The role of organizational and individual variables in aircraft maintenance performance

Aviation maintenance has been identified by the FAA as an area where better efficiency is needed to cope with ever increasing workloads. However, aviation maintenance has also been identified as one of the major causes of accidents. Consequently, if further efficiencies are to be achieved, they cannot come at the cost of reduced safety margins. The present study employed a safety climate approach to assist in the development of a model that can help to explain morale, psychological health, turnover intentions, and error in the aviation maintenance environment. An instrument called the Maintenance Environment Survey was developed and administered to 240 personnel responsible for maintenance of a large military helicopter fleet. Data collected through the survey were used to develop a structural model that predicted 45 per cent of the variance in psychological health, 67 per cent of the variance in morale, 27 per cent of the variance in turnover intentions, and 44 per cent of the variance in self-reported maintenance errors. The model shows the pathways through which organizational level and individual level variables can influence work outcomes and leads to suggestions for interventions that can help to improve maintenance efficiency

Automated Operations and Safety Data Collection and Usage in Contemporary Flight Operations Quality Audit Programs

Flight Operations Quality Audit (FOQA) programs are becoming more common to airlines of today. Flight data recording devices modified for repeated and daily data readouts have been dem-onstrating their unquestionable advantages in FOQA programmes. They demonstrate the interest of airlines, that use them, to transport people, cargo and mail in safe and efficient way. The paper will present general FOQA structure, historical developments in this field together with common obstacles when introducing FOQA to an airline. It also brings the latest data and understanding of benefits that FOQA has on airlines operation with potential applications of similar concepts to other means of transportation as well

The future of UAS: standards, regulations, and operational experiences [workshop report]

This paper presents the outcomes of "The Future of UAS: Standards, Regulations and Operational Experiences" workshop, held on the 7th and 8th of December, 2006 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. The goal of the workshop was to identify recent international activities in the Unmanned Airborne Systems (UAS) airspace integration problem. The workshop attracted a broad cross-section of the UAS community, including: airspace and safety regulators, developers, operators and researchers. The three themes of discussion were: progress in the development of standards and regulations, lessons learnt from recent operations, and advances in new technologies. This paper summarises the activities of the workshop and explores the important outcomes and trends as perceived by the authors

Classification and reduction of pilot error

Human error is a primary or contributing factor in about two-thirds of commercial aviation accidents worldwide. With the ultimate goal of reducing pilot error accidents, this contract effort is aimed at understanding the factors underlying error events and reducing the probability of certain types of errors by modifying underlying factors such as flight deck design and procedures. A review of the literature relevant to error classification was conducted. Classification includes categorizing types of errors, the information processing mechanisms and factors underlying them, and identifying factor-mechanism-error relationships. The classification scheme developed by Jens Rasmussen was adopted because it provided a comprehensive yet basic error classification shell or structure that could easily accommodate addition of details on domain-specific factors. For these purposes, factors specific to the aviation environment were incorporated. Hypotheses concerning the relationship of a small number of underlying factors, information processing mechanisms, and error types types identified in the classification scheme were formulated. ASRS data were reviewed and a simulation experiment was performed to evaluate and quantify the hypotheses

Community rotorcraft air transportation benefits and opportunities

Information about rotorcraft that will assist community planners in assessing and planning for the use of rotorcraft transportation in their communities is provided. Information useful to helicopter researchers, manufacturers, and operators concerning helicopter opportunities and benefits is also given. Three primary topics are discussed: the current status and future projections of rotorcraft technology, and the comparison of that technology with other transportation vehicles; the community benefits of promising rotorcraft transportation opportunities; and the integration and interfacing considerations between rotorcraft and other transportation vehicles. Helicopter applications in a number of business and public service fields are examined in various geographical settings

The environmental analysis of helicopter operations by Federal agencies: Current procedures and research needs

The technical, economic, and environmental problems restricting commercial helicopter passenger operations are reviewed. The key considerations for effective assessment procedures are outlined and a preliminary model for the environmental analysis of helicopters is developed. It is recommended that this model, or some similar approach, be used as a common base for the development of comprehensive environmental assessment methods for each of the federal agencies concerned with helicopters. A description of the critical environmental research issues applicable to helicopters is also presented

Flight test: Supporting the investigation of factors affecting loss of control of light aircraft

A quarter of all fatal General Aviation accidents in the UK during the period 1980 to 2006 involved Loss of Control (LoC) in Visual Meteorological Conditions (VMC). LoC has consistently appeared in accident statistics over this period, but at apparently different rates for different aircraft types. This raises two important questions - why do these LoC events happen and why is there a difference between aircraft types?. One case in point is that of the Cessna 150 /152 and over the 27-year period analysed, the Cessna 150 falls approximately on the average for fatal accidents in the UK GA fleet, whereas the Cessna 152 exhibits a lower accident rate. Brunel Flight Safety Laboratory, in conjunction with the UK General Aviation Safety Council, undertook to try and understand why this is so. The key design differences in relation to performance and handling qualities were researched using available published material and informal interviews with type-experienced students, pilots and flying instructors. A flight test programme was conducted using examples of both aircraft types to gather additional research data, to assess and compare the apparent performance and handling qualities (both qualitatively and quantitatively). Flight tests were performed at three different CG conditions relevant to the key design differences, concentrating upon apparent longitudinal (static and dynamic) stability and control characteristics, stall and low-speed handling characteristics, and cockpit ergonomics / pilot workload. In all tests, normal (unmodified) flying club aircraft were used, in most cases with a 2-man (TP+FTE) crew. Data was recorded manually on test cards and automatically using a low-cost, commercially available, portable FDR. Proven theory was used to estimate static margins and pilot stick forces and gradients in the region of the stall, the pre-cursor to an LoC event.General Aviation Safety Council (GASCo

Advanced periodic maintenance scheduling methods for aircraft lifecycle management

This paper reviews existing methods and techniques addressing the problem of maintenance support throughout the life cycle for high value manufacturing products such as aircrafts. As part of this doctorate research the analysis of current methods of maintenance scheduling was conducted. In order to contribute to a more comprehensive solution, an advanced approach (algorithm) of periodic maintenance is presented. The authors believe that this approach will reduce the cost of maintenance of high value manufacturing products. The algorithm based on constraint programming methods is briefly presented and the future research directions are discussed

The outlook for aeronautics, 1980 - 2000: Appendix B: Study group report on an industry-university-government survey

Results of a comprehensive survey of key representatives of the aeronautical community are presented. Emphasis is placed on trends in civil and military aviation, the role of NASA in aeronautical research and development, and the required technology advances for the development of new aircraft

An evaluation of NASA's program in human factors research: Aircrew-vehicle system interaction

Research in human factors in the aircraft cockpit and a proposed program augmentation were reviewed. The dramatic growth of microprocessor technology makes it entirely feasible to automate increasingly more functions in the aircraft cockpit; the promise of improved vehicle performance, efficiency, and safety through automation makes highly automated flight inevitable. An organized data base and validated methodology for predicting the effects of automation on human performance and thus on safety are lacking and without such a data base and validated methodology for analyzing human performance, increased automation may introduce new risks. Efforts should be concentrated on developing methods and techniques for analyzing man machine interactions, including human workload and prediction of performance