• and Physical fatigue.

Previous studies have focused on military and commercial flight operations;

• Little to nothing has been done to investigate fatigue identification & management by general aviation pilots!

Discovering The Data Of Safety: Embry-Riddle’S Aviation Safety And Security Archives, Melissa Gottwald, Michelle M. Bennett, Brent D. Bowen, Erin E. Bowen, Jordan I. Brown, Ed J. Coleman, Timothy B. Holt, William D. Waldock

Publications

The path to the sky and beyond has not been simple or obstacle-free, but dedicated dreamers have worked to overcome obstacles, learn from mishaps, and develop new technologies to achieve their goals. As the leading university for aviation and aerospace education, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University maintains a firm commitment to the practice and study of safety. As part of this mission, the university has established the Aviation Safety and Security Archives (ASASA) which is a national treasure of aviation safety history and information.

Human Factors Contributing To Unstabilized Approaches And Landings In Commercial Aviation Incidents: An Analysis Of Asrs Reports, Garrin E. Ross

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to investigate the human factors reported as contributing to operational incidents of unstabilized approaches and landings in United States-based commercial aviation. While previous aviation safety studies have analyzed aviation incident data when investigating the human factor influences during commercial aviation operations and incidents, unstabilized approaches and landings have not been explicitly examined using similar methods. Informed by the findings and recommendations of the Flight Safety Foundation’s Approach and Landing Accident Reduction Task Force, this study examined and analyzed the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) incident report data from unstabilized approach and landing events. The …

How Nationality, Weather, Wind, And Distance Affect Consumer Willingness To Fly In Autonomous Airplanes, Nadine K. Ragbir, Bradley S. Baugh, Stephen Rice, Scott R. Winter

Publications

Several studies have examined passengers’ trust in human-operated systems versus autonomous systems. Prior studies have also reported cultural differences among individuals from India and the United States. The purpose of this study was to investigate how nationality, weather, wind, and distance affect passengers’ willingness to fly in autonomous aircraft. Participants included 161 volunteers from the United States and 137 volunteers from India. In 12 different conditions, participants were asked to rate their willingness to fly in an autonomous aircraft, given information about the weather (sunny, raining, or snowing), the wind level (no wind versus strong wind), and the flight distance …

Economic Impact Of World Bank Aviation Investment In Pacific Island Countries, Cindy Greenman, Javad Gorjidooz

Publications

The World Bank Group (WBG) has provided grant and credits to support projects related to aviation and air transport including capacity building, policy and regulation, safety and security, infrastructure rehabilitation, and institutional strengthening for over 60 years. Today, the WBG remains actively engaged on aviation related project in every region of the world including the Pacific Island Countries. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the economic impact of WBG investments in aviation infrastructures in Pacific Island Countries. The preliminary results of this study show a serious deficiency in the areas of aviation infrastructure, safety and security, management efficiency, …

A Student's Perspective On The Utilization Of Social Media For Scholarly Research, Brent D. Bowen, Jacqueline Luedtke, Timothy B. Holt, David Ehrensperger, Hunter M. Watson

Publications

The research was conducted on the continuous advancements on the Airline Quality Rating (AQR) developed by Dr . Brent Bowen, and the benefactor of research from a student perspective . The general case study focus of this research is the AQR as it relates to the utilization of social media platforms, and thus having the ability to reach out to a broader worldwide presence . Media metrics consisting of social network platforms, and news releases to assist in broadening the viewership and utilization of research in meeting individuals needs in gaining qualitative and quantified information about the AQR . As …

User Interface Design Recommendations For Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Suas), Camilo Jimenez, Caitlin L. Faerevaag, Florian Jentsch

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The number of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) has dramatically increased in recent years. As a consequence, the number of incidents involving manned and unmanned aircraft has soared. For this reason, the Federal Aviation Administration has released a notice of proposed rulemaking to delineate the operational limitations for sUAS. Many efforts have been introduced to regulate the operations of these systems and educate operators. Despite these efforts, there are no clear standards related to the type of information that should be available to operators, or how this information should be conveyed during flight operations. For this reason we present a …

What Are The Predictors Of System-Wide Trust Loss In Transportation Automation?, Stephen Rice, Scott R. Winter, John E. Deaton, Ismael Cremer

Publications

Prior research has examined how individuals place trust in single (e.g., Meyer, 2001, 2004) and multiple (e.g., Geels-Blair, Rice, & Schwark, 2013) automated devices when one fails. This has shown that participants are influenced by system-wide trust (SWT). What has been missing is an investigation into what types of people succumb to SWT effects. The current study attempts to replicate SWT findings and identify possible predictors of individuals likely to be influenced by SWT. The findings did demonstrate a replication of SWT. The study found that ‘‘feelings of negativity when automated devices fail’’ was a significant predictor of SWT theory.

How Do Depression Medications Taken By Pilots Affect Passengers' Willingness To Fly? A Mediation Analysis, Stephen Rice, Scott R. Winter, Keegan Kraemer, Rian Mehta, Korhan Oyman

Publications

The mental health of airline pilots has been a concern for decades. In 2010, the United States Federal Aviation Administration began allowing four types of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) to be used by pilots suffering from depression. After a procedural wait period, pilots may be awarded a special issuance of their medical certificates to maintain flight currency. Missing from the literature was any research on consumer’s perceptions of pilots taking antidepressants, along with some other approved medications. Therefore, the purpose of the current study was to examine consumer’s willingness to fly once told that the pilot of their hypothetical …

Low Fidelity Flight Simulation In Collegiate Aviation, Vladimir N. Risukhin

Aviation / Aeronautics / Aerospace International Research Conference

Aviation college pilot training programs, lessons and exercises contain portions that do not require training in sophisticated and highly expensive full flight simulators and flight training devices (FTD) with high fidelity of simulation, or in real aircraft flights. Relatively inexpensive personal-computer-based flight simulation facilities named low fidelity simulators (LFS) can boost development of aircraft pilots’ cognitive and behavioral skills. The paper attempts to reveal how the LFS can support aviation college flight training and research activities. In the Western Michigan University College of Aviation, peer mentoring technique proven to be helpful in higher education institutions has been applied to flight …

Risk Perception In Aviation Students: Weather Matters, Ric Ferraro Phd, Darci Vandyke, Mary Zander, Krista Anderson, Bethany Kuehlen

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Sixty-three aviation major students and 71 non-aviation major students participated in an experiment concerning aviation experience and risk perception (Risk Perception Scale, RPS; Hunter, 2002). Non-aviation students rated three of the RPS risk scenarios (P2Fly, P2Life, P2 Base) as having higher perceived risk than aviation students with the exception of the weather risk scenarios (P2WX). Aviation students perceived the P2WX scenarios to be significantly more risky. These results have implications for how future pilots perceive risk.

Toward GemeinschaftsgefüHl: Exploring Subordinate And Manager Perceptions Of Trust And Perceptions Regarding Behavioral Change Potential, Bobby G. Martin

Publications

In this qualitative, phenomenological study, Maslow‘s Eupsychian theory was used as the guiding framework for exploring the perceptions of trust and the behavioral change potential of subordinates (includes frontline supervisors) and managers (excludes frontline supervisors) within selected aviation maintenance organizations in Arizona. The problem addressed in the study was the growing concern that managers willfully mistreated subordinates, which led to decreased trust, motivation, and productivity. A combined representative sample of 10 maintenance technicians and frontline supervisors was purposively selected from the production lines of a large commercial aviation repair and overhaul station located in Arizona. An additional combined representative sample …

The Yemen Narrative: Cargo Cults And Cargo Security, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author gives a psychological perspective on the security of aviation cargo shipments.

Spot Off: The Gao Takes On The Tsa’S Behavior Detection Program, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The United States Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recently Issued Efforts to Validate TSA’s Passenger Screening Behavior Detection Program Underway, but Opportunities Exist to Strengthen Validation and Address Operational Problems (May 2010, GAO-10-763). This IBPP article will describe and comment on the main GAO findings and additional data on which the findings are based. The article will end with some basic challenges to behavior detection as a useful security measure.

Airports And Loci Of Aviation: Security Guidelines For Physical Design And Modification, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article provides guidelines for the design and modification of loci and aviation from a security perspective.

Security Watch: No-Fly Zones And Flying Blind, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The article evaluates the gain in security from no-fly zones from a security perspective.

Trends. Terrorism, Behavioral Profiling, And Aviation Security, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This Trends article discusses the quest to improve aviation security by identifying behavioral indicators for terrorism.

Trends. The Ghost In The Machine: Is Bill Clinton Running Us Policy On China, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses aviation safety and the continuity of use/misuse of words by U.S. administrations, regardless of political affiliation.

Trends. Problems In Cultural Transplants: From Aviation To Medicine, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses the issues with transferring aviation security to medical cultures.

Trends. When Air Rage Is All The Rage: An Airing Out, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article discusses air rage, and its prevalence.

The Human Factors Analysis And Classification System--Hfacs, Scott A. Shappell, Douglas A. Wiegmann

Publications

Human error has been implicated in 70 to 80% of all civil and military aviation accidents. Yet, most accident reporting systems are not designed around any theoretical framework of human error. As a result, most accident databases are not conducive to a traditional human error analysis, making the identification of intervention strategies onerous. What is required is a general human error framework around which new investigative methods can be designed and existing accident databases restructured. Indeed, a comprehensive human factors analysis and classification system (HFACS) has recently been developed to meet those needs. Specifically, the HFACS framework has been used …

Trends. The Crash Of Swissair Flight 111: Amidst The Tragedy, The Virtue Of Virtual Realities, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the development of a virtual community: a community of relatives of victims of air fatalities throughout the world, a community whose members rarely meet that occurs after an air tragedy.

Some Problems With Aviation Antiterrorism And Counterterrorism Policy: A Multi-Cultural Communication Approach, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This is the third in a continuing IBPP series of articles about aviation terrorism. (See IBPP Vol. 1, Nos. 12 and 15 for the first two articles.) It was presented at the international conference entitled "Aviation Communication: A Multi-Cultural Forum" on April 9, 1997 at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, Arizona. This article illustrates how five commonly accepted elements of aviation antiterrorism and counterterrorism policy usually perpetuate terrorism as opposed to attenuating it.