Aviation Safety and Security Commons^™

Assessing Computer Vision Based Conflict Detection In Uas Traffic Monitoring Under Secure Communication Constraints, Fadjimata Issoufou Anaroua

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The rapid growth of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) is creating a new low-altitude airspace ecosystem where drones, air taxis, service suppliers, communication networks, sensors, and ground-based monitoring systems must work together safely. Within this ecosystem, UAS Traffic Management (UTM) is expected to provide a digital framework for coordinating operations beyond traditional air traffic control. However, reliable integration also requires resilient monitoring methods that can detect non-cooperative aircraft, protect communication links, and maintain timely situational awareness under real-world constraints.

This dissertation examines how computer vision can support cooperative monitoring systems such as Remote ID and ADS-B …

Classification Of Aircraft Checklist Usability Problems Using Natural Language Processing, Borvorn Kasemtanakul

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The use of checklists has been identified as a recurring issue in aviation accident investigations, highlighting the need for continued improvement in aircraft checklist design. However, existing aviation safety taxonomies do not systematically address checklist usability problems. Therefore, a systematic classification of these problems is needed to support the extension of existing aviation safety taxonomies and to facilitate safety data analysis for checklist design improvements. Furthermore, applications of Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques in aircraft checklist research remain underexplored, despite their potential to identify meaningful patterns in textual safety data.

This exploratory research aimed to develop a data-driven classification of …

Evaluating The Safety Efficiency Of U.S. Air Traffic Control Tower Operations Using Data Envelopment Analysis, Kenneth James Gilbert Ii

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Air traffic control (ATC) tower safety efficiency remains inadequately measured despite critical workforce challenges, including staffing shortages, training pipeline constraints, and geographic retention difficulties. This mixed-methods study developed and validated a comprehensive framework for measuring tower safety efficiency by integrating subject-matter expert insights with multi-model data envelopment analysis (DEA) across 66 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) tower facilities from 2016 to 2024. Six focus group interviews with experienced professionals (100% with > 20 years of experience), averaging 96.4 minutes, identified critical efficiency factors through systematic coding, achieving substantial inter-rater reliability (Cohen's kappa 𝜅 = .68). Qualitative findings showed that staffing shortages don't …

Safety-Aware Trajectory Generation For Increased Autonomy In Advanced Air Mobility, Edison Alberto Martinez Samaniego

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) envisions highly automated aircraft that will enable short and medium range transportation. Unlike conventional aviation, these vehicles are expected to operate closer to populated areas and with increased levels of autonomy, making safe operation under abnormal or degraded conditions a critical requirement. Failures or performance degradation can reduce the maneuvering capability of an aircraft, causing trajectories planned under nominal conditions to become dynamically unfeasible.

This thesis presents a trajectory generation and replanning framework designed to maintain safe and feasible flight under reduced flight envelope conditions for a lift+cruise eVTOL aircraft. A unified control architecture based on …

Aligning Aviation Safety Reporting System Anomaly Codes For Crew Communication And Coordination With Human Factors Taxonomies, Jennifer Rose Herr

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This study addresses the lack of theoretical grounding and definitions for the Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) anomaly codes, particularly those related to pilot communication and coordination errors. To improve the conceptual consistency and analytical usability of ASRS data, the research developed a framework that maps ASRS codes to three established theory-based human factors taxonomies: the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS), Threat and Error Management (TEM), and Aviation Causal Contributors for Error Reporting Systems (ACCERS). The study used qualitative text mining to systematically code communication and coordination errors submitted by Part 121 pilots for a stratified sample of …

Aircraft Bird Strike Risk Prediction Using Machine Learning And Analytic Hierarchy Process, Jason Anthony Powell

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

To address the limitations of Next Generation Radar-based bird strike forecasting, this study modeled 12 spatiotemporal weather features from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration alongside bird strike risk using Long Short-Term Memory Recurrent Neural Network (LSTM-RNN), XGBoost regression tree, and Bayesian network algorithms. Five years of bird strike data from four geographically diverse airfields served as the target risk variable, categorized as low, moderate, or severe based on Department of the Air Force risk models. The ensemble model, which combines the LSTM-RNN and XGBoost regression algorithms, yielded the most accurate forecasts, achieving 80% to 93% accuracy across all airfields, …

Physics-Informed Deep Learning For Pilot Parameter Estimation And Pilot-Induced Oscillation Characterization, Stephen A. Brutch

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This thesis investigates the issue of loss-of-control in flight which is a driving contributor to fatal aviation accidents. The two main contributors tackled in this research are human pilot error and categories of pilot-induced-oscillations. The primary objective is to develop models that can capture the mathematical parameters that relate to human pilot control under the widely used McRuer Mathematical pilot model. The goal is that if the mathematical parameters that relate to human pilot control can be monitored during flight then the pilot’s input to the control system and pilot-induced-oscillations (PIO) can be monitored during flight to avoid loss-of-control. This …

Assessing The Influences Of Electronic Flight Bags On General Aviation Single Pilots’ Situation Awareness In Various Conditions, Dongguang Yu

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The widespread adoption of Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) among general aviation pilots prompts safety concerns regarding transitioning from traditional, heavily loaded paper-based flight bags. However, studies evaluating the impact of EFBs on general aviation pilots’ situation awareness are limited. This study aimed to determine whether EFBs enhanced or hindered general aviation pilots’ situation awareness.

The research compared EFBs with traditional paper-based flight bags to investigate pilots’ situation awareness in a single-pilot flight deck under visual flight rules, normal and emergency flight scenarios, and different mounting positions. A sample of 38 participants was recruited, including flight students, flight instructors, and retired …

Exploring A New Conceptual Framework In Aviation Maintenance Incident Reporting Using Natural Language Processing, Christopher P. Braun

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

In the analysis of human error incidents, human factors specialists predominantly follow two schools of thought in categorization strategies. One is to categorize the operator’s actions by the physical properties of the activity (phenotypes); the other focuses on the cognitive behaviors preceding the incident (genotypes). These categorization strategies are intended to foster an understanding of the events, identify risks, and assist in the implementation of risk reduction interventions. Commercial aviation maintenance presents unique challenges to human factor practitioners in terms of task requirements, working environments, communication modalities, and safety standards. Complex tasks are handed from one shift of personnel to …

Situation Awareness Assessment Of Enhanced Stable Approach Flight Instrument Displays, David J. Hunter

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Through the year 2022, runway-related events, including excursions, abnormal runway contact, and runway undershoot and overshoot, were the third leading causes of fatal aircraft accidents. Principal to these runway-related accidents was the presence of an unstable approach. Pilots currently must depend on the timely recall of stable approach criteria stored in long-term memory, application of those criteria against current flight conditions, perception and cognition of deviation from those criteria, and determination of potential courses of action. Such recall is fallible, and challenges to perception and cognition are ever-present.

This study examined whether the presentation of stable approach criteria boundaries and …

The Elements Of Governance And Their Association With Aviation Safety Oversight Effectiveness, João Souza Dias Garcia

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

States and their respective national civil aviation authorities promote the improvement of the global civil aviation system by developing and enforcing safety regulations for aircraft design, operations, personnel training, infrastructure, and air traffic management, among other topics. For many years, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has driven the continuous improvement of states’ safety oversight functions, supporting them in evaluating the effectiveness of these functions by conducting audits under the Organization’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program (USOAP). While the benefits of these assessments have been broadly recognized, scholarly literature on the factors commonly associated with safety oversight effectiveness across states …

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 …

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 …

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 …

Identification And Validation Of A Predicted Risk-Taking Propensity Model Among General Aviation Pilots, Joel Samu

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Risk-taking, a persistent topic of interest and concern in aviation, has been linked with unsafe behaviors and accidents. However, risk-taking propensity is a complex construct that encompasses numerous factors still being researched. Even within the limited research available about the factors affecting pilots’ risk-taking propensity, studies have yielded inconsistent results. Therefore, this quantitative study explores existing and novel factors that predict the propensity for risk-taking among general aviation (GA) pilots in the United States.

This study, conducted in two stages, involved developing a prediction model using backward stepwise regression to predict pilots’ risk propensity, followed by model fit testing using …

Loss Of Control In-Flight (Loc-I): A Mixed Methods Study Of Voluntary Versus Mandatory Reports From The United States Of America, Roger Lee

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Loss of control in flight (LOC-I) is one of modern aviation’s three most prominent fatal accidents. In the United States, air accidents are mandatorily reported to and investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). Established in 1976, the Air Safety Reporting System (ASRS) is a voluntary safety reporting (VSR) system administered by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Over 1.7 million ASRS reports have been processed to date. While the NTSB system handles LOC-I accidents, less severe incidents may have been reported voluntarily through the ASRS.

Safety reporting has been deemed the most valuable activity and the centerpiece …

Writing Matters: Investigating The Quality Of Collegiate Aviation Incident Report Narratives, Kayla D. Taylor

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Strong communication skills are fundamental to workplace success in the field of aviation. Numerous studies have shown that a deficiency in communication skills contributes to aviation accidents, and, as a result, the development of communication competencies within the aviation industry has received considerable critical attention. Understanding the acquisition and subsequent progression of writing skills throughout a pilot’s education, specifically in preparatory aviation courses, is an emerging area of research in aviation communication.

This study examined how the level of supplemental discipline-specific guidance affects the writing quality of incident report narratives composed by collegiate pilot students at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU). …

Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems: Operator Workload And Situation Awareness Utilizing First Person View Techniques, Ross Lucas Stephenson Jr

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The small, unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) sector within the aviation industry is experiencing unprecedented growth. However, the regulatory guidance for the safe integration of sUAS into the National Airspace System (NAS) has not kept pace with this technological growth within the market. Current regulatory limitations of line-of-sight operations may have an impact on the establishment of an equivalent level of safety for sUAS operations as maintained by manned aircraft. The focal point of the discussion of line-of-sight operations has been the ability of the sUAS pilot to see and avoid all obstacles and other aircraft in a safe and timely …

Enhancing Cyberspace Monitoring In The United States Aviation Industry: A Multi-Layered Approach For Addressing Emerging Threats, Matthew Janson

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

This research project examined the cyberspace domain in the United States (U.S.) aviation industry from many different angles. The research involved learning about the U.S. aviation cyberspace environment, the landscape of cyber threats, new technologies like 5G and smart airports, cybersecurity frameworks and best practices, and the use of aviation cyberspace monitoring capabilities. The research looked at how vulnerable the aviation industry is from cyber-attacks, analyzed the possible effects of cyber-attacks on the industry, and suggests ways to improve the industry's cybersecurity posture. The project's main goal was to protect against possible cyber-attacks and make sure that the aviation industry …

Utilizing Flight Data Monitoring At A Part 141 Flight School To Determine Predictors For Unstabilized Approaches And Go-Arounds, Hannah Rooney

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

As general aviation accident rates are much higher than those of Part 121 air carriers, and the approach and landing phase of flight accounts for more accidents than any other phase of flight, the study of the approach and landing phase of flight is warranted in greater detail. Flight Data Monitoring provides an excellent source of data for the study of individual landing parameters. The intent of this study was to evaluate potential predictors of unstable approaches as well as go-arounds.

Flight data provided by a Part 141 flight school was examined to determine predictors for unstable approaches and go-arounds. …

Machine Learning And Artificial Intelligence Methods For Cybersecurity Data Within The Aviation Ecosystem, Anna Baron Garcia

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Aviation cybersecurity research has proven to be a complex topic due to the intricate nature of the aviation ecosystem. Over the last two decades, research has been centered on isolated modules of the entire aviation systems, and it has lacked the state-of-the-art tools (e.g. ML/AI methods) that other cybersecurity disciplines have leveraged in their fields. Security research in aviation in the last two decades has mainly focused on: (i) reverse engineering avionics and software certification; (ii) communications due to the rising new technologies of Software Defined Radios (SDRs); (iii) networking cybersecurity concerns such as the inter and intra connections of …

Prediction Of Severity Of Aviation Landing Accidents Using Support Vector Machine Models, Dezsö V. Silagyi

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to apply support vector machine (SVM) models to predict the severity of aircraft damage and the severity of personal injury during an aircraft approach and landing accident and to evaluate and rank the importance of 14 accident factors to the severity. Three new factors were introduced using the theory of inattentional blindness: The presence of visual area surface penetrations for a runway, the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) visual area surface penetration policy timeframe, and the type of runway approach lighting.

The study comprised 1,297 aircraft approach and landing accidents at airports within the United …

Determining Contributing Factors For Passenger Airline Pilot Perceived Fatigue, Heidi C. Kim

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Fatigue is a recurring concern for pilots and continues to be a common contributing cause of aircraft accidents. The purpose of the dissertation was to determine factors that influence fatigue in commercial airline pilots. The ability to accurately associate fatigue in pilots before a flight begins could have a profound and meaningful impact on aviation safety. Seven factors were identified in the literature review as having possible predictive capabilities of perceived fatigue in pilots working for passenger carriers, including time awake, perceived stress, sleep quality, hours of sleep, age, typically scheduled start time, and hours on duty.

An …

Noise And Time Pressure Effects On Situation Awareness And Aviation Maintenance Tasks, Syaza R. M. Haris

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Aircraft maintenance technicians (AMTs) working in a line maintenance work setting are very susceptible to the deafening occupational noise from the airport vicinity or the maintenance machinery itself. Compared to a base maintenance working period, a line maintenance job requires AMTs to complete a task within a short time frame. The current study's objective is to determine if different noise levels and time pressure influence AMTs' performance and situation awareness (SA). Sixteen Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University students majoring in Aviation Maintenance Science participated in a within-subject experimental design. Each participant's performance, SA level, and perceived workload were measured during maintenance tasks …

Pilot Perception Of Cockpit Organizational Framework’S Impact On Flight Safety And Subordinate Pilot Behavior, Robert D. Allen

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Past accidents have indicated that first officers (FO) are less likely to identify and correct captain errors than captains are to correct FO errors. Crew resource management (CRM) training was introduced in the late 1970s to improve captain teamwork skills to utilize the FO more effectively and to increase FO willingness to interject to preserve safety. Despite the effectiveness of CRM training programs, there continue to be incidences where subordinate pilots make weak or ineffective attempts to preserve safety.

This research investigated commercial and airline transport pilots’ perception of the impact cockpit organizational framework (COF) has on both flight safety …

Identification Of Factors Associated With Fume Events Using Text Mining And Data Mining Methods, Mary B. O'Connor

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Pilots, flight attendants, and passengers can be exposed to toxic compounds when the bleed air that supplies the cabin and flight deck is contaminated with pyrolyzed hydraulic fluid or oil from turbine jet engines. These fume events occur sporadically and can result in acute or chronic exposure in air crews and can have catastrophic consequences if flight crew members become impaired or incapacitated. The purpose of this research was to explore unstructured textual data and identify important factors associated with these events. Models using machine learning algorithms were developed and tested using variables gleaned from the text mining process and …

Air Traffic Controllers’ Occupational Stress And Performance In The Future Air Traffic Management, Hui Wang

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

As demand for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations increases, it is vital to understand its effects on air traffic controllers and the safety of the national airspace system. This study’s primary purpose is to determine how UAVs that operate in controlled airspace would influence air traffic controllers’ occupational stress and performance. In a within-subject experimental research design, 24 participants sampled from a university’s undergraduate Air Traffic Management (ATM) program completed three different air traffic control (ATC) scenarios on an en route ATC simulation system. The degree of UAV automation and control were varied in each scenario. The participants’ stress levels, …

The Effects Of Carry-On Baggage On Aircraft Evacuation Efficiency, Sang-A Lee

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The most frequent obstacle of an aircraft evacuation is the passengers carrying baggage while evacuating. Passengers who insist on taking their carry-on baggage during an emergency evacuation not only slow down the evacuation process but also act as a significant risk to the safety of other passengers. This study investigated the factors that affect passengers’ behavioral intention to evacuate with carry-on baggage and the effects of evacuating with carry-on baggage on the total evacuation time. Overall, two studies were conducted to provide an outline of the factors that affect and affected by carry-on baggage.

Study 1 used an agent-based model, …

A Comparison Of Safety Management Systems Training Methods At A Collegiate Flight-Training Institution, Mackenzie Tyler Dickson

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The purpose of this thesis was to compare how two different types of Safety Management Systems (SMS) training affect SMS knowledge in instructors and students in a university flight program. Additionally, the research sought to determine whether a correlation exists between safety knowledge and safety culture perception. An experimental research design was used to study two independent variables, training method and person type, and their effect of SMS knowledge. A non-experimental design was used to study the correlation between safety knowledge and safety culture perception. Research has shown that a safety-training program’s engagement level has an effect on the safety …