Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Understanding Fatigue Within A Collegiate Aviation Program, Flavio Mendonca, Julius Keller, Erik Levin, Aaron Teo

Publications

Objective: The purpose of this study was fivefold: to investigate the symptoms that would prompt collegiate aviation pilots perceive they are fatigued; to investigate the time of the day they are most fatigued; to investigate their academic and personal schedules; to investigate the methods collegiate aviation pilots utilize to ensure they are fit to fly; and to investigate whether they have received any academic and/or flight fatigue identification and management training.

Background: Fatigue is a pervasive safety hazard in aviation affecting several aspects of flight crew members’ ability to perform their job. Fatigue in aviation and its consequences has been …

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 …

Aircraft Rescue And Fire Fighting Capabilities: Are Today’S Standards Protecting Passenger’S Futures?, Kaetlyn Blocker

Student Works

Few studies have been conducted that have truly considered the relevance and inadequacies of applicable aircraft rescue and firefighting (ARFF) regulations. Fewer still have studied and explored accident cases that directly exemplify the deficiencies and inconsistencies of various regulatory standards and requirements. This study seeks to expose and explain those inadequacies by utilizing a historical, case-study type research method to examine accident cases during which time the governing regulations played a significant role in the ARFF operations. The findings discovered as a result of this multi-case analysis provide evidence that the current regulations governing United States ARFF operations are both …

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 …

Repairer Reporting System User Analysis For Sms Compliance In Aviation Maintenance, Mark D. Miller, Bettina Mrusek

Publications

To resolve the issue of human error in maintenance the REPAIRER reporting system is revisited as it has great potential by combining a human factors analysis with a risk management safety reporting mechanism. It is also timely as a human factors centered safety reporting method like the REPAIRER could now be feasibly implemented through the new mandatory FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) FAR 121 requirement to use SMS (Safety Management System) pillars and through the new FAA MxHF human factors training. With the current FAA support in place and the ever growing need to add human factors to combat human error …

Fatigue Identification And Management In Flight Training Among Collegiate Aviation Pilots, Flavio Mendonca Ph.D., Julius Keller Ph.D., Michael Robertson Ph.D., Matt Romero

Publications

Objective: The purpose of this study was fivefold: to investigate the symptoms that would prompt collegiate aviation pilots perceive they are fatigued; to investigate the time of the day they are most fatigued; to investigate their academic and personal schedules; to investigate the methods collegiate aviation pilots utilize to ensure they are fit to fly; and to investigate whether they have received any academic and/or flight fatigue identification and management training.

Background: Fatigue is a pervasive safety hazard in aviation affecting several aspects of flight crew members’ ability to perform their job. Fatigue in aviation and its consequences has been …

Safety Analysis Of Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (Ads-B) System, Rajee Olaganathan

Publications

ADS-B is one of the significant implementation systems of NextGen, to help pilots and air traffic controllers to create a safer, and more efficient National Airspace System (NAS). First, this research paper will briefly describe the ADS-B system, its design structure, ADS-B In and ADS-B Out systems, its efficiency both in pilot applications and in air traffic control applications, and then discuss about the system safety analysis. The preliminary hazard analysis and fault tree analysis will be done for the identified and selected hazards, and will be briefly discussed. The paper will conclude by providing recommendations to prevent/mitigate the hazards …

Human Factors Applied To Perioperative Process Improvement, Joseph R. Keebler, Elizabeth H. Lazzara, Elizabeth Blickensderfer, Thomas D. Looke

Publications

• Human factors/ergonomics (HF/E) is its own scientific discipline that can be applied to understanding performance in perioperative medicine.
• Humans are not perfect decision makers and are affected by a variety of factors that can greatly harm their ability to perform, including attention, bias, stress, and fatigue.
• HF/E has a unique perspective on human error, and HF/E can illustrate how moving away from blame can enhance safety.
• HF/E offers strategies for undertaking a systematic approach to assessment of work processes in perioperative medicine that can be used to increase safety and wellbeing of patients and providers.

A Realist Ethnography Of Nuclear Security Officer Culture, Douglas J. Evans

Publications

This realist ethnography describes the heretofore unexamined culture of commercial nuclear power security officers over a one-year period from an active participant observer’s perspective. Data include field notes taken during observations at various sites and 15 interviews with security leaders working at or who had recently worked at 12 different commercial nuclear power plants and had previously worked at a dozen other commercial nuclear power plants, thus representing a broad overview of the commercial nuclear security culture. The data also include more than 58 unclassified documents from these sites, industry organizations, and regulatory agencies. An analysis of the data reveals …