Aviation Safety and Security Commons^™

Invisible Aircraft In U.S. Airspace: Regulatory Gaps And Mid-Air Collision Risk For Part 121 Operators, Philip Vandette

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Scheduled air carrier aircraft operate at large and small commercial airports across the U.S. National Airspace System. These turbine-powered aircraft fly at high speeds during departure and approach, yet many commercial airports are not covered by regulations requiring general aviation aircraft to transmit their positions, and some remain exempt from existing requirements. This regulatory gap forces airline pilots to rely on see-and-avoid methods that are impractical at turbine aircraft speeds. This study conducts a quantitative exploratory analysis of three data sources, using a PRISMA-style flow diagram, to examine the frequency of near mid-air collisions involving airline and general aviation aircraft …

Contributing Factors To Low Airspeed On Climb-Out As A Precursor To Loss Of Control In Flight, Owen D. Poborsky

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

The nature of aviation is not without inherent risk. Conducting training flight operations increases these inherent risks. Flight data monitoring and voluntary safety action programs seek to reduce risk, as seen in their success at commercial airlines. These successes are slowly permeating into general aviation through programs such as the National General Aviation Flight Information Database (NGAFID). The NGAFID is a program funded by the Federal Aviation Administration that allows general aviation operators to have the ability to collect and share de-identified flight data on an aggregate level to identify trends and increase safety margins during flight operations. This study …

Comparative Analysis Of Loss Of Control Definitions, Owen D. Poborsky

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

“Loss of control” (LOC) is a broad term in aviation used to describe an event or series of events that resulted in an accident or incident of an aircraft. Many definitions of LOC exist for aircraft while maneuvering on the ground and in the air. The purpose of this study is to synthesize the numerous LOC definitions found in the literature and from government and rulemaking organizations to better understand the importance of airspeed awareness as it relates to LOC events at low altitudes. Furthermore, emphasis shall be placed specifically on flight training within general aviation, as significant LOC statistical …

Is Declined Cognitive Function Predictive For Fatal Accidents Involving Aging Pilots?, Douglas D. Boyd, Alan J. Stolzer

Publications

Civil aviation comprises airlines/charters and general aviation (GA). Currently, airlines are experiencing a pilot shortage, partly reflecting scheduled retirements mandatory for airline (but not GA) pilots aged 65 years, fueling a debate as to whether the retirement age should be increased. Herein, using 16–40 years-of-age aviators as a reference, we determined whether GA pilots aged 60+ years (i) incurred an elevated accident rate, employing, for the first time, age-tiered flight time as a measure of risk exposure and (ii) carried an excess risk for cognitive deficiency-related fatal accidents. Methods. Airplane accidents (2002–2016) involving Class 3 medical certificated pilots were per …

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 …

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 …

Deficient Aeronautical Decision-Making Contributions To Fatal General Aviation Accidents, Douglas D. Boyd, Mark Scharf Phd

Publications

INTRODUCTION: General aviation (GA), mainly comprised of light (≤12,500 lb) aircraft, maintains an inferior safety record compared with air carriers. To improve safety, aeronautical decision-making (ADM) practices have been advocated to GA pilots since 1991. Herein, we determined the extent to which GA pilots disregard such practices. METHODS: Fatal accidents (1991–2019) involving private pilots (PPLs) in single-engine airplanes were identified (N = 1481) from the National Transportation Safety Board AccessR database. Of these, deficient go/no-go and in-flight ADM-related mishaps were scored using the PAVE (pilot, aircraft, environment, external pressure)/IMSAFE (illness, medicine, stress, alcohol, fatigue, eating) and PPP (perceive, process, …

Adherence To Selected Air Carrier (Airline) Operational Regulations For Improved General Aviation Flight Safety In Degraded Visibility, Douglas D. Boyd, Mark T. Scharf

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Introduction: General aviation largely comprises fixed-wing piston-engine light aircraft (,12,500 lbs). Unfortunately, this civil aviation sector suffers a vastly inferior safety record when compared with air carriers (60- to 80-fold higher accident rate). Additionally, such mishaps pose a considerable financial burden to both the affected family and the United States: US$1.64–4.64 billion annually. We hypothesize that this safety disparity partly reflects more stringent operational regulations for air carriers. Herein, we determined whether compliance with six selected air carrier regulations could potentially reduce general aviation accidents in degraded visibility (IMC) the majority of which are fatal. Methods: Accidents (2005–2019) were identified …

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 …

General Aviation Flight Safety During The Covid-19 Pandemic, Douglas D. Boyd

Publications

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: The COVID-19 virus has caused over 582,000 deaths in the United States to date. However, the pandemic has also afflicted the mental health of the population at large in the domains of anxiety and sleep disruption, potentially interfering with cognitive function. From an aviation perspective, safely operating an aircraft requires an airmans cognitive engagement for: 1) situational awareness, 2) spatial orientation, and 3) avionics programming. Since impaired cognitive function could interfere with such tasks, the current study was undertaken to determine if flight safety for a cohort of single engine, piston-powered light airplanes was adversely affected during a period …

A Comparison Of General Aviation Accidents Involving Airline Pilots And Instrument-Rated Private Pilots, Douglas D. Boyd, Mark Scharf Ph.D., David S. Cross

Publications

Introduction: The extremely low accident rate for U.S air carriers relative to that of general aviation (~1 and ~60/million flight hours respectively) partly reflects advanced airman certification, more demanding recurrency training, and stringent operational regulations. However, whether such skillset/training/regulations translate into improved safety for airline pilots operating in the general aviation environment is unknown, and the aim of this study. Methods: Accidents (1998-2017) involving airline pilots and instrument-rated private pilots (PPL-IFR) operating non-revenue light aircraft were identified from the NTSB accident database. An online survey informed general aviation flight exposure for both pilot cohorts. Statistics used proportion testing and Mann-Whitney …

Assessing If Motivation Impacts General Aviation Pilots’ Persistence In Varying Weather Conditions, Sabrina Woods

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Continued flight under visual flight rules into instrument meteorological conditions is the predominant cause for fatal accidents by percentage, for general aviation aircraft operations. It is possible that a pilot’s motivation or reason for flying will override other safer, more logical courses of action when a hazard presents itself. The decision appears to stem from a willingness to persist in a course of action despite factors that indicate an alternate and safer course is warranted. This research addresses what is currently presumed about the decision to continue flying under visual flight rules into instrument conditions and marries those ideas with …

General Aviation Hypoxia And Reporting Statistics, Timothy Holt, Jacqueline Luedtke, Jennah Perry, Michelle Hight, Claire Schindler, Pamela Ward

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

Hypoxia is defined as a lack of oxygen throughout the body, which can be caused by several factors at any altitude. General aviation (GA) pilots may argue that most GA aircraft cannot attain the required altitudes where one might be more affected by hypoxia, but it is exactly that attitude that may makes pilots more susceptible to hypoxia. The impact of this hazardous attitude is even more apparent if one considers that out of the 590,038 certificated pilots in the USA, a little over 30% of them are GA pilots (FAA, 2015). The problem is that unlike airline pilots or …

Efficacy Of The Localized Aviation Mos Program In Ceiling Flight Category Forecasts, Douglas D. Boyd, Thomas A. Guinn

Publications

(1) Background: Flying in instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) carries an elevated risk of fatal outcome for general aviation (GA) pilots. For the typical GA flight, aerodrome-specific forecasts (Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF), Localized Aviation Model Output Statistics Program (LAMP)) assist the airman in pre-determining whether a flight can be safely undertaken. While LAMP forecasts are more prevalent at GA-frequented aerodromes, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recommends that this tool be used as supplementary to the TAF only. Herein, the predictive accuracy of LAMP for ceiling flight categories of visual flight rules (VFR) and instrument flight rules (IFR) was determined. (2) Methods: …

A Comparison Of Special Category Light-Sport And Corresponding Type-Certificated Aircraft Safety, Carolina Anderson, Alan Stolzer, Douglas D. Boyd

Publications

The special category light sport airplane (light sport) sector of general aviation has grown 10-fold in as many years with solo operations requiring only a sports pilot's certificate. With little research on light sport airplane safety, the study objective was to compare light sport and type-certificated airplane accident rates.

Accidents were identified from the National Transportation Safety Board database. Statistics employed Poisson distribution/proportion analyses/Mann–Whitney U-tests.

For the 2009–2015 period, the light sport airplane accident rate (fatal/non-fatal combined) was > 15-fold higher than comparable type-certificated aircraft, undiminished over time. The excessive light sport airplane accident rate was associated with inferior airman experience …

Bird Hazard Mitigation Training For General Aviation Pilots - A Prospective Research Study, Flavio A. C. Mendonca, Thomas Q. Carney

Publications

• General aviation industry
• 446,000 aircraft worldwide
• 211,000 in the U.S.
• Supports $219 billion in total economic output and 1.1 million jobs in the U.S
• Flies approximately 25 million flight hours (U.S.)
• Flies to more than 5,000 public airports
• Primary training ground for most commercial airline pilots

Low-Cost Wearable Head-Up Display For Flight General Aviation, Pavan K. Chinta

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

A low-cost wearable Commercial-off-The-Shelf (COTS) Augmented Reality (AR) Head-Up Display (HUD) system is designed, successfully reduced to practice, and flight tested. The system is developed based on the need for a technology that improves loss-of-control (LOC) safety in the General Aviation (GA) sector. The accuracy of the flight-path based system is determined to be within a degree of the truth source. The repeatability of the data from the COTS system is excellent. A complementary filter is proposed for air data flow angles and successfully flight tested for straight and level flight, dynamic maneuvering, and atmospheric turbulence, provided that a reasonably …

Rates And Causes Of Accidents For General Aviation Aircraft Operating In A Mountainous And High Elevation Terrain Environment, Marisa Aguiar, Alan Stolzer, Douglas D. Boyd

Publications

Flying over mountainous and/or high elevation terrain is challenging due to rapidly changeable visibility, gusty/rotor winds and downdrafts and the necessity of terrain avoidance. Herein, general aviation accident rates and mishap cause/factors were determined (2001–2014) for a geographical region characterized by such terrain.

Accidents in single piston engine-powered aircraft for states west of the US continental divide characterized by mountainous terrain and/or high elevation (MEHET) were identified from the NTSB database. MEHET-related-mishaps were defined as satisfying any one, or more, criteria (controlled flight into terrain/obstacles (CFIT), downdrafts, mountain obscuration, wind-shear, gusting winds, whiteout, instrument meteorological conditions; density altitude, dust-devil) cited …

Vfr-Into-Imc: An Analysis Of Two Training Protocols On Weather-Related Posttest Scores, Julius C. Keller, Thomas Carney, Allen Xie, Wesley Major, Matt Price

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

According to the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association Air Safety Institute, 264 accidents were identified as continued visual flight rules (VFR) into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC), during the past ten years. Approximately 89% of those VFR-into-IMC accidents were fatal, causing hundreds of deaths. VFR-into-IMC has been a major concern for the general aviation community, prompting focused efforts. Research, data analyses, outreach, training, and education are recommended practices to address risks associated with VFR-into-IMC. Researchers of the current study sought to evaluate the cause and effect relationship between two training protocols and weather-related posttest scores. A pretest–posttest experimental design was utilized …

A Comparison Of Malfunction-Related Accidents For General Aviation Aircraft Manufactured In 1970–1984 And 2000–2014, Douglas Boyd, Jochen Hinkelbein

Journal of Aviation Technology and Engineering

The United States general aviation fleet is aging with aircraft manufactured 35–39 years ago representing the most prevalent group. Since older aircraft are more prone to airframe corrosion, fatigue, and brittle electrical wiring, the present study was undertaken to determine whether malfunction-related accidents for general aviation aircraft manufactured between 1970 and 1984 were elevated relative to airplanes produced more recently (2000–2014).

The NTSB aviation accident database was used to identify piston-powered airplane accidents occurring over the 2005–2014 period. Aircraft manufacture year and fleet activity data were from the FAA. Statistical analyses employed contingency tables and Poisson distributions.

The proportion of …

A Comparison Of Malfunction-Related Accidents For General Aviation Aircraft Manufactured In 1970–1984 And 2000–2014, Douglas Boyd, Jochen Hinkelbein

Publications

The United States general aviation fleet is aging with aircraft manufactured 35–39 years ago representing the most prevalent group. Since older aircraft are more prone to airframe corrosion, fatigue, and brittle electrical wiring, the present study was undertaken to determine whether malfunction-related accidents for general aviation aircraft manufactured between 1970 and 1984 were elevated relative to airplanes produced more recently (2000–2014).

The NTSB aviation accident database was used to identify piston-powered airplane accidents occurring over the 2005–2014 period. Aircraft manufacture year and fleet activity data were from the FAA. Statistical analyses employed contingency tables and Poisson distributions.

The proportion of …

A Comparison Of Malfunction-Related Accidents For General Aviation Aircraft Manufactured In 1970–1984 And 2000–2014, Douglas Boyd, Jochen Hinkelbein

Publications

The United States general aviation fleet is aging with aircraft manufactured 35–39 years ago representing the most prevalent group. Since older aircraft are more prone to airframe corrosion, fatigue, and brittle electrical wiring, the present study was undertaken to determine whether malfunction-related accidents for general aviation aircraft manufactured between 1970 and 1984 were elevated relative to airplanes produced more recently (2000–2014).

The NTSB aviation accident database was used to identify piston-powered airplane accidents occurring over the 2005–2014 period. Aircraft manufacture year and fleet activity data were from the FAA. Statistical analyses employed contingency tables and Poisson distributions.

The proportion of …

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 …

The Effects Of Aircraft Certification Rules On General Aviation Accidents, Carolina Lenz Anderson

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The purpose of this study was to analyze the frequency of general aviation airplane accidents and accident rates on the basis of aircraft certification to determine whether or not differences in aircraft certification rules had an influence on accidents. In addition, the narrative cause descriptions contained within the accident reports were analyzed to determine whether there were differences in the qualitative data for the different certification categories. The certification categories examined were: Federal Aviation Regulations Part 23, Civil Air Regulations 3, Light Sport Aircraft, and Experimental-Amateur Built. The accident causes examined were those classified as: Loss of Control, Controlled Flight …

An Analysis Of The Effectiveness Of Emergency Locator Transmitters To Reduce Response Time And Locate Wreckage In U.S. General Aviation Accidents, Ajit Jesudoss

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELT) help search crews to locate aircraft in distress and to rescue survivors. This study analyzed ELT data from U.S. General Aviation accidents during the period 2006 to 2010. This study examined the effectiveness of ELTs in terms of ELT Success Rate (ESR) and False Negative Rate (FNR) based on ELT-Aided. This study found a significant difference between ELT-Operated and ELT-Aided. The ESR was found to be 38.58% whereas the FNR was found to be 61.42 %. The Missing Data Ratio (MDR), where accident reports had no ELT information, was found to be above 95%. Recommendations were …

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 …

The Influence Of Visibility, Cloud Ceiling, Financial Incentive, And Personality Factors On General Aviation Pilots' Willingness To Take Off Into Marginal Weather, Part I: The Data And Preliminary Conclusions, William Knecht, Howard Harris, Scott Shappell

Publications

Adverse weather is the leading cause of fatalities in general aviation (GA). In this research, influences of ground visibility, cloud ceiling height, financial incentive, and personality were tested on 60 GA pilots' willingness to take off into simulated adverse weather. Results suggested that pilots do not see "weather" as a monolithic cognitive construct but, rather, as an interaction between its separate factors. This is supported by the finding that the multiplicative statistical effect of visibility and ceiling could better predict takeoff than could the linear effect of either variable considered separately. Also found was a statistical trend toward financial incentive …

Final Report: A Comparison Of Three Evaluative Techniques For Validating Maintenance Documentation, Alex Chaparro, Bonnie Rogers, Chris Hambllin, Barbara Chaparro

Publications

Surveys and interviews reveal that general aviation manufacturers rely on user[s] to identify problems in maintenance documentation with corrections typically initiated in response to users-reported problems found in the manual;. This investigation compares techniques that manufacturers can use to improve the quality of the maintenance documentation developed by technical writing groups. The techniques, User Performance and Cognitive Walkthrough, were used to identify problems in aircraft maintenance documentation.