An Assessment of Intensive/Weekend Teaching Format of Aviation Education: A Case of Aviation Law

Although most universities in the United States (U.S.) have launched off-campus education for working adults, the quality of such an educational format remains skeptical to many educators who exchange knowledge mainly via on-campus lecture means (Elliott et al, 1978; Swenson, 2003 Spring). In order to further examine academic performance based on such a non-traditional channel, the rigor and integrity of off-campus education should be investigated (Karwin, 1973). This study sought to evaluate the learning outcome of off-campus aviation education currently using intensive/weekend seminar format. Meanwhile, the main goals of this study also include the discovery of possible pedagogical gaps to continuously enhance off-campus teaching. Focus group was utilized as the research methodology. Purposive sampling was applied containing two groups of students, one on-campus and off-campus for another, recruited from aviation law class. Both qualitative and quantitative data were collected and analyzed. The result showed flexibility of class study and convenient location of classroom were the two most attractive factors adult learners consider. In addition to opposing to a fully Internet-based aviation education, off-campus students\u27 comments helped the researcher reveal specific pedagogical deficiencies that need to be reviewed for validating future educational service

Discovering the Regulatory Considerations of the Federal Aviation Administration: Interviewing the Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee

Maintenance Resource Management (MRM) training for aviation mechanics has become mandatory in many industrialized countries since 1998. Yet, to date, MRM training remains optional in the U.S. Interestingly, a similar safety discipline, namely Crew/Cockpit Resource Management (CRM), is mandatory for pilots, flight engineers, flight attendants, and dispatchers and is regulated in the Federal Aviation Administration s (FAA) Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs). If MRM training is important to enhance aviation technicians working behavior, the rationale to not regulate it opens a window for study. This research aims to inductively investigate the FAA s regulatory rationale concerning MRM training based on direct inputs from the FAA s Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee (ARAC) members. Delphi methodology associated with purposive sampling technique was adopted. The result revealed that the FAA cannot regulate MRM because the aviation industry is strongly opposed to it due to the lack of training budgets, the need of a quantifiable cost-effect analysis, concern over the FAA s inspection workforce, an ongoing voluntary alternative called the Air Transportation Surveillance System (ATOS), the government s lower priority on maintenance after 9/11, and the airlines tight embracement of operational flexibility without regulation

COVID-19: Visualized Qualitative Aviation Research Themes

The purpose of this study is to review pandemic-related publications that help the aviation industry cope with pandemic outbreaks like that of COVID-19. Published documents were searched and downloaded from academic libraries including Web of Science for a qualitative analysis. After the triangulation of publications for decisionmakers, and researchers, all important research clusters were visually generated based on the VOSviewer process. Some research clusters were further discussed for a thorough understanding of existing research perspectives. The result discovered that wearing a face mask and vaccination have been the two most effective means to counteract pandemic outbreaks. Additional findings were extracted from practitioners regarding the effectiveness of pandemic protocols and strategies

A Case Study of Taxiway Landing (1982-2016)

The paper reviews the 26 “landing on the taxiway” cases happened between 1982 and 2016 recorded by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) aviation accident/incident database, it evaluates causal and contributing factors such as visibility, navigation, preparation, fatigue, experiences, age and more affecting pilots’ operations. Also, personnel injury/fatality and severity of the aircraft damage are extracted from the NTSB’s accident/incident databases to conduct the inductive research. Some interesting findings in the paper includes the experienced pilots landing on the taxiway, and different trends of mistakes between general aviation (GA) and commercial operation. Based on these findings, the authors have given several recommendations to mitigate the possibility of landing on the taxiway

The Effects of Pedagogical Paradigms on Aviation Students with Hazardous Attitudes

Hazardous attitudes can adversely affect a pilot\u27s judgment and thus impact the safety of a flight (FAA, 1991). These hazardous attitudes are antiauthority; impulsivity; invulnerability; macho; and, resignation. Wetmore & Lu (in-press) found hazardous attitudes to be a causal or contributing factor in 86% of the general aviation accidents involving a fatality. This study reviews certain fundamental tenets and belief systems for each of the major traditional and modern educational philosophies, ideologies and theories. A qualitative determination was made that many of the pedagogies that permeate our educational system have tenets and beliefs can actually exacerbate rather than ameliorate hazardous attitudes. One of the main conclusions of this study is for aviation teachers to constantly examine their personal pedagogical paradigms and remind themselves of four important questions: (a) Do my aviation students have hazardous attitudes? (b) What are those hazardous attitudes? (c) Does my own personal teaching style ameliorate or exacerbate those hazardous attitudes? (d) How can I change or adapt my teaching strategies to better serve the needs of those student pilots suffering from hazardous attitudes

Collegiate Professional Pilot Programs: Acquisition and Use of a Level Six Training Device in the Academic Environment

Regardless of the bill of H. R. 5900 Airline Safety and Federal Aviation Administration Act of 201 0 aiming to elevate the flight hours and level of certification for pilots working for FAA FAR 121 air carriers, the ongoing pilot recruitment at regional airlines continues to grow. Simultaneously, an influx of low time and relatively inexperienced pilots are continuously flying the revenue passenger. In this case, collegiate aviation programs should take the responsibility to deliver low-time pilots, yet with sufficient knowledge and skills regarding multiple crew scenarios and complex transport aircraft systems. With this in mind, in order to ensure the quality and experience flight training at the university level, full size air carrier Flight Training Devices (FTD), and sometimes motion simulators (FFS Full flight Simulators) are used. However, the aforementioned high-end devices are not affordable to every collegiate aviation program. To make efficient use of the professional student pilot\u27s budget and ensure a thorough and comprehensive application of systems knowledge and crew resource management concepts, a compatible alternative is an option. In this paper, a Flight Training Device (FTD)/simulator was used and the certification process and acquisition steps were described. Due to the nature of the study, Action Research Methodology (ARM) was selected. The result showed that the selected complex training device could become a standard feature of a collegiate aviation program to equip professional pilot majors with sufficient knowledge in an intensive, commercial environment

Modeling the Balance between Standardization and Innovation in a Flight School

The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between standardization and innovation in a university flight training program. Quantitative and qualitative data were generated for this investigation by a human subjects study involving senior students in a collegiate pro-pilot program. The survey provided the following lack of innovation indicators: (a) failure to achieve program goals; (b) loss of flight training students to competitor flight schools; and (c) substandard flight training efficiency. A model describing the balance between standardization and innovation is proposed: (a) too much standardization mires a flight school in stagnation; (b) too little standardization results in a lack of professionalism; (c) too much innovation creates a chaotic training program; (d) too little innovation produces unmotivated students; and (e) too many resistors to change at the management level results in stagnation and a lack of innovation. Flight schools that can achieve a good balance between standardization and innovation would enjoy two main benefits: (a) positive and imaginative learning atmosphere that encourages instructors to train their students above and beyond the minimum standards without sacrificing safety; and (b) exciting and creative training environment that motivates students to achieve their goals without sacrificing professionalism

Risk Assessment Matrix of Operational Safety (RAMOS): Aviation Safety with a MATLAB® Design Toolkit

Safety is the priority of the aviation industry that requires continuous support and improvement. While the Safety Management Systems (SMS) is mandatory for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 121 air carriers and Part 139 airports in the United States, SMS remains optional to General Aviation (GA) due to various reasons including limited budget and manpower associated with technologies. This paper aims to promote the adoption of MATLAB® to develop a low-cost Risk Assessment Matrix of Operational Safety (RAMOS) (risk calculation and control) for GA operators. A case is presented to demonstrate the application of MATLAB® for the safety committee’s usage when going through risk assessment, control options, and decision making via a computer, tablet, or smartphone. A future comprehensive risk management toolkit can be expected with the introduction of RAMOS using MATLAB®

System Safety Study: Pedagogical Aviation Action Research

Action Research (AR) is a scientific methodology whereby researchers participate in a research setting for data collection and problem resolution. Aviation researchers experience first-hand challenges in process cognition, data collection, and selection of implementation strategies. The AR think-path, or the Look-Think-Acf\u27 loop, has been utilized in the qualitative research discipline for decades. Yet the merits of AR remain under-utilized by airport safety practitioners. The purpose of this study is to introduce AR for the development of a functional safety management system (SMS) to support airport safety education. Using documentary research, this paper reviews the process of AR and identifies a detailed set of methodological procedures in support of the recently published FAA\u27s Advanced Notice of Proposed Rule Making, FAA Order 1110.152, for the implementation of SMS. This study provides a tool to integrate ongoing airport safety programs which will benefit airport management and current aviation students. The core SMS safety analysis process and the Policy Research Construct (PRC) {ref} are supportive to the AR methodology along with the adoption of a proposed Aviation Safety Management Model (ASMM). The application of this study contributes a valuable research methodology to support airport managers and safety educators

Tension Pneumoperitoneum Following Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Tension pneumoperitoneum is a potentially lethal complication of numerous iatrogenic procedures, including upper gastrointestinal (UGI) endoscopy. We report a 69-year-old man with UGI bleeding who developed tension pneumoperitoneum and cardiac arrest after UGI endoscopy. He was successfully resuscitated with needle decompression. Emergency surgery revealed a perforated gastric ulcer, and subtotal gastrectomy with Billroth II anastomosis was performed. Recovery was smooth and he was discharged from the hospital 18 days later. Tension pneumoperitoneum should be suspected in all patients who develop circulatory collapse with acutely distended abdomen after UGI endoscopy. Early identification relies on a high index of suspicion. Prompt treatment with needle decompression should not be delayed for confirmatory radiography once the clinical diagnosis is made