Engineering Commons^™

A Double Taboo? An Exploratory Study Of Mental Health Perceptions Amongst Black Aerospace Professionals, Theodore W. Johnson Ph.D., Arlean Timmons, Kenisha V. Ford, Harriet Sanya

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

This exploratory study delves into the often-overlooked realm of mental health perceptions among Black aerospace professionals, shedding light on a double taboo within a historically stigmatized industry and community. In response to the escalating mental health crisis in the U.S. and scarcity of research focusing exclusively on the mental health experiences of Black aerospace professionals, this research endeavors to uncover their unique perspectives.

The findings from the study indicate that Black aerospace professionals navigate not only the universal challenges of mental health but also complex socio-cultural and workplace factors, such as discrimination, underrepresentation, and the historic reluctance to discuss mental …

Going Airborne: Kent State's Pioneering Leap Into Integrated Advanced Air Mobility, Jason T. Lorenzon

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

This proposal centers on the development of a Concept of Operations in Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). Kent State University's College of Aeronautics and Engineering is poised to pioneer the integration of drones and electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) systems, bridging the gap between its campus and airport by transporting students and faculty the 3NM distance from campus to the airport and back by a UAV. Beyond a standard research initiative, this proposal signifies a groundbreaking effort to reshape the landscape of educational aeronautics and Advanced Air Mobility and Urban Air Mobility. Our overarching goal is to transcend conventional boundaries …

Understanding Collegiate Aviation Pilot Mental Performance Studies And Future Research Opportunities, Debra Henneberry, Stephanie Brown, Flavio Coimbra, Julius Keller

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (2022), fatigue is defined as “a condition characterized by increased discomfort with lessened capacity for work, reduced efficiency of accomplishment, loss of power or capacity to respond to stimulation, and is usually accompanied by a feeling of weariness and tiredness” (p. 2). Further outcomes of fatigue include tiredness, weakness, lack of energy, lethargy, depression, and lack of motivation (ICAO, 2016). Stress can release cortisol which can in turn cause sleep issues leading to fatigue (Harvard, 2021). In one study Mendonca, Keller, and Albelo (2023) found 69% (n = 192) percent of collegiate aviation pilots …

Examination Of Urban Air Mobility Integration Into The National Airspace System, Richard Stansbury, Clyde Rinkinen, William B. Coyne, Mykyta Zhyla, Randon Senn, Maaliyah Bowden

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) initiative aims to enhance air transportation for people and cargo in areas with limited aviation services. The Urban Air Mobility (UAM) concept, under AAM, focuses on improving transportation connectivity within metropolitan areas. The FAA’s ASSURE UAS Center of Excellence has sponsored a project to provide recommendations for future technological developments, UAM airspace integration, infrastructure enhancements, and new regulations to support UAM flights. The team’s first milestone was a literature review to identify past work relevant to UAM, including airspace and operational constraints, infrastructure requirements, and communication, navigation, and surveillance (CNS) requirements. Two dominant concepts of …

Integrating Unmanned Aerial Systems For Enhanced Wildlife Hazard Assessment In Airport Environments, Savanna Box, Anna Golendukhina, Raymond Ayres, Nicholas Buckalew

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Our team has explored the use of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) technologies to develop a concept of operations for data collection during a Wildlife Hazard Assessment. Data have been collected in a farmland area located two nautical miles south of Daytona Beach International Airport (Class C Airspace). The research team has applied and assessed the effectiveness of several Safety Risk Management protocols designed to ensure safe UAS operations during a WHA. The UAS crew has applied drone technologies to visually detect and record wildlife observations, activities, and natural habitats that could attract wildlife to the airport environment, as recommended by …

Using Natural Language Processing To Identify Mental Health Indicators In Aviation Voluntary Safety Reports, Michael Sawyer, Katherine Berry, Amelia Kinsella, R Jordan Hinson, Edward Bynum

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Voluntary Safety Reporting Programs (VSRPs) are a critical tool in the aviation industry for monitoring safety issues observed by the frontline workforce. While VSRPs primarily focus on operational safety, report narratives often describe factors such as fatigue, workload, culture, staffing, and health, directly or indirectly impacting mental health. These reports can provide individual and organizational insights into aviation personnel's physical and psychological well-being. This poster introduces the AVIation Analytic Neural network for Safety events (AVIAN-S) model as a potential tool to extract and monitor these insights. AVIAN-S is a novel machine-learning model that leverages natural language processing (NLP) to analyze …

Air Carrier Pilot Training, Supply & Recruitment Challenges, Paul Ryder, Todd Lisak

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The route to airline recovery following the global COVID-19 pandemic is flush with opportunity for airlines, unions, and regulators to work together within current regulatory structures to recruit the next generation of aviation professionals, while continuing to ensure they are properly trained, qualified and mentored for safe flight operations. As an industry we have raised interest in pursuing aviation, but more still should be done.

The pace of the recovery from the pandemic induced reductions in air travel is testing United States pilot training and recruitment systems.

The reductions in air travel at the beginning of the pandemic led to …

Change Fatigue In Aviation Maintenance Through A Human Factors Lens, Stephanie Douglas, Bettina Mrusek

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Aviation is a demanding and fast-paced industry and it is not uncommon for aviation professionals, including maintainers, to experience rapid disruption and organizational change. Fatigue in aviation professionals is a known risk. Fatigue risk management systems (FRMS) seek to mitigate this risk by focusing on tiredness resulting from long work hours and lack of quality sleep. Recently, change fatigue has also risen to the forefront of business and employee studies. In many of today’s industries, change is constant as firms implement changes either to address disruptions, business growth or to follow trends in the industry. Frequent changes in an organization …

Determining The Effectiveness Of Single-Pilot Resource Management In General Aviation, Alaba Gabriel Idowu, Holly Augustine, Michael Adebola Shogbonyo

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

This research aims to determine the effectiveness of single-pilot resource management (SRM) towards improved safety in general aviation (GA) as compared to its counterpart, crew resource management (CRM), in commercial aviation that has improved commercial safety drastically. GA safety has been a significant concern due to many fatalities. Despite SRM concepts to ensure safe and successful flight operations, evidence showed that GA suffers a higher fatal accident rate than scheduled airline flights and holds a lackluster safety record, accounting for 94% of civil aviation fatalities. In contrast, commercial aviation safety has improved since the implementation of CRM. The investigation examines …

Why Should Airline Workers Be Trained To Respond To Fume Events?, Judith Tl Anderson

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The potential for engine oil and hydraulic fluid fumes to contaminate the ventilation air supplied to the aircraft cabin and flight deck has been recognized since the 1950s as a function of the design and maintenance of the bleed air system. The presence of oil and hydraulic fluid in the bleed air matters because the fumes contain complex mixtures of chemicals, including toxic additives. Starting in the 1950s and continuing to this day, crewmembers around the world have documented ill health during and after breathing these fumes. Also, some crewmembers have reported impairment and even incapacitation inflight, resulting in investigations …

Utilizing Drones To Streamline Wildlife Hazard Management Efforts By Airport Operators, Flavio A. C. Mendonca Ph.D., Ryan Wallace, Jose Cabrera, Cole Mcnall

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Airports operating under the Code of Federal Regulations Part 139 should conduct a wildlife hazard assessment (WHA) when some wildlife-strike events have occurred at or near the airport. The WHA must be conducted by a Qualified Airport Wildlife Biologist (QAWB). The required elements in a WHA include the identification of the wildlife species observed and their numbers, and the location of features on and near the airport that could attract wildlife. Service learning and research projects enable undergraduate students to develop transferable skills that are highly valued by the aviation industry, including critical thinking, self-confidence, the ability to integrate theory …

Airline Pilot Risk Profiling By Using Unstable Approach Management Case, Selim Ozyurek

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Risk and human decision-making cannot be separated from each other. Many of theories and studies have tried to analyze pilots’ decision-making processes, risk factors, and preference behavior in the aviation domain. Unstable approaches are fairly infrequent, but an unstable approach is a major risk factor for landing accidents (Smith & Curtis, 2013; Smith, Jamieson, & Curtis, 2012). Therefore, the decision to execute a go-around if an approach is not sufficiently stable is encouraged in the interest of safety (Airbus Customer Services, 2012; Flight Safety Foundation, 2013), but in practice less than 5% of the unstable approaches actually results in a …

Neutralization Of Fuel Tankering Emissions For Environmental Sustainability, Peter O'Reilly, Maria Petrescu, Fabricio Sulzbacher, Diogo Coutinho

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

As aviation has been one of the fastest-growing sources of emissions, this paper explores sustainable solutions in the equation of the economic savings from the fuel tankering practice, in a way it could represent gains of credibility for this industry (Boussauw & Vanoutrive, 2019). The fuel expenses in Brazil have been responsible for the highest operational cost for the airlines and, as a result, there has been an ongoing pursuit of the highest level of efficiency (ANAC, 2019). In this context, this study has been focused on the emerging Brazilian aviation market, and uses primary data collected from three major …

Xr In Aviation Training: Insight From Academia, Industry, And Non-Profit Institutions, Stephanie G. Fussell, Robert L. Thomas, Bejamin Kwasa, James Birdsong, Kurt Reesman, Lori Brow, Joel Scharlat, William T. Ballo

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound impact on education and training. Institutions that relied heavily on face-to-face instruction suddenly needed alternative modalities to keep students on course, forcing educators and trainers to employ a variety of educational techniques via technologies that they may not have had experience with. This shift has brought the advantages – and disadvantages – of augmented, mixed, and virtual reality technologies (collectively, extended reality or XR) for education and training into sharp focus. Programs were quickly assembled, and not always with consideration of learning theories. As learning and training were resumed in in-person settings, academics and …

Creating The Next Generation Of Aviation Professionals: Creating Diversity In The Next Generation, Jason T. Lorenzon

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Covid-19, mandatory retirement age, the 1500 Hour ATP rule and lack of future aviation professionals has lead to a global industry crisis. With the boom of the 1990’s, 9/11, the Great Recession, Covid-19, the lack of younger individuals dedicating themselves to the study of aviation has led to a current crisis of a lack of aviation professionals ready to serve the industry currently and in the future. Lorenzon will trace how the work force shortage started well over twenty years ago. Boeing and Airbus both predict that over 2.2 million new workers including over 600000 pilots will be needed. Yet …

Evaluating Laanc Compliance And Air Traffic Collision Hazards Posed By Small Unmanned Aircraft Operations In Controlled Airspace, Ryan J. Wallace Ed.D., John M. Robbins Ph.D., James Holliman M.B.A., Jon M. Loffi Edd, Donald S. Metscher D.B.A., Taylor Rogers

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

On July 23, 2019, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) expanded the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC)—the system that processes airspace approvals for sUAS operators in controlled airspace—to include recreational operations. Under LAANC, sUAS operators submit flight request information to one of 14 LAANC Service Suppliers via a mobile or online application. Flight request data is checked against UAS Facility Maps, NOTAMs, and Temporary Flight Restrictions to ensure compliance. Small UAS operators then receive a digital, automated authorization in near-real time. As of May 23, 2019, 591 airports across the United States are included in the LAANC system. Researchers …

Under Pressure: Decision Making In Aircraft Maintenance And The Role Of Gender, Stephanie Douglas Ph.D., Bettina M. Mrusek Ph.D.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

In aircraft maintenance, leaders are under near-constant pressure to maintain airworthiness. Every minute an aircraft cannot fly due to maintenance represents financial waste. Decisions are therefore made in a relatively quick fashion. A leader evaluates the situation, identifies a course of action and then communicates this message to a team of technicians. However, gender influences regarding leaders’ decisions can influence team members’ perceptions of those decisions.

The study will measure decision making methods of leaders in aircraft maintenance and the perceptions of the technicians. It informs how gender influences decision making from both the leader and follower perspective. The expected …

Pilot Selection Research Gaps: What We Do And Don't Know About "The Right Stuff", Tomas C. Scott, Meredith Carroll Ph.D.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Ever since the commencement of high-powered flight, pilot selection has been a crucial process within military, general, and commercial aviation. Through effective pilot selection, individuals with the necessary aptitudes, or "the right stuff" to get through a training program and successfully perform the job, can be chosen. There is a range of different aptitudes that have been shown through research to correlate with effective pilot performance. However, there is currently not a comprehensive understanding of the aptitudes, including both cognitive abilities and psychological attributes, necessary not only for effective pilot performance but also for a successful career as an aviator. …

Integrating Aviation Technology, Emergency Services, And Human Resilience: Considerations From Social Scientists, Chelsea A. Lenoble Ph.D., Joel M. Billings Ph.D., Allison A. Kwesell Ph.D., Ray H. Chang Ph.D.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) have a range of applications within the field of disaster response. This presentation offers a novel framework of psychosocial considerations designed to advance UAS and disaster management integration. Social scientists highlight important challenges to the effective integration of three primary entities: UAS, the team of teams that responds to disasters, and populations affected by disasters.

The presentation adopts an emerging theoretical perspective on the intersection between UAS capabilities and disaster phases and extends it by bringing necessary attention to social science issues. Specifically, the framework outlines psychosocial considerations and areas of improvement for preparation (training), response …

Exploring Dynamic Delegated Corridors And 4d Required Navigation Performance Trajectory To Enable Uam Aircraft To Integrate Into The Existing Airspace System, Trong Van Nguyen

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Increased traffic congestion on urban road networks has impacted the travel time for commuters in highly populated urban centers. Urban Air Mobility (UAM) is recognized as a system that transports the passenger and air cargo from any location to any destination within a metropolitan area. UAM may offer a solution to the problematic issue of automobile urban surface transportation congestion. However, the predicted significant growth in the demand for integration of UAM operations into the existing airspace system in the next 20 years and beyond may exceed the capacity of current air traffic control (ATC) system resources, particularly the ATC …

Applying And Evaluating A Taxonomy Of Resilient Performance Among Certified Flight Instructors, Kristine M. Kiernan Ph.D., David S. Cross Ph.D., Ed.D., Mark Scharf Ph.D.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Human error in aviation has been well studied, but the contribution of human performance to system resilience in aviation has not been as well explored. Resilient performance is the ability of a system to make accommodations before, during, and after a disturbance to ensure continued system functioning. Resilient performance is enabled by the ability to anticipate, monitor, learn, and respond. Certified flight instructors will be interviewed using the critical incident debrief method. Interviews will be transcribed and analyzed to explore resilient behavior and evaluate whether the taxonomy of success developed in commercial airline operations is applicable to the flight instruction …

The Effects Of Cultural Factors On Safety In Aviation Focusing On Asian And Western Cultures, Jiyeon Song

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Several aviation accidents from the past, such as the Asiana Flight 214 crash at San Francisco International Airport in 2015, have highlighted possible effects of Korean hierarchy culture on the safety of flight. Previous research conducted primarily with the use of surveys revealed that Asian pilots are less likely to report an unsafe condition out of fear that it will damage their relationships with coworkers and superiors. Western pilots see reporting as dealing with the problem and not a person, thus they feel more open to it. This study looked at student pilots’ ability to recognize and deny an unsafe …

Measuring Fatigue And Sleepiness In Collegiate Aviation Pilots, Julius Keller Ph.D., Flavio A. C. Mendonca Ph.D., Erik Levin, Aaron Teo

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The National Transportation Safety Board has communicated the need to reduce fatigue related accidents through the top ten most wanted list. Additionally, the International Civil Aviation Organization and Federal Aviation Administration have continuously promoted fatigue risk management. Most fatigue related research as well as safety standards in aviation involve air carrier and military operations. However, there has been a recent revival of fatigue related research in collegiate aviation. A recent study found that 85% of collegiate aviation pilots (n = 141) reported fatigue negatively impacted their flight training activities. Results of a qualitative study indicated poor knowledge and behaviors by …

An Alternative Method Of Identification Of A Failed Engine In Twin-Engine Propeller Aircraft, Andrey Babin, Andrew R. Dattel Ph.D.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Previous research revealed that wrong identification of a failed engine during flight is not an uncommon event in twin-engine propeller aircraft. Most accidents of this type have happened on takeoff when pilot workload was at its highest level. This study was based on the assumption that the “dead leg – dead engine” method was not efficient enough. An alternative method of identification of a failed engine, which involved a visual indicator inside a cockpit, was introduced and tested. Method: Student pilots from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University who had not obtained multi-engine (MEL) rating were sampled and assigned to two groups – …

Gender Difference In Situation Awareness When Receiving Wayfinding Direction By Landmarks And Headings, Ziyi Dong

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

This paper explores how gender differences affect wayfinding strategies and how gender differences and wayfinding preferences can explain variances with situation awareness (SA) in dynamic environments. Four hypotheses were tested: H1: women navigate better from landmarks cues. H2: men navigate better from cardinal directions (i.e., south and northeast). H3: women have better SA than men when given landmarks directions. H4: men show better SA when given cardinal directions. In this study, 38 participants drove a driving simulator twice — once with landmarks and once with headings instructions. These two types of instructions were presented in a random counterbalanced order. Participants …

A Method Of Identification Of A Failed Engine In Twin-Engine Turboprop Aircraft: A Survey, Andrey Babin, Andrew R. Dattel Ph.D.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Previous research identified that wrong identification of a failed engine during a flight is not an uncommon event in an aircraft cockpit. A number of fatal accidents in the past, including the recent TransAsia Flight 235 accident, resulted from failed engine mis-identification. Most accidents of this type happened on takeoff when pilot workload was at its highest level. A short survey was created and distributed among airline pilots who operate twin-engine turboprop aircraft to gather their opinions regarding the issue. Forty-nine pilots responded to the survey. The average flight experience was more than 6,000 flight hours and almost nine years. …

Effects Of Lighting And Noise On Performance And Situation Awareness In An Air Traffic Control Task, Saralee Pruksaritanon, Andrew Dattel Ph.D., Steven Hampton Ed.D.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Work environment influences an individual’s performance and situation awareness (SA). This study aims to investigate the effects of lighting and noise levels on performance and situation awareness in an air traffic control (ATC) task. These two variables are important in the domain of ATC because the task requires an individual to receive and process information both visually and auditorily. The results are useful for designing air traffic control rooms, which are set differently among different air navigation service providers. The subjects are 16 students majoring in Air Traffic Management (ATM) at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) – Daytona Beach, FL. The …

Personal Safety Culture: A New Measure For General Aviation Pilots, Bradley S. Baugh, Kimberly M. Bracewell, Urara Takano, Mattie N. Milner, Emily C. Anania, Nadine K. Ragbir, Mudhur Bharat Gupta, Diego M. Garcia, Drishti O. Valecha, Daniel A. Marte, Scott R. Winter, Stephen Rice

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Safety culture has been a subject of research for over three decades and is now widely accepted as a critical component of organizational safety programs both domestically and internationally. Through the development of a healthy safety culture, aviation organizations can improve safety processes, reduce mishaps, and mitigate risk more effectively. This is done through the holistic team efforts of an organization’s members and the organization’s leadership. How about aviators who are not part of an organization? Is it possible to identify a personal safety culture defined outside of the traditional organization? And, is it possible to create an instrument allowing …

Uas Maintenance: A Critical Component In Maintaining Airworthiness, Bettina M. Mrusek Ph.D., Patti J. Clark Ph.D., Kristy W. Kiernan Ph.D.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Over the last several decades, the notion of traditional aircraft design has significantly changed. While there are many modern aircraft that resemble earlier models, their components, systems, and overall architecture have evolved, including the introduction of small unmanned aircraft systems. Despite the growing consumer attraction to own and operate these aircraft, the subsequent impact on safety is an area of intense concern. The requirement of an established maintenance program for manned aircraft is rooted in ensuring that all aircraft are deemed safe for flight. Preventive maintenance schedules are based on component reliability data, which minimizes unnecessary maintenance while preventing maintenance-related …

Suas: Cybersecurity Threats, Vulnerabilities, And Exploits, Philip Craiger, Gary Kessler, William Rose

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

The FAA predicts that purchases of hobbyist small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) will grow from 1.9 million in 2016 to 4.3 million by 2020, and commercial sUAS to increase from 600,000 in 2016 to 2.7 million by 2020. sUAS, often referred to as 'drones,' are comprised of aeronautical hardware, a CPU, RAM, onboard storage, radio frequency communications, sensors, a camera, and a controller used by the pilot-in-command (PIC). Some have argued that a sUAS is essentially a flying computer. As such, sUAS are sometimes susceptible to many of the types of attacks that are often used on PC-based computers attached …