Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Public Acceptance Of Guidance And Regulations For Space Flight Participation, Cory Trunkhill, Robert Joslin, Joseph Keebler

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Space flight participants are not professional astronauts and not subject to the rules and guidance covering space flight crewmembers. Ordinal logistic regression of survey data was utilized to explore public acceptance of current medical screening recommendations and regulations for safety risk and implied liability for civil space flight participation. Independent variables constituted participant demographic representations while dependent variables represented current Federal Aviation Administration guidance and regulations. Odds ratios were derived based on the demographic categories to interpret likelihood of acceptance for the criteria. Significant likely acceptance of guidance and regulations was found for five of twelve demographic variables influencing public …

Organizational Safety Culture In Pilot Training Schools: Case Of North Texas In The Usa And South Korea, Seock-Jin Hong, Woongyi Kim, Steve S. Joiner Mr.

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

The sudden increased need for qualified pilots can cause potential risks for aviation training schools in South Korea because new pilot training programs need to be created, or existing organizations need to be expanded quickly. This study investigates safety culture at pilot training schools, builds a conceptual framework, and identifies the relationship between the sub-safety culture category and safety culture level in commercial pilot training schools. The authors survey the safety culture and management for the organizational aspect of these pilot training schools to clarify essential concepts and generate a conceptual safety management model. The authors examine the differences in …

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 …

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

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

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 …

Examining The Relationship Between Safety Management System Implementation And Safety Culture In Collegiate Flight Schools, Michael F. Robertson

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Safety management systems (SMS) are becoming the industry standard for safety management throughout the aviation industry. As the Federal Aviation Administration continues to mandate SMS for different segments, the assessment of an organization’s safety culture becomes more important. An SMS can facilitate the development of a strong aviation safety culture. This study describes how safety culture and SMS are integrated.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between an organization’s safety culture and SMS implementation in collegiate flight schools. The research study was designed to determine (a) the relationship between SMS implementation and safety culture, (b) the …

Advantages And Disadvantages Of Using Internet-Based Survey Methods In Aviation-Related Research, Stephen Rice, Scott R. Winter, Shawn Doherty, Mattie Milner

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Within the last decade, numerous online populations, such as SurveyMonkey ® and Amazon’s ® Mechanical Turk ®(MTurk), have been established allowing researchers to gather data involving diverse populations. These resources offer an alternative to traditional laboratory settings hosted at universities, where many studies utilize students as the available and accessible population. While these online portals do provide new opportunities, they also contain unique advantages and disadvantages. This paper synthesizes the advantages and disadvantages of using online populations to conduct research in the aviation field. Some of the advantages are: easier access to new populations, larger sample sizes, more balanced …

Two Decades Of Progress For Minorities In Aviation, David C. Ison, Rene Herron, Linda Weiland

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Diversity within the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields has historically lagged behind that which is found in other vocational paths. Aviation has also suffered poor diversity with virtually no participation among professional pilots. With both the literature specifying the benefits of diversity in the aviation workplace and potential shortages of pilots looming, it is in the interest of aerospace stakeholders to have access to the most comprehensively diverse employee pool possible. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the trends in participation by minorities who completed professional pilot education programs in the United States. Data concerning the …

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

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

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 …

Marbles: The Application Of Input-Output Concepts To Safety Management Systems, Tim Brady, Alan Stolzer, Anthony Brickhouse, Antonio Cortés, Dan Mccune, Jayathi Raghavan, David Freiwald

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

The goal of this research was to apply the economic concept titled Input-Output Analysis to an aviation safety concept titled Safety Management Systems (SMS). Input-Output (IO) is based upon the interrelationships of various components of an economic system and what happens to the system when one or more of those components changes. Since SMS is, by definition, a system with definable components, the research sought to determine if the interrelationships between those components could be determined and quantified. The term ‘‘marbles’’ was used to describe the activities that led to the IO-SMS matrix. Marbles was used as a metaphor for …

The Efficacy Of Aircraft Type Club Safety, William Jeffrey "Jeff" Edwards

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

The FAA and industry are attempting to make significant improvements in general aviation (GA) safety through voluntary measures largely carried out by grassroots aviation organizations, such as aircraft type clubs. While aircraft type clubs are principally focused on safety and education efforts, little is known about the efficacy of their voluntary measures. Research is lacking with respect to understanding whether or not voluntary measures contribute to GA safety. This mixed methods research quantifies the accident data of three aircraft type clubs and compares the safety of their members to nonmembers. A qualitative examination reveals why type club members may have …

Comparative Analysis Of Accident And Non-Accident Pilots, David C. Ison

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

The purpose of this study was to investigate potential differences between two pilot groups; the first was a sample of individuals who have not been involved in an accident and the second was a sample of pilots from the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident database. Factors investigated included flight time, pilot flight review status, pilot certification, employment as a professional pilot, gender, and age. This study was guided by the exigent literature on aviation accidents with a primary focus on general aviation pilot accident attributes. Non-accident pilot participation was solicited through various aviation-related websites and a total of 1,829 …

Increasing Participation In The Pilot Weather Reporting (Pirep) System Through User Interface Design, Stephen M. Casner

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Although pilots regard pilot weather reports (PIREPs) as valuable flight planning resources, the number of PIREPs that pilots submit is relatively small. In a previous survey, pilots indicated that submitting PIREPs sometimes requires too much effort, and that they are often unable to recall the information fields required to complete a report. Pilots also indicated that the idea of submitting a PIREP often does not occur to them, and that they feel that other pilots are mainly interested in receiving reports about severe weather. In this study the authors attempt to address obstacles to submitting PIREPs by proposing two alternative …

Safety Culture Perceptions In A Collegiate Aviation Program: A Systematic Assessment, Daniel Kwasi Adjekum

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

An assessment of the perceptions of respondents on the safety culture at an accredited Part 141 four year collegiate aviation program was conducted as part of the implementation of a safety management system (SMS). The Collegiate Aviation Program Safety Culture Assessment Survey (CAPSCAS), which was modified and revalidated from the existing Commercial Aviation Safety Survey (CASS), was used. Participants were drawn from flight students and certified flight instructors in the program. The survey captured the perceptions of participants on the status of the safety culture in the program. There were significant variances in the perception of respondents on the safety …

Stress And Coping As A Function Of Experience Level In Collegiate Flight Students, Jennifer Kirschner, John Young, Richard Fanjoy

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Aviation as an industry requires a high degree of precision at all times. Large amounts of stress have been known to decrease performance to undesirable levels. While stress reactions and the coping skills used after encountering stressful situations differ from person to person, generalities can be made by comparing differences between groups. A large number of pilot applicants receive initial training within a university flight program each year. In order to better understand the perceived stress level and the coping skills used by these students, the current research project administered a perceived stress test and a coping skills inventory to …

Flight Energy Management Training: Promoting Safety And Efficiency, Juan R. Merkt

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Poor aircraft energy management can lead to unsafe and inefficient operations. Despite their impact on safety and economy, energy management skills are not adequately taught or evaluated in civilian pilot training. This paper 1) addresses the need for better energy management training, 2) provides a conceptual and pedagogical framework for later curriculum development, and 3) suggests key attributes of an effective training program. To make the case, the study uses energy management to link safety and efficiency. It then synthesizes energy principles across disciplines and illustrates how such principles, once simplified, become powerful instructional tools. Finally, it suggests that an …

Flight Skill Proficiency Issues In Instrument Approach Accidents, Richard O. Fanjoy, Julius C. Keller

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Despite procedural modifications and advanced technology instrumentation, instrument approach phase accidents continue to be an issue in general aviation. This exploratory study details an analysis of instrument approach phase accidents that occurred between 2002 and 2012. Particular attention was focused on instrument proficiency check (IPC) currency for pilots involved in accidents during the approach phase of flight. An analysis suggests that more than half of instrument approach accidents evaluated during this study happened within three and half months of the last IPC. A leading cause of these accidents was failure to control the aircraft. Instrument training issues and potential follow-on …

Measuring Intensity Of Laser Light Penetrating Flight Decks In Laser Illuminations, Randal J. Demik, Stanley Harriman, Ryan S. Phillips, Charles Crowder, Jennifer A. Pfeifer, Shane F. Mchugh, Steven J. Foster, Elizabeth R. De Waard, Michael Streit, Richard B. Antoniolli, Ernest W. Knight, David S. York, Jacob Luedtke

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Since 2005, reported laser attacks from people on the ground directed towards arriving and departing aircraft have increased over 300%. A laser aimed at the windshield of an aircraft startles a pilot and may cause injury. This study determined empirical evidence of laser intensity in the flight deck and the potential for harm to the human eye at various distances. Results of this study revealed that relatively low-powered lasers had measured intensity levels through cockpit windshields at the 200 and 500 feet distances that may cause damage to crewmembers’ eyes according to standards established by the federal government. At longer …