Aviation Safety and Security Commons^™

Maintenance Implications For Unmanned Aerial Vehicles In Remote Locations, Ian R. Mcandrew, Mark Kaintz, Andrew Carruthers

Publications

Maintenance in the aviation industry has evolved considerably since commercial and general aviation became a modern mode of transportation. ICAO has made maintenance a top priority by directing local National Aviation Authorities, NAA, to have implemented, robust and standardized training and qualifications for all maintenance personnel that work on any safety critical structure or component. There are rules, law and standards that are audited and the aviation industry is, perhaps, the most successful industry in maintaining standards and reliability. With the advent of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, UAV, the role of maintenance is now needing to be reviewed to determine how …

Accident-Precipitating Factors For Crashes In Turbine-Powered General Aviation Aircraft, Douglas Boyd, Alan Stolzer

Publications

General aviation (14CFR Part 91) accounts for 83% of civil aviation fatalities. While much research has focused on accident causes/pilot demographics in this aviation sector, studies to identify factors leading up to the crash (accident-precipitating factors) are few. Such information could inform on pre-emptive remedial action. With this in mind and considering the paucity of research on turbine-powered aircraft accidents the study objectives were to identify accident-precipitating factors and determine if the accident rate has changed over time for such aircraft operating under 14CFR Part 91.

The NTSB Access database was queried for accidents in airplanes (

The “Checklist/Flight Manual …

Emerging Tools For Evaluating Safety Management Systems Effectiveness, T. Brady, A. Stolzer

Publications

Safety Management Systems (SMS) have become prevalent in a host of industries, including aviation, for managing safety, but little research has been performed to-date on measuring the effectiveness of SMS. This research examined the independent application of two related concepts to assess effective- ness: IO/SMS, an Input-Output economics concept applied to SMS, and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Input-Output (IO) is a method for systematically determining the inter-relationships among ele- ments in a system. To determine if IO could be applied to SMS, it was necessary to calculate the relative importance to the system of the four components of SMS. Five …

Wide-Scale Small Unmanned Aircraft System Access To The National Airspace System, John Robbins, Brent Terwilliger, David Ison, Dennis Vincenzi

Publications

Expected revisions of federal policies and regulations for the operation and certification of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) are anticipated to significantly increase the volume of traffic in the National Airspace System (NAS). By investigating critical needs of regulatory compliance and safety, as well as new advancements, it may be possible to identify strategies to address the most pressing concerns of sUAS integration. Findings and recommendations from this research are presented to highlight implications and possible solutions to urgent needs of UAS stakehold-ers, including industry, government, and academia.

Causes And Trends In Maintenance-Related Accidents In Faa-Certified Single Engine Piston Aircraft, Douglas Boyd, Alan Stolzer

Publications

The accident rate for general aviation remains high. While most general aviation accident studies have been pilot-focused, there is little research on the involvement of aircraft maintenance errors. We undertook a study to answer this question.

The Microsoft Access database was queried for accidents occurring between 1989 and 2013 involving single engine piston airplanes operating under 14CFR Part 91. Pearson Chi-Square, Fisher’s Exact Test, and Poisson probability were used in statistical analyses.

The rate of maintenance-related general aviation accidents was 4.3 per million flight hours for the 1989–1993 period and remained unchanged for the most recent period (2009–2013). Maintenance errors …

Should Charity Air Medical Organizations Require Commercial Certification Of Their Pilots?, Douglas Boyd, Charles Peters

Publications

Fixed-wing medical transportation crashes operating under 14CFRPart 91 show higher fatal outcomes than non-medical Part 91 flights. Advanced certification may translate into increased safety; yet we know of no charity aeromedical transportation requiring such certification. Herein, in a retrospective study, we determined (a) whether commercial certification is associated with a reduced fatality rate compared with the less stringent private pilot certificate and (b) accident causes.

Causes And Risk Factors 1 For Fatal Accidents In Non-Commercial Twin Engine Piston General Aviation Aircraft, Douglas D. Boyd

Publications

Accidents in twin-engine aircraft carry a higher risk of fatality compared with single engine aircraft and constitute 9% of all general aviation accidents. The different flight profile (higher airspeed, service ceiling, increased fuel load, and aircraft yaw in engine failure) may make comparable studies on single-engine aircraft accident causes less relevant. The objective of this study was to identify the accident causes for non-commercial operations in twin engine aircraft. A NTSB accident database query for accidents in twin piston engine airplanes of 4-8 seat capacity with a maximum certified weight of 3000-8000lbs. operating under 14CFR Part 91 for the period …

Controlled Rest In Position (Crip): Consumer Perceptions In The United States, Scott R. Winter, Jason Carryl, Stephen Rice

Publications

Controlled rest in position (CRIP) has been suggested as a viable countermeasure to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the ongoing efforts to combat in-flight pilot fatigue. It is already in use in other parts of the world; however, it is not currently permitted in the United States. While expert opinion suggested it poses little threat to flight safety, with valuable returns in terms of improved crew alertness and performance, there is some doubt about the level of consumer buy-in. This study completed a preliminary investigation into overall consumer willingness to fly, in the use of CRIP procedures in the …

Arff Wg's Response To The Ntsb's Recommendations, Rita "Rene" Herron

Publications

This piece is the final installment in a series of articles discussing research in connection to the four applied research projects the ARFF Working Group and Federal Aviation Administration are conducting concerning the National Transportation Safety Board’s recommendations from the report of findings on the crash of Asiana Flight 214.

Boeing Workshop: Aircraft Construction And Familiarization, Rita "Rene" Herron, Jason Graber

Publications

In May, the ARFF WG, Boeing Fire Department (BFD), and Port of Seattle, Fire Department (Sea-Tac) offered an aircraft construction, familiarization and educational workshop. This three-day training event reached the full capacity of fifty attendees and focused upon the Pacific Northwest ARFF training and Boeing Aircraft production for the 737, 747, 777 and 787 aircraft. Attendees represented thirteen U.S. states and three foreign countries: Canada, Germany and Singapore.

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

Publications

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 …

Causes And Trends In Maintenance-Related Accidents In Faa-Certified Single Engine Piston Aircraft, Douglas Boyd, A. Stolzer

Publications

The accident rate for general aviation remains high. While most general aviation accident studies have been pilot-focused, there is little research on the involvement of aircraft maintenance errors. We undertook a study to answer this question.

The Microsoft Access database was queried for accidents occurring between 1989 and 2013 involving single engine piston airplanes operating under 14CFR Part 91. Pearson Chi-Square, Fisher’s Exact Test, and Poisson probability were used in statistical analyses.

The rate of maintenance-related general aviation accidents was 4.3 per million flight hours for the 1989–1993 period and remained unchanged for the most recent period (2009–2013). Maintenance errors …

Editorial: Special Issue: Safety & Efficiency Of Civil Aviation: Selected Papers From The World Conferences Of The Air Transport Research Society And The World Conference On Transport Society - 2013, Paul Hooper, Ian Douglas, Chunyan Yu, Stefano Paleari

Publications

The Air Transport Research Society (ATRS) is a Special Interest Group (SIG) of the World Conference on Transport Research Society (WCTRS). The ATRS annual World Conference was held at the University of Bergamo, Bergamo, Italy on 26-29 June 2013 and it attracted 266 papers from 37 countries. Also, the WCTRS triennial World Conference was held on 15- 18 July at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, during which the ATRS organised several sessions devoted to air transport topics. This special issue of the Journal of Air Transport Studies has drawn upon all of this material to present four papers that promote improvements …

The Impact On Educational Technology Of A Fatal Airline Accident: A Case Study, Tim Brady

Publications

The name of the company should read Colgan Air not Cogan Airlines.

"This is a study of how a virtual technology burden was created that impacted the professional pilot college student and various colleges/universities that offer professional pilot degree programs. A cascading set of events began as a result of U.S. congressional reaction to a tragic airline accident. The resulting legislation forced the Federal Aviation Administration to publish new rules for first officer qualifications that were unmindful of the recommendations of professional pilot groups for simulation-based training. Ultimately, this placed a financial burden on both the college/university training curriculum and …

The Role Of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Uas) In Disaster Response And Recovery Efforts: Historical, Current And Future, Dennis Vincenzi, David C. Ison, Brent A. Terwilliger

Publications

A wide range of legislation has been proposed or put into place that restricts the use of unmanned systems. These actions by legislators and regulators will stifle the growth of this technology and the associated surrounding industry. The largest obstacle to the proliferation of UAS in the U.S. is the FAA. The FAA has designated the location of six test sites that are anticipated to allow for less restrictive and formative research to assess the technologies that the FAA has claimed need to exist in order to integrate UAS into the NAS. Further complicating the adoption of UAS for beneficent …

Decision To Use An Airframe Parachute In A Flight Training Environment, Scott R. Winter, Richard O. Fanjoy, Chien-Tsung Lu, Thomas Q. Carney, James P. Greenan

Publications

The purpose of this study was to complete a qualitative analysis of the decision-making process used by pilots to determine whether or not to deploy an airframe parachute system. A sample of participants from the subject university’s flight training program was selected to complete a scripted simulator flight in instrument flight conditions. During the flight, participants experienced an engine failure while enroute during IFR conditions. The script was examined and validated by an expert panel who determined use of the airframe parachute was the most appropriate outcome for the scenario. Interestingly, only 9 of the 21 participants responded as expected …

Public Perception Of Unmanned Aerial Systems (Uas): A Survey Of Public Knowledge Regarding Roles, Capabilities, And Safety While Operating Within The National Airspace System (Nas), Dennis Vincenzi, David Ison, Dahai Liu

Publications

A variety of challenges to the successful assimilation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) into the National Airspace System (NAS) exists. Aside from technical and legislative challenges, another setback has recently surfaced when the FAA suspended its selection process for UAS test sites due to privacy concerns. This new obstacle has the potential to further delay UAS integration. Very little literature or coverage of UAS domestic operations and accidents have been published and made available to the public at large. As a result, the public has very little information upon which to form any realistic or reasonable opinions concerning the integration …

Privacy And Unmanned Aerial Systems Integration In The National Aerospace System: Navigating Fourth Amendment Concerns, Dennis Vincenzi, David Ison, Dahai Liu

Publications

A variety of challenges to the successful assimilation of UASs into the National Airspace System (NAS) currently exist. Technical issues and human factors related hurdles have brought forth a range of research efforts to help to mitigate or resolve these challenges. Regulations and legislation play a significant role in controlling or restricting the use of UASs in the NAS. Currently there appears to be a contraposition of sentiment between the Federal Aviation Administration and Congress on the inclusion of UASs in the NAS. Congress has called for the adoption of UAS operations in the NAS by 2015 yet the FAA …

Aviation Maintenance Management, Harry A. Kinnison, Tariq Siddiqui

Publications

Note: This pdf only includes chapter 1 and 18.

THE COMPLETE, UP-TO-DATE GUIDE TO MANAGING AIRCRAFT MAINTENANCE PROGRAMS

Thoroughly revised for the latest aviation industry changes and FAA regulations, this comprehensive reference explains how to establish and run an effi cient, reliable, and cost-effective aircraft maintenance program. Co-written by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University instructors, Aviation Maintenance Management, Second Edition offers broad, integrated coverage of airline management, aircraft maintenance fundamentals, aviation safety, and the systematic planning and development of successful maintenance programs.

LEARN HOW TO:

• Minimize service interruptions while lowering maintenance and repair costs
• Adhere to aviation industry certification requirements and …

2012 Manufacturers Safety Management System Pilot Project Report Design And Manufacturing Organizations, Jeff Duven, Linda Navarro, David Hempe, Alan J. Stolzer

Publications

In October, 2009, the Aircraft Certification Service (AIR) chartered a team to conduct the Manufacturers' Safety Management Systems (MSMS) pilot project. The pilot project began in January, 2011, and encourages voluntary implementation of Safety Management Systems (SMS) among aviation Design and Manufacturing (D&M) organizations in order to allow the FAA to assess how to provide oversight of these systems. Eleven companies representing the breadth of organizations that AIR oversees participated.

The MSMS pilot project culminated in December, 2012. Information, results, and lessons learned from the pilot project were captured via the MSMS Teams' final deliverable to AIR-150. The report was …

The Influence Of Automation On Aviation Accident And Fatality Rates: 2000-2010, Nicholas A. Koeppen

Publications

The purpose of this project is to evaluate if technological advances and implementation of automation have produced a decrease in the number and severity of accidents in commercial aviation over the last decade. To accomplish this evaluation historical commercial aviation accident data from 2000 to 2010 will be examined. Commercial fixed wing and rotary wing data will be evaluated. No aviation incident data will be collected; the project will be limited in scope to commercial aviation accidents. Accidents highlighting major deficiencies involving automation will be discussed in detail. To further support the projects purpose, emphasis will be given to evaluate …

Developing Proactive Methods For General Aviation Data Collection, Scott Shappell, Carla Hackworth, Kali Holcomb, John Lanicci, Massoud Bazargan, Jaclyn Baron, Rebecca Iden, Daniel Halperin

Publications

Introduction. Over the last 20 years, nearly 40,000 general aviation (GA) aircraft were involved in accidents, roughly 20% of which were fatal. To address this safety concern, scientists have often relied on accident data. Because of the rare nature of accidents, commercial aviation incident and near miss data may prove to be useful sources of safety information. In one such study, the National Transportation Safety Board interviewed GA pilots that were flying near a weather-related accident in pursuit of a different perspective than that of the accident pilot. Interviewing GA pilots about their own weather-related event may provide similar …

Airport Bird Hazard Management, Flavio A. C. Mendonca Ph.D.

Publications

Aircraft collisions with birds, also commonly referred to as bird strikes, annually cost the commercial aviation industry in Brazil at least $6 million in direct damage and associated costs and hundreds of hours of aircraft down time. Although the economic costs of wildlife strikes are extreme, the cost in human lives lost when aircraft accidents occur as a result of strikes best illustrates the need for management of the wildlife strike problem. Bird strikes have been an increasing problem for the aviation industry. Air travel has become widespread all over the world. The aircraft has played an important role not …

Aviation Safety Information Analysis And Sharing -- General Aviation (Asias -- Ga), Alan J. Stolzer

Publications

A presentation on the collaborative government and industry initiative on data sharing and analysis to proactively discover safety concerns before accidents or incidents occur, leading to timely mitigation and prevention.

A Technology Survey Of Emergency Recovery And Flight Termination Systems For Uas, Richard Stansbury, Wesley Tanis, Timothy Wilson

Publications

For safe flight in the National Airspace System (NAS), either under the current interim rules or under anticipated longer-term regulatory guidelines facilitating unmanned aircraft system (UAS) access to the NAS, the UAS must incorporate technologies and flight procedures to ensure that neither people nor property in the air, on the ground, or on or in the water are endangered by the failure of an onboard component, by inappropriate unmanned aircraft (UA) response to pilot commands, or by inadvertent entry by the UA into prohibited airspace. The aircraft must be equipped with emergency recovery (ER) procedures and technologies that ensure that …

Safety Management Systems Update And Progress, Alan J. Stolzer

Publications

The Safety Management System (SMS) Day Panel Charge on March 18, 2009, delivered by Dr. Alan Stolzer, was intended to provide participants with references, tools, vocabulary, and encouragement to adopt academic and laboratory curricula that would prepare students for careers in the SMS environment.

Classification And Analysis Of Errors Reported In Aircraft Maintenance Manuals, Bonnie Lida Rogers, Christopher J. Hamblin, Alex Chaparro

Publications

Previous research has identified maintenance information as one of the primary causal factors of maintenance error. Incorrect maintenance information has also been cited as a contributing factor in a number of recent aircraft mishaps. To date no one has studied the types of errors found in aircraft maintenance manuals published by manufacturers. The purpose of this research is to analyze Publication Change Requests (PCRs) to document the most frequently reported types of errors found in aircraft maintenance manual, to identify how errors vary across Air Transport Association (ATA) chapters, and identify the corrective actions required to address the cited problem. …

Data Mining Methods Applied To Flight Operations Quality Assurance Data: A Comparison To Standard Statistical Methods, Alan J. Stolzer, Carl Halford

Publications

"In a previous study, multiple regression techniques were applied to Flight Operations Quality Assurance-derived data to develop parsimonious model(s) for fuel consumption on the Boeing 757 airplane. The present study examined several data mining algorithms, including neural networks, on the fuel consumption problem and compared them to the multiple regression results obtained earlier. Using regression methods, parsimonious models were obtained that explained approximately 85% of the variation in fuel flow. In general data mining methods were more effective in predicting fuel consumption. Classification and Regression Tree methods reported correlation coefficients of .91 to .92, and General Linear Models and Multilayer …

Developing A Methodology For Assessing Safety Programs Targeting Human Error In Aviation, Scott Shappell, Douglas Wiegmann

Publications

There is a need to develop an effective methodology for generating comprehensive intervention strategies that map current and proposed safety programs onto well-established types of human error. Two separate studies were conducted using recommendations from NTSB accident investigations and several joint FAA and industry working groups. The goal of the studies was to validate a proposed framework for developing and examining safety initiatives that target human error in aviation. The results suggest five approaches to reducing human factors associated with aviation accidents. When combined with the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System, the resulting Human Factors Intervention Matrix will provide …

Human Error And Commercial Aviation Accidents: A Comprehensive, Fine-Grained Analysis Using Hfacs, Scott Shappell, Cristy Detwiler, Kali Holcomb, Carla Hackworth, Albert Boquet, Douglas Wiegmann

Publications

The Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) is a theoretically based tool for investigating and analyzing human error associated with accidents and incidents. Previous research has shown that HFACS can be reliably used to identify general trends in the human factors associated with military and general aviation accidents. The aim of this study was to extend previous examinations of aviation accidents to include specific aircrew, environmental, supervisory, and organizational factors associated with 14 CFR Part 121 (Air Carrier) and 14 CFR Part 135 (Commuter) accidents using HFACS. The majority of causal factors were attributed to the aircrew and the …