Aviation Commons^™

Dark Knights: Exploring Resilience And Hidden Workarounds In Commercial Aviation Through Mixed Methods, Riana Steen, James Norman, Johan Bergström, Gitte F. Damm

Aviation Faculty Publications

In this study, the duality of adaptive capacity in aviation safety is examined, where the need for resilience of frontline workers conflicts with the expectations and assumptions of upstream entities, leading to system brittleness. We explore three critical categories: responsibilization, the application of practical wisdom in navigating challenging situations, and the unrecognized sacrifices that accompany adaptation. A qualitative research design is used, using three focus groups consisting of pilots in a European airline, the airline’s safety department, and the respective civil aviation authority. The study's findings reveal i. significant organizational constraint and pressure on pilots, resulting in workarounds, personal playbooks, …

A Comprehensive Review Of Fischer-Tropsch Synthesis Processes To Produce Sustainable Diesel And Aviation Fuel, Joseph C. Steinagel

Honors College Theses

The greatest threat known to humankind today is global warming. It affects every nation on the planet and the natural order of all living things. Consequently, this ongoing crisis necessitates action to scientifically revolutionize important areas of society, including researching modern adaptations of the transportation industry. In that regard, it has been determined that an effective short-term answer to eliminating carbon emissions is to produce sustainable fuels that run cooperatively with the well-established machines of today. Sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is one such topic of interest, and the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis process is an effective way of producing SAF. To that …

A Review And Analysis Of General Aviation Instructional Accidents, Sydney Sommers

Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

General aviation student pilot accidents represent a substantial portion of all aviation accidents in the United States. Almost 50% of general aviation accidents involve student pilots. Analyzing historical accident reports is the most common approach to studying accident causation. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigates all civil aviation accidents in the US. Using the NTSB data, I analyzed general aviation student pilot accidents in the US between 2013 and 2022. Results indicate that most accidents take place in California and Florida and can be attributed to student pilots between 18 and 65 years of age. Alaska and Maine had …

An Investigation Into In-Flight Loss Of Control Accidents Due To Horizontal Stabilizer Changes On The Piper Cherokee, Connor John Geran

Theses and Dissertations

Loss of Control (LOC) while in-flight in General Aviation (GA) has been the subject of intense research by academic institutions and regulatory agencies in recent years [4] [9] [11] [19] [20] [21]. This interest is primarily due to a disproportionate number of all aircraft accidents occurring within the GA category of flight, with 94% of accidents in 2022 occurring within GA, caused primarily by pilot LOC, with 42% of accidents having LOC as the listed cause. Research into this subject at FIT yielded the results that many common GA aircraft tend to experience a strong pitch up response after undergoing …

Passenger Insight On Sustainable Flight: Exploring The Relationships Between Attitudes And Risk Propensity On Willingness To Fly, Kayla Hylan, Carl A. Thomas Jr., Vivek Sharma, Brooke Wheeler

Aeronautics Student Publications

Passengers were generally accepting of sustainable aircraft, but compared to jet fuel, higher general risk propensity (GRiP) was more predictive of willingness to fly (WF) in sustainable aircraft. Sustainable attitudes strongly related to WF in sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) but had a weaker relationship on WF in electric and hydrogen aircraft, compared to jet fuel.

Stress And Exercise In Part 141 Flight Students, Reece Curcio, Thomas Vincent Hayes, Reon Porter, Brooke Wheeler

Aeronautics Student Publications

This study explores how stress levels relate to exercise habits among aviation students in a Part 141 collegiate flight program. There was no correlation between stress and exercise. This outcome was unexpected as the hypothesis was an inverse relationship between perceived stress and exercise.

Incorporating Safety Excellence Into Urban Air Mobility (Uam): Insights From Commercial Aviation, Rotorcraft, And Unmanned Aerial Systems (Uas), Seyoung "Evie" Jang

Senior Honors Theses

This paper focused on safety considerations in Urban Air Mobility (UAM) through a cross-industry examination of commercial aviation, rotorcraft, and unmanned aerial systems (UAS). Although UAM promises transformative benefits, there are safety concerns remaining. Based on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)’s Concept of Operations (ConOps), the literature review explained the fundamental concepts of UAM. In commercial aviation, regulatory framework, pilot training and certification, vehicle design and maintenance, and emergency response planning are emphasized. For rotorcraft, safety requirements for vertical flight, collision avoidance systems, heliport standards, and weather adaptability are crucial. Leveraging UAS advancements, the study suggested autonomous systems, sense-and-avoid technology, …

Faa Medical Reform, Dana Rose

Honors Projects

This project investigates the challenges and implications of obtaining medical certification for pilots with a history of childhood misdiagnoses, focusing on Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Misdiagnoses in childhood can lead to significant obstacles in the aviation industry's medical certification process, posing unique hurdles for aspiring pilots. The study examines the current FAA guidelines and procedures for medical certification, particularly the evaluation requirements for individuals with ADHD. It also explores common challenges faced by pilots, the effects of childhood misdiagnoses on their eligibility, and the impact of the FAA's ADHD evaluation process.

Through interviews with Aviation Medical Examiners (AMEs), this project identifies …

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 …

Igniting Passion:​ A Detailed Journey Through Rocketry Course Activities, Krish M. Patel, Hannah Caycedo, Joshua Gage, Josi Maness, Kevin Park, Mufeng Shen

SACAD: John Heinrichs Scholarly and Creative Activity Days

This course is a semester-long adventure in rocketry, led by Dr. Paul Adams. It covers everything about building and flying rockets, starting from the basics to more advanced rocketry. Students learn how to build rockets and use equipment used I payload systems like and altimeter and a GPS. We also learned about the importance of safety involved with building and launching rockets.

Evaluating Flight Crew Decision-Making Through Part 121 Taxi Operations, Grant Marsh

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

With the mandate of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) going into effect at the start of 2020, commercial companies have been able to log and store information on aircraft identification, airspeed, heading, and altitude all in one database.to Now, anyone can access previously hard-to-obtain flight data for analysis using a commercially available database. While ADS-B provides information on “what is happening,” information on “why” flight crews operate aircraft in a certain way is not incorporated into ADS-B.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) collects reports written by flight crews, Air Traffic Control Specialists, and other …

Implementation Of Path Planning Methods To Detect And Avoid Gps Signal Degradation In Urban Environments, Ayush Raminedi

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

In the modern world, various missions are being carried out under the assistance of autonomous flight vehicles due to their ability to operate in a wide range of flight conditions. Regardless, these autonomous vehicles are prone to GPS signal loss in urban environments due to obstructions that cause scintillation, multi-path, and shadowing. These effects that decrease the GPS functionality can deteriorate the accuracy of GPS positioning causing losses in signal tracking leading to a decrease in navigation performance. These effects are modeled into the simulation environment and are used as part of the path planning algorithm to provide better navigation …

Emergent Themes Of Operational Safety At Urban Air Mobility At Vertiports: The Stakeholder Perspective, Tracy Leigh Lamb

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The emerging urban air mobility (UAM) industry is dynamic, complex, and still highly conceptual, as vertiports are not currently an operational reality in the United States. The UAM vertiport is at the epicenter of the emerging advanced aviation ecosystem, representing significant operating costs of approximately $130 million per year and more than that to design, develop, and implement. In addition to setting up and operating capital, there are considerable challenges relating to the safe design, development location, and operation of UAM vertiports, representing the confluence of human and autonomous systems, whose interdependence is not yet fully understood. UAM vertiport stakeholders …

Passenger Traits That Predict The Bystander Intervention Model Steps During An Inflight Assault On A Flight Attendant, Michael Pettit

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Every major U.S. airline has experienced a violent inflight assault on one of their flight attendants. The problem is becoming more widespread, but industry leaders have few coping strategies. The first step toward addressing the issue is understanding the various aspects of the event, including the actions of other passengers (bystanders) who may witness the assault. There is ample literature on bystander reactions to similar events such as bullying, medical emergencies, injuries, and violent attacks, but none dedicated to a flight attendant assault or passenger reactions to it.

At the core of bystander action is the bystander effect, which postulates …

Conceptual Design Methodology For The Fan-In-Wing Vtol Aircraft, Brock Steinfeldt

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The Fan-In-Wing (FIW) aircraft concept is one of the most compelling solutions for missions demanding jet-like cruise speeds and Vertical TakeOff and Landing (VTOL) capability. However, despite years of interest and documented improvements in lift-fan technology, there exists little in the way of an adequate theory for conceptual design of a fan-in-wing aircraft. To address this issue, a general conceptual design methodology has been developed as a source of guidance for the FIW designer. Through this work, the top-level requirements ranking the fan-in-wing concept above other VTOL aircraft have been defined, while a cross-comparison between the FIW concept and conventional …

The Use Of Virtual Reality Training Environments For Procedural Training In Fourth-Generation Airliners, Mark Edgar Mccullins

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This study examined the effectiveness of using virtual reality training environments for procedural training in fourth-generation airliners. Its goal was to assess whether the training outcomes from a recurrent training course for FAA certificated Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) technicians, which used a Full Flight Simulator (FFS) to deliver and assess training, differed from the same training delivered using a Virtual Reality (VR) device.

The study used an experimental design with three groups and two within-group measures of training effectiveness. The control group followed the current training program and was assessed in the FFS, while the second group was trained using …

Put The Brakes On Airfield Friction Concerns, John Hunter

Purdue Road School

Low friction doesn’t mean the pavement (asphalt or concrete) needs to be replaced. Safe friction enhancing treatments are available at a fraction of the cost of new pavement. Presenters will share the “need to know” details of all phases of successful rubber and paint removal projects and innovative friction enhancing techniques relevant for all airports—from small GAs to Part 139 Airports .

Acrp04-27 Methods To Manage Tree Growth Near Airports, Stephanie Ward

Purdue Road School

The presentation will review the recent ACRP 04-27 Methods to Manage Tree Growth Near Airports study report. Join us for a discussion.

Lessons Learned From Helicopter Air Ambulance Accident, Mary E. Johnson, Gustavo A. Sanchez

Purdue Road School

Helicopter Air Ambulances (HAA) are a vital component of the healthcare system by bridging the gap between traditional ground-based ambulances and hospitals and transporting patients from remote areas to medical facilities. However, the accident rates during aeromedical transports remain high compared to other commercial air operations. This session presents an analysis of HAA accidents from the human factors perspective and changes in regulation, technology, and training during HAA operations over the last decade.

Indianapolis International Airport: New Ron Parking Apron, John Feister, Tony Mcmichael

Purdue Road School

The Indianapolis International Airport was at capacity for overnight aircraft parking at the terminal gates and the existing terminal apron. The solution required the design and construction of a new remain overnight (RON) parking apron with space for up to seven commercial aircrafts simultaneously. The project entailed extensive utility relocations, grading and drainage, concrete and asphalt paving, and airfield electrical. Join us for a discussion of the construction challenges and successes.