Management and Operations Commons^™

Remote Pilot Situational Awareness With Augmented Reality Glasses: An Observational Field Study, Jeffery Coleman, David Thirtyacre

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

With the use of small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) proliferating throughout industry and public safety, it is imperative to ensure safety of flight. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) published regulations for commercial use of sUAS in 2016 and included the requirement to maintain visual line-of-sight with the aircraft at all times. However, due to the nature of the sUAS ground control stations (GCS), remote pilots time-share between observing the aircraft and interacting with the display on the GCS. Time-sharing between the aircraft and GCS can be seen as similar to the cross-check a pilot uses when flying a manned aircraft. …

Support To Design For Air Traffic Management: An Approach With Agent-Based Modelling And Evolutionary Search, Gabriella Gigante, Roberto Palumbo, Domenico Pascarella, Alessandro Pellegrini, Gabriella Duca, Miquel Angel Piera, Juan José Ramos

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

This paper presents a methodology to manage the support to design in ATM operations. We propose a workflow for the design of ATM solutions in a performance-based setting. The methodology includes the evaluation of the impact on human behaviour and exploits a combination of different paradigms, such as Agent-Based Modelling and Simulation, and Agent-Based Evolutionary Search. We prove the soundness of the methodology by carrying out a real case study, which is the transition from Direct Routing to Free Routing in the Italian airspace. The validation results exhibit limited errors for the assessment of the performance metrics under evaluation. Furthermore, …

Quantum Safety Metrics Framework For Commercial Unmanned Aircraft Operators, Tracy L. Lamb, Nathan A. Phillips, Trong Van Nguyen

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Commercial unmanned aircraft systems continue to increase in applications and diversity; however, mishaps and accidents erode safety, investment return, and efficiency. Most unmanned aircraft accidents are preceded by leading indicators; the ability to forecast and quantify these may provide increased safety and profitability. This mixed-method research study used a non-experimental parallel convergence approach with multiple instruments, multiple-case study n = 22, and one exemplar case design to develop a quantum safety metric program. This study used a combination of previously validated methods as development instruments, including; the HFACS, STAMP, 'Sierra Scale,' and Accident Prevention Effort equations. The study extended the …

Helicopter Shaft Heating Parameters For Polyamide-11 Coating, Selim Kevran Ph.D, Uğur Ati̇ci̇

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

In this study, the heating parameters required for polyamide-11 (P11) coating of the helicopter shaft were investigated. The torsion value created by the force applied to the middle of the helicopter's shaft is measured. Heating before coating affects the torsion value of the shaft. A new heating mechanism has been designed to cover the shaft surface without changing the torsion value of the shaft. Thus, the coating surface is left inside the furnace and the torsion measurement area outside of the furnace. Taguchi method was used to determine heating parameters such as furnace type, initial temperature and heating time. The …

Implementing Artificial Intelligence And Machine Learning Into Advanced Qualification Programs, Jennifer R. Herr

Journal of Aviation/Aerospace Education & Research

Since its start, the Advanced Qualification Program (AQP) has encouraged new and innovative strategies for training airline crewmembers. The foundation of AQP is to train crew the way they fly and to find new and innovative ways to increase safety through training. By using data collected through the AQP process, training methods can be refined and improved. New technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning can make data analysis and training more effective and efficient. This paper will explore these concepts and how AI and machine learning could be implemented in the AQP process to make training more …

Leveraging Aircraft Transponder Signals For Measuring Aircraft Fleet Mix At Non-Towered Airports, Chuyang Yang, John Mott, Darcy M. Bullock

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The general aviation sector has contributed significantly to the overall growth of the aviation industry. Fleet mix and operations information is important for the analysis of both the safety and the environmental and economic impact of general aviation activity. Factual data on the impact of environment and safety is particularly important, given the scarcity of airport improvement funds and the strong stakeholder engagement that often occurs when airport investments are evaluated. The research presented herein evaluates Mode S short and extended squitter data collected from three general aviation airports over a one-month period. This article demonstrates that by utilizing the …

Predictability Improvement Of Scheduled Flights Departure Time Variation Using Supervised Machine Learning, Deepudev Sahadevan, Palanisamy Ponnusamy Dr, Manjunath K. Nelli Mr, Varun P. Gopi Dr

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The departure time uncertainty exacerbates the inaccuracy of arrival time estimation and demand for arrival slots, particularly for movements to capacity constrained airports. The Estimated Take-Off Time (ETOT) or Estimated Departure Time(ETD) for each individual flight is currently derived from Air Traffic Flow Management System (ATFMS), which are solely determined based on individual flight plan Estimated Off Block Time(EOBT) or subsequent delays updated by Airline. Even if normal weather conditions prevail, aircraft departure times will differ from ETOTs determined by the ATFMS due to a number of factors such as congestion, early/delayed inbound flight (linked flights), reactionary delays and air …

Inter-Dom Integrated Terminals - The Impact On Airlines Efficiency And Safety, Cassio Greo Campos, Gustavo Faria, Lucas Jusus, Nathália Bião, Rogério Quintela

Student Works

This report performed research to assess the possibility of implementing hybrid passenger terminals. The benefits would be the integrating domestic and international passengers in the same restricted area. The initial hypothesis of this study was to focus on optimization that could bring advantages in terms of efficiency, customer service, and operational safety.

The goal of this project was not to bring in-depth data on the topic, but to expose readers to the main players in the industry and understand the variables that impact the topic. Thus, although there are different perspectives on the integration of terminals, it was possible to …

Decision-Making Matrix To Enable Shorter Connections, Fernanda Torezan Godoy, Sergio Abrao Retes Jr., Talita Zucchini Rabelo

Graduate Student Works

MCT is known as Minimum Connection Time. It refers to the time needed for a passenger to connect from a flight to another in a specific airport, varying according to the connection type. MCT is an essential tool for airlines. It is used as an input in constructing their network and daily, specifically by operational teams, to connect or disconnect a passenger from a flight, for example, during an IROPS scenario. However, the MCT is considered the worst scenario of the variables that composes it, which means that there are opportunities for airlines to reduce the connection time in daily …

In-Flight Fuel Management Committing To The Destination, Aldo Bien, Daniel Araguaia Galli Ribas, Paulo Cesar Serafim Pacheco, Rodrigo Garcia De Freitas Cardoso

Graduate Student Works

This project intends to clarify the Brazilian Civil Aviation Regulation RBAC 121 on its topic relating to the current ICAO recommendation from Doc. 9976 (Flight Planning and Fuel Management Manual), which regards the committing to the destination policy.

The present Brazilian regulation is not precise whether the alternate fuel could or could not be used to proceed to the original destination without compromising the emergency fuel, once exact specific requirements are met. As a result of unclear directrices, each major airline in Brazil comprehends and applies the ICAO recommendation in its way. Such a non-standardized interpretation of the current …

Covid 19 Impact On Aircraft Ground Time At Congonhas Airport (Cgh), Fabio Pereira Teixeira, Felipe Massao Higa, Ricardo Matsumoto Jakabi, Rodrigo Moreira Riberiro

Graduate Student Works

This project aims to research and analyze the impact of the increase of ground time at Congonhas Airport caused by the new safety procedures in aviation to avoid the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Aviation is a highly regulated industry, with the high cost and tiny margins. It focuses on optimizing one of the most expensive assets, the aircraft. To keep aircraft flying is one of the airline's primary goals as aircraft on the ground means no revenue generation and cost increase.

Congonhas Airport is one of the busiest airports in Brazil and already operated on its limited capacity before …

Brazilian Regulation Aspects And Their Impact On Costs, Alexandre Berbel, Frederico Zaccaro, Philippe Dos Santos, Rogerio Maldonado

Graduate Student Works

This project analyzes the Brazilian regulation for the airline and the current public data provided by the stakeholders. It intends to scientifically support a possible change in Brazil's existing regulation related to airline responsibilities on passenger accommodation for different types of situations, including ANAC 400 and other ramifications. This project aims to compare the Brazilian law with various regulations adopted in other markets where the rules are created considering different circumstances to define responsibilities for the passenger accommodations. This study will analyze the differences, measuring the impacts that changes could bring in terms of costs for the Airlines. It will …

Parking Effects On Aircraft Reliability And Flight Performance, Danilo Scolfaro Fava, Fabio Renato Rossi Do Nascimento, Lucas Serrano Rodrigues, Rafael Gustavo Shoiti Yamashiro

Graduate Student Works

During the pandemic period caused by Coronavirus (COVID-19) in 2020, the airlines have parked or stored their fleets partially or wholly worldwide. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) estimated a major downsize in approximately 65% of the worldwide airline fleet's airline operational activity at the end of April 2020. With that said, mechanical and electrical systems, when stopped during long periods, can deteriorate by corrosion, contamination, discharge, and oxidation (Boeing, 1998). During the aircraft parking or storage process, it is not different (Airbus, 2020). This study aims to understand how much the aircraft performance and reliability are affected by parking …

Safety Management System Implementation Planning, David Thirtyacre

Publications

No abstract provided.

Pilot’S Willingness To Operate In Unmanned Aircraft System Integrated Airspace, Lakshmi Vempati

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

The interest in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) use for private, civil, and commercial purposes such as package delivery, inspection, surveillance, and passenger and cargo transport has gained considerable momentum. As UAS infiltrate the National Airspace System (NAS), there is a need to not only develop viable, safe, and secure solutions for the co-existence of manned and unmanned aircraft, but also determine public acceptance and pilot’s willingness to operate an aircraft in such an integrated environment. Currently there is little or no research on pilot’s perceptions on their willingness to operate an aircraft in UAS integrated airspace and airports.

The purpose …

Evaluating Scenarios That Can Startle And Surprise Pilots, Rahim Daud Agha

Doctoral Dissertations and Master's Theses

Startle and surprise on the flight deck is a contributing factor in multiple aviation accidents that have been recognized by multiple aviation safety boards. This study identified the effects startle and surprise had on commercial pilots with single and multiengine ratings. Surprise is defined here as something unexpected (e.g., engine failure), while startle is the associated exaggerated effect of an unexpected condition (e.g., thunder sound). Forty pilots were tested in a basic aviation training device configured to a Cessna 172 (single-engine) and a Baron 58 (multi-engine). Each pilot flew the single- and multiengine aircraft in a scenario that induced an …

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 …

Revisiting Cost Index - The Challenge Of Calculating A Precise Figure For Brazilian Airliners, Joaquim Pedro De Albuquerque D'Orey, Guilherme Amaral Da Silveira

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Within numerous possibilities, Cost Index (CI) is the tool that can provide economic speeds and deliver the lowest cost for a given flight. Cost Index is a highly volatile number that shifts its optimum value in several different circumstances. Through the analysis of the Brazilian regulation, operation and infrastructure reality, this paper reviews several influencers that can interfere with the optimum CI value for a specific flight, aiming for maximum precision and economy. A structured questionnaire was submitted to pilots from four of the biggest Brazilian airliners operating under part 121. The purpose of this questionnaire was to investigate whether …

Energy Harvesting From Airports, Deepon Roy

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Airports around the world are primarily powered using the country’s electricity grids, which comes from a large number of powerplants (coal, natural gas, etc.). Due to a high power supply demand by the airports, the sources from which they get their electricity has become non-economical and non-environment friendly.

As a result, many airports around the world have opted for using solar energy grids for their energy generation, in a bid to reduce the airport’s electricity consumption costs. But it has been a slow progress as only a few airports have been able to implement this feature, as their initial setup …

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 …

Drones Are Everywhere!, Andreas Wesemann Ph.D.

National Training Aircraft Symposium (NTAS)

Drones are everywhere! Using technology to enhance learning in collegiate and secondary school education.

Unmanned Aerial Systems are invading our campus at Utah State University, and we see drones flying everywhere. Using hands-on activities, including design, building and actually flying, students are becoming FAA certified Remote Pilot as part of a new minor at USU. This workshop will discover how this program was created, how the use of active learning labs compliment student programs in all disciplines from journalism to business, and landscape architecture to natural resources. Using examples from the first two years of course offerings, participants will discover …

Aviation Maintenance Safety Management Challenges : Thematic Analysis, Tori Kobayashi, Brent D. Bowen

Student Works

Aircraft maintenance is a fundamental and necessary element in any aviation operation. In order to be considered safe and airworthy, operators must be diligent in the way aircraft are maintained and how employees are performing. A safety management system (SMS) is an organized approach by management to include every employee of a company that standardizes the procedures a company will follow to improve safety. The structure of SMS was designed by the International Civil Aviation Organization in order to be standardized across different countries and types of operations. Currently, only part 121 U.S. commercial airlines are mandated by the Federal …

Developing A Taxonomy For Success In Commercial Pilot Behaviors, Kristine Kiernan, David S. Cross, Mark Scharf Ph.D.

Publications

Human error has been well studied in aviation. However, less is known about the ways in which human performance maintains and contributes to aviation safety. The lack of data on positive human performance prevents consideration of the full range of human behaviors when making safety and risk management decisions. The concept of resilient performance provides a framework to understand and classify positive human behaviors. Through interviews with commercial airline pilots, this study examined routine airline operations to evaluate the concept of resilient performance and to develop a taxonomy for success. The four enablers of resilient performance, anticipation, learning, responding, and …

Airport Operations Delays And Possible Mitigation Through Electric Taxi Systems: A Qualitative Case Study, David Cross, Kristine Kiernan, Mark Scharf Ph.D.

Publications

Airline daily departures, not including private aircraft, increased from 25,143 in 2000 to 36,722 in 2017. More passengers necessitate more aircraft and more flights. With more aircraft at terminals, ground delays, based on current airport design, will continue to increase. Systems that allow for reduced aircraft time on the ground will improve airline economics and airport operations, in addition, will reduce airline delays both for departure and arrival at the gate. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to explore the efficacy, from ramp controllers’ perspectives, of equipping airliners with an electric taxi system. Prototype electric taxi systems have …

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 …

Needs Based Assessment Of Agricultural Pilots In The Upper Midwest, Andrew Leonard, Cody Christensen, Jessie Hendricks

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The agricultural aviation industry plays an increasingly important role in being able to meet the demands of food production on global level. With a limited ability to increase the amount of land used for food production, farmers will have to find a way to increase yields on current land. Unfortunately, the agricultural aviation industry is at risk of having a shortage of pilots able to operate its aircraft. With the current generation of agricultural pilots reaching retirement, operators are scrambling to find qualified pilots to fill their seats. The majority of operators indicated that when looking for a new pilot …

A Conceptual Framework For Valuating Airline Frequent Flyer Program Miles, Yi Gao

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

Frequent flyer programs of airlines have gradually evolved into a multi-billion dollar business over the years. Valuing frequent flyer program miles accurately and fairly has its practical implications both for airlines and members of frequent flyer programs. As a ground-breaking academic study dedicated to airline loyalty programs, this study aims to build a conceptual framework to guide the valuation of miles. Through comparing required miles for different award types with their equivalent cash prices, this study has successfully addressed the purchasing power of AAdvantage miles of American Airlines when they are used for award redemption. Not only can this study …

Risk - A Multi-Layered Approach, Peter S. Neff

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

This article discusses the relationship between the mandates to achieve increased operational safety and the application of risk management strategies. That commercial airlines must operate at the highest level of safety is mandated by statute. FAA regulation, 14 CFR part 5, outlines the FAA response to the requirements of ICAO Annex 19, Safety Management, by establishing requirements for certificate holders to develop a Safety Management System with 4 components: (a) Safety Policy; (b) Safety Risk Management; (c) Safety Assurance; and (d) Safety Promotion. Safety is a tangible and intangible element foundational to the successful commercial airline sector. A structured multi-layered …

Simulation Analysis Of The Effects Of Performance-Based Navigation On Fuel And Block Time Efficiency, Shlok Misra

International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace

The commercial aviation industry has been grown steadily in the past decade in terms of the number of flights operated and passengers traveled. The Federal Aviation Administration has introduced several technologies and initiatives under the NextGen Program. Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) is one such technology that is aimed at improving the efficiency of the National Airspace System which will improve system capacity and reduce delays. The airlines operate with restrained resources and investments into reducing fuel costs and flight times will directly or indirectly impact profit margins. PBN procedures and routes can help airlines reduce block times as flights will be …