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Aircraft safety - collisions

2004 Baseline Integrated Risk Picture for Air Traffic Management in Europe

This technical note (Number 2005-15) was puclished by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in May 2005 and was written by John Spouge and Eric Perrin. The objective of the project is to develop an integrated risk picture (IRP) for ATM in Europe, showing the relative safety priorities in the gate-to-gate ATM cycle. The present document is the report on the development of the 2004 baseline IRP. Its objectives are: to outline the methodology that has been selected to develop the IRP; to apply the methodology to the five main accident categories potentially influenced by ATM; to construct the 2004 baseline risk picture, to give a preliminary indication of the type of results that can be obtained. [Taken from abstract]. This is in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

A Comparison of the Effect of DME and GPS on the Aircraft Position in the TMA

This technical report (NLR-TP-2002-165) was published by NLR (the National Aerospace Laboratory of the Netherlands) in 2002 and was written by A. P. R. Gibbs and J. W. Smeltink. It is important for safety, capacity, and environmental reasons, that aircraft follow the desired flight path as accurately as possible, especially in the vicinity of an airport, i.e. the terminal manoeuvring area (TMA). The ability of an aircraft to maintain its desired path depends on various factors of which the accuracy of the navigation system plays a major role. In this study, the lateral deviation from a nominal flight path depending on the positioning sensor in use is investigated by using actual radar measurements of the aircraft's position. A comparison is made between the performance with GPS as positioning sensor and with DME (Distance Measuring Equipment) as positioning sensor on a straight path. Analysis shows a significant decrease in the track dispersion when GPS is used as a primary sensor (about a factor 1.6) instead of DME. Additionally, the disabling of Selective Availability (SA) of the GPS signal decreased the track dispersion again with a factor of 1.8. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available as a PDF file.

A Review of Recent Laser Illumination Events in the Aviation Environment

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AM-06/23) was produced by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Aviation Medicine in November 2006 and was written by Van B. Nakagawara, Kathryn J. Wood and Ron W. Montgomery. Flight crewmember exposure to laser light, while operating an aircraft at night, has resulted in glare, flashblindness, and afterimage. Temporary visual impairment and the distraction, disorientation, and discomfort that can accompany it often result in hazardous situations. A database of aviation reports involving laser illumination of flight crewmembers has been established and maintained at the Civil Aerospace Medical Institute. A review of recent laser illumination reports was initiated to investigate the significance of these events. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

A Study of Transport Airplane Crash-Resistant Fuel Systems : Final Report

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA/AR-01/82, by S.H Robertson, N.B. Johnson, D.S. Hall and I.J. Rimson, dated March 2002. This report presents the results of a study, funded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), of transport airplane crash-resistant fuel system (CRFS). The full text of the report is available in PDF format, from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

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Accident Risk Assessment for Airborne Separation Assurance

This technical report (NLR-TP-2002-689) was published by NLR (the National Aerosapce Laboratory of the Netherlands) in 2002 and was written by M. H. C. Everdij, H. A. P. Blom and G. J. Bakker. The paper shows the results of a collision risk assessment based evaluation of safe spacing and safe separation criteria for a particular airborne separation assurance based operational concept. Assessed are both the model based risk and the bias and uncertainty that is caused by differences between the model and reality. It is also shown how accident risk results provide effective feedback to the concept design process. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available as a PDF file.

Accident Risk Assessment of Simultaneous Converging Instrument Approaches

This technical report (NLR-TP-2003-557) was published by NLR (the National Laboratory of the Netherlands) in 2003 and was written by H. A. P. Blom, M. B. Klompstra and G. J. Bakker. With increasing traffic there often are environmental and economical reasons to optimise Simultaneous Converging Instrument Approaches (SCIA) without sacrificing the high safety levels realised in air traffic. One of the well known safety issues of SCIA is the risk of a mid air collision due to a double missed approach. The aim of this paper is to show through a working example that there is a clear advantage to evaluate the safety through support of advanced accident risk assessment methodology. In this paper such methodology is applied to a specific example of SCIA at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. Comparison of the obtained results against FAA established SCIA criteria shows that there are situations in which these FAA criteria are not met; however, the collision risk is not higher than for similar situations that would satisfy these criteria. The implication for Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is that a specific change can be introduced as being risk neutral. The implication for other busy airports with converging runways might be that there is room to develop new or improved SCIA without compromising safety. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available as a PDF file.

Advice Notes 1-7 : Safeguarding of Aerodromes

Access to Advice Notes written jointly by the AOA (Airport Operators Association) and GAAC (The General Aviation Awareness Council) and supported by the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) are available here in full text. They are - Advice Note 1 "Safeguarding - An overview", Advice Note 2 "Lighting near areodromes", Advice Note 3 "Potential bird hazards from amenity landscaping and building design", Advice Note 4 "Cranes and other construction issues", Advice Note 5 "Potential bird hazards from landfill sites", Advice Note 6 "Potential bird hazards from sustainable urban drainage schemes (SUDS)" and Advice Note 7 "Wind Turbines and Aviation" all issued or updated in August 2006. Each advice note is available in PDF format.

Air Traffic Management: Support for Decision Making Optimisation - Automation

This is Research and Technology Organization(RTO) AGARD Report, AGARD-R-825, dated December 1997. It was sponsored by the Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development. As a contribution to the increasing cooperation between NATO and former Warsaw Pact countries, the Mission Systems Panel of AGARD organized a Workshop on Air Traffic Management, held in Budapest, Hungary on 27-29 May 1997. Emphasis was placed on the fundamentals of air traffic handling and an effort was made to establish a fruitful dialogue between experienced experts and young mathematicians, physicists and engineers, offering a fresh approach to the on-line conduct of traffic management. The main characteristics of Air Traffic Handling were outlined; it is a large-scale, international, multidisciplinary and complex system. The aircraft, the basic element of air traffic, was given considerable consideration: the manner in which it is flown and its dynamics, the potential role of the on-board flight management system, the current and expected level of automation, and the advent of unmanned military aircraft. Could Air Traffic Handling become a discipline in itself as part of the academic subject of aerospace? What assistance could be made available to the human controller in the present types of operation? Finally, if it was intended to make major improvements to the management of all flights, what optimization techniques were suitable for on-line operations? These important questions were debated in a session devoted to the fundamentals of air traffic management. An attempt was then made to illustrate some trends in the optimization and automation processes: arrivals management in the PHARE programme; application of genetic algorithms to mid-air collision avoidance; the detection and resolution of conflicts using coupled force field techniques and a broad look at global traffic optimization. Plans and prospectives were presented: human-machine interface in the Hungarian MATIAS project; a US view of the situation as seen by the FAA; the CNS/ATM concept as an ICAO prospective and the EATCHIP-EATMS concept offered as a European perspective. The Round Table which ended the meeting offered strong encouragement to the academic and scientific communities to inform their members of the nature, complexity and interest of the problems - numerous and varied - raised by the need to improve the presently critical air traffic situation. Examples of outstanding doctoral dissertations were included in this Workshop programme. Bibliographic details and an abstract are available in HTML format and the full text is available in PDF format(81 Mb)from the RTO's web site.

Airline Safety Records and Comparisons

This site is devoted to recording the safety records of US airlines. It allows users to compare each airline's history of accidents, incidents and near mid-air collisions. This can be done by viewing the five year and one year average tables. The statistics are calculated from data provided by the FAA, NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) and the US Department of Transportation, and the site explains how the calculations are carried out.

Airprox in UK Airspace Involving General Aviation Pilots

An Airprox is a situation in which, in the opinion of a pilot or a controller, the distance between aircraft as well as their relative positions and speed have been such that the safety of the aircraft involved was or may have been compromised. The UK Airprox Board’s (UKAB) primary objective is to enhance flight safety in the UK, in particular in respect of lessons to be learned and applied from Airprox occurrences reported within UK airspace. The reports available from this site contain selected abstracts from UKAB reports for use by General Aviation (GA) pilots. Their purpose is to identify for the GA community some of the flight safety lessons arising from Airprox events which occurred in UK airspace. The site provides access to reports from the period Jan - Jun 2003 to Jul - Dec 2004.

Airspace Complexity & Safety Analysis Hazard & Operability (HAZOP)

This technical note (Number 2005-14) was published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in June 2005 and was written by Richard J. Kennedy and Keith Slater. The trial complexity HAZOP described in this report was part of a study to investigate the possible relationship between ATM system complexity and safety. The main objective of this stage of the study was to trial the approach, evaluate its utility for safety and obtain feedback on its acceptability with operations personnel, including sector designers and developers. [Taken from abstract]. This is in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Alternating Yellow and Green Taxiway Centerline as a Runway Safety Enhancement

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AR-TN05/51) was published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in November 2005 and was written by James W. Patterson, Jr. This research effort was conducted to investigate and validate the suitability of installing alternating yellow and green taxiway centerline lights on taxiway segments located between the runway hold position marking and the runway centerline in the direction approaching the runway. This lighting configuration is the same configuration frequently used to identify the centerline of a taxiway exiting a runway, except that it is viewed from the opposite direction. This lighting configuration would serve as a visual cue to pilots and vehicle drivers that they are about to enter the runway environment/runway safety area (RSA). The objective of this research effort was to determine how the proposed lighting configuration would appear to pilots approaching the hold line (runway environment/RSA), if presently available lighting fixtures are adequate for the purpose, if present spacing standards are adequate for the purpose, if pilots interpret the purpose of the alternating yellow and green taxiway centerline lighting configuration correctly, and the cost factors involved in making such a change. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

An Airspace Planning and Collaborative Decision Making Model Under Safety, Workload, and Equity Considerations

This is a Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering PhD dissertation, by Raymond William Staats, dated 4 April, 2003. It describes the development of a detailed, large-scale, airspace planning and collaborative decision-making model (APCDM), that is part of an $11.5B, 10-year, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)- sponsored effort to increase U.S. National Airspace (NAS) capacity by 30 percent. Novel contributions of this research include three-dimensional probabilistic conflict analyses, the derivation of valid inequalities to tighten the conflict safety representation constraints, the development of workload metrics based on average (and its variance from) peak load measures, and the consideration of equity among airline carriers in absorbing the costs related to re-routing, delays, and cancellations. An improved set of flight plan cost factors for representing system costs and investigating fairness issues by addressing flight dependencies occurring in hubbed operations, as well as market factors such as schedule convenience, reliability, and the timeliness of connections is also proposed. Bibliographic and abstract details are available in HTML format. The full text of the document is accessible online in a series of PDF format files. This title is part of Virginia Tech’s Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Collection (VT ETD)

Analysis of Aircraft Touchdown Point and the Associated Uncertainty

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report DOT/FAA/AR-07/67 written by Ming Ouyang, Larry Hackler and Andrew Cheng dated January 2008. Adequate determination of aircraft landing distance is critical to the safety of terminal area operations. In general, the aircraft landing process consists of the touchdown and rollout/turnoff. Although the current aviation system tracks a number oflanding parameters for commercial operations, the operational touchdown performance is not readily measured and recorded. The research described herein collected landing traces from a flight simulator, analyzed the traces, and developed and validated computational methods that can backcalculate the touchdown points. The accuracy of the calculation was verified against high-precision Global Positioning System information. These computational methods are implemented in the MATLABÂź script language, and they are very efficient. MATLAB provides interfaces to all commonly used database systems, including MicrosoftÂź AccessÂź. Thus, these methods can be readily incorporated in an integral system to process large amounts of operational landing data. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it.

Analysis of Aircraft Touchdown Point and the Associated Uncertainty

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AR-07/67) was produced by the Federal Aviation Administration in January 2008 and was written by Ming Ouyang, Larry Hackler and Andrew Cheng. Adequate determination of aircraft landing distance is critical to the safety of terminal area operations. In general, the aircraft landing process consists of the touchdown and rollout/turnoff. Although the current aviation system tracks a number oflanding parameters for commercial operations, the operational touchdown performance is not readily measured and recorded. The research described herein collected landing traces from a flight simulator, analyzed the traces, and developed and validated computational methods that can backcalculate the touchdown points. The accuracy of the calculation was verified against high-precision Global Positioning System information. These computational methods are implemented in the MATLABÂź script language, and they are very efficient. MATLAB provides interfaces to all commonly used database systems, including MicrosoftÂź AccessÂź. Thus, these methods can be readily incorporated in an integral system to process large amounts of operational landing data. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Analysis of Airprox in UK Airspace

An Airprox is a situation in which, in the opinion of a pilot or a controller, the distance between aircraft as well as their relative positions and speed have been such that the safety of the aircraft involved was or may have been compromised. The UK Airprox Board’s (UKAB) primary objective is to enhance flight safety in the UK, in particular in respect of lessons to be learned and applied from Airprox occurrences reported within UK airspace. Twice a year, the UKAB's findings for a six-month period are compiled and distributed in both book and CD format, throughout the UK (civil and military) aviation community. These reports are also available on this website. The aim is to raise awareness and understanding by sharing widely the unfortunate experiences of the few for the benefit of the many. The site provides access to the Analysis of Airprox in UK Airspace compilation reports from the period Jul - Dec 2003 to the present.

Analysis of Australian Birdstrike Occurrences 2002 to 2006

This provides access to an Australian Transport Saferty Bureau Research and Analysis Report (AR2008027)dated 30th June 2008. This report analyses birdstrikes reported to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau between 2002 and 2006. In Australia, over the last five years, the number of birdstrike occurrences reported annually to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has risen from approximately 750 in 2002 to 1,200 in 2006. The report includes bird and bat strikes that occurred in Australian territory involving VH- and overseas registered aircraft. It excludes strikes involving non VH-registered Australian aircraft and those involving VH-registered aircraft that occurred overseas. Birdstrikes were analysed by year, month, phase of flight, type of operation, record source, effect on flight, time, aircraft damage, injuries, the nature of occurrence reports, flight disruption, aircraft movements, aircraft size, ingestion, bird size, species, and location. Location data are presented for major aerodromes, General Aviation Airport Procedures aerodromes and regional aerodromes. The report tables birdstrikes and aircraft movements, as well as species struck and species causing damage. Birdstrike reporting was found to have almost doubled over the reporting period. There have been three injuries, but no fatalities. Around seven per cent of birdstrike events resulted in damage, and double-engine ingestion was recorded for eight of 5103 birdstrike occurrences. Birdstrike events vary by location, and rates of birdstrike events at aerodromes are only indicators of the effectiveness of control measures. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it.

Analyzing Vehicle Operator Deviations

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Aerospace Medicine report DOT/FAA/AM-08/17 written by Alfretia Scarborough, Larry Bailey and Julia Pounds dated November 2008. Runway incursions (RIs) are one of the top safety issues for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Considerable effort has gone into understanding how pilot deviations and air traffic control (ATC) operational errors contribute to RIs. In contrast, little is known about human factors issues related to vehicle operator deviations (VODs). VODs occur when a vehicle enters the airport movement area without ATC approval. We developed a VOD prediction model to help understand the human factors causes associated with different types of VODs. We then examined the validity of the model, using logistic regression and directed graphical modeling. Although the results of our analyses provided partial support for our prediction model, much of the data that we needed was missing due to incomplete reporting of the human factors associated with a given VOD. To aid in the development of a more comprehensive VOD reporting process, we adapted a human factors taxonomy used in air traffic control (JANUS-ATC) to ground operations (JANUS-GRO). JANUS-GRO was then used to demonstrate how VOD reporting could be improved. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is avaialble in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it.

ATC-WAKE - Final Report on System Requirements

This technical note (number 16) was publsihed by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in August 2003 and was written by Gerard Astegiani ...et al. This document constitutes the final report from ATC WAKE (WP 1000) that addresses Operational Requirements, Operational Concept and Procedures, User Requirements and System Requirements for an ATC platform integrating Wake Vortex prediction and detection capabilities. [Taken from abstract]. This is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Automatic Dependent Surveillance- Broadcast/Cockpit Display of Traffic Information: Innovations in Aircraft Navigation on the Airport Surface

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA/AM-04/11 by Veronika Prinzo dated July 2004. In 2000, the FAA’s Office of Runway Safety made a concerted effort to reduce runway incursions. The Safe Flight 21 Program awarded contracts for CDTI avionics development and an operational demonstration that included a surface moving-map capability. An operational evaluation was conducted in October 2000 to assess pilot use of varying types of CDTI devices and how surface-map information could aid pilot situation awareness when taxiing. Complex taxi routes were designed to examine how well pilots navigated their aircraft using an electronic surface-map display (north-up, track-up) or a paper surface map. This study was designed to determine howthe useofthesedisplaysmight aidsituational awareness andinfluence operationalcommunications. Pilots navigated their aircraft during 3 day and 2 night operations, resulting in 31 structured and 37 unstructured taxi routes. As subject-matter experts listened to 15 hours of audiotapes and read verbatim transcripts, they identified operational concerns and noted problems. Communications involved in progressive taxi routes and routes instructing pilots to follow another aircraft were excluded from analysis. A Type-of-Route x Type-of-Map ANOVA revealed that more problems occurred for structured, compared with unstructured taxi routes, and more messages were exchanged. A statistically significant interaction indicated that most problems occurred for the north-up map during structured taxi routes, and the number of problems encountered was comparable for the other maps when pilots navigated along unstructured taxi routes. When designing electronic surface-map displays, providing a north-up map orientation appears to create more problems than either track-up or paper surface maps — especially when taxi routes are complex (or unfamiliar). The full text of the report is available in PDF format from the online catalogue of the FAA.

Aviation Safety Foundation Australia (ASFA)

Based in Victoria, Aviation Safety Foundation Australia was launched in February 1997 as an independent, non political organisation. Its aims are to promote air safety, coordinate and facilitate independent air safety resources in Australia and establish standards of practice within the industry. It is supported by the Australian Transportation Safety Bureau, Airservices Australia, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the Australian Defence Force. The Web site provides details of its current activities, news, products and services, and forthcoming seminars.

CAP 694 : UK Flight Planning Guide

This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) publication CAP 694 dated July 2006. CAP 694 is intended as guidance for the completion and submission of VFR and IFR Flight Plans (FPLs) and incorporates step-by-step instructions for the completion of the CA48/RAF F2919 FPL Form. Within the European Region, the integration of IFR Flight Planning has been established to facilitate the centralisation of Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM). Consequently, the process involves automatic data processing, including the issue of Calculated Take Off Times (CTOTs) where appropriate and other ATFM messages. This publication highlights the importance of ATSUs being able to contact pilots/operators, in order that queries, the passing of ATFM messages, or even, perhaps, the rejection of their FPLs, can be dealt with quickly and effectively.This publication also references other documents and gives information on how to obtain the definitive source material should greater detail be required. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it.

CDG Real-Time Simulation Results : Time-Based Separation Project

This technical note (No.2006-17) was published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in November 2006 and was written by A. Wennerberg and M. Gibellini. This document resumes the results of the air traffic control time-based separation (TBS) real-time simulation organised in February and March, 2006, by EUROCONTROL. The simulation took place at the DSNA/DTI/SDER (Direction des Services de la Navigation AĂ©rienne/ Direction Technique et de l’Innovation/ sous Direction Etudes et Recherches appliquĂ©es) in Athis-Mons, France. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Changes in ATM Safety Culture due to new Technology

This technical note (Number 2005-13) was published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in June 2005 and was written by Jamie Henderson and Rachel Gordon. This report describes a small-scale project about the impact that future ATM technologies may have on safety culture in ATM. The overall objectives of this project were to: 1. gather evidence for the impact of recently introduced systems on safety culture, and 2. examine the potential impact future ATM functions may have on safety culture that could potentially affect safety. This was undertaken in three stages: literature review; controller survey of how recent changes in ATM technology had affected safety culture and how future changes could affect safety culture; and interviews with system developers regarding future changes. The findings from the literature review helped to identify some of the relevant safety culture factors that were used in the controller survey. These were chosen on the basis of being relevant to safety culture at the operator-level as well as to changes in technology. Very little research has attempted to predict how safety culture may be affected with new technologies. The safety culture factors used in the survey were: team-work; communication; trust in people; trust in equipment; understanding of risk; understanding of competence of others; personal responsibility for safety; job pressure and job satisfaction. The interview survey was carried out with 33 controllers at four European ANSPs during October-December, 2004. Changes in safety culture were discussed with regard to recently introduced technologies (such as OLDI, STCA, Human-Machine Interface) and future technologies (such as MTCD (medium term conflict detection), CORA (conflict resolution assistant), datalink and ASAS (airborne separation assurance system). The main findings suggest that teamwork and communication appear to be particularly vulnerable to change, although controllers also indicated that there is high chance that their understanding of the risks and their job satisfaction may change with new technology. Controllers trust in equipment, personal responsibility for safety and job pressure were also predicted to change with the implementation of new technology. Two lines for future research in this area have been identified as: 1. further investigation regarding the safety culture aspects in ATM and development of a tool or method to measure safety culture, and 2. focus on aspects of the ATM 2012 at risk. [Taken from abstract]. This is in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Completeness and Accuracy of Birdstrike Reporting in the UK

This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) Paper 2006/05 dated November 2006. A recent change to UK legislation has resulted in the mandatory reporting of birdstrikes. This report assesses the completeness and accuracy of the reporting of birdstrikes in the UK. The primary objective was to establish whether any action was required to improve reporting and to identify where any such action should be targeted. It makes a number of recommendations to improve the completeness and accuracy of reports. It also found a continuing need for CAA to remind aerodrome licensees and aircraft operators of their responsibilities to share information. [Taken from abstract]. The full text of the document is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Complexity in Airport Traffic Control Towers: A Field Study. Part 2. Controller Strategies and Information Requirements

This technical report (DOT/FAA/TC-06/22) was published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 2006 and was written by Anton Koros, Pamela S. Della Rocco, Gulshan Panjwani, Victor Ingurgio and Jean-Francis D'Arcy. This two-part field study investigated sources of complexity and their incidence within Federal Aviation Administration Air Traffic Control Towers (ATCTs). Human Factors Specialists from the William J. Hughes Technical Center selected six sites representing a combination of high traffic volume, traffic mix, and/or converging runways. Sixty-two Air Traffic Control Specialists participated in the study, providing ratings and descriptions of the complexity sources from a local- and ground-controller perspective. The first report represented a key step in identifying and characterizing the primary sources of complexity within ATCTs and assessing their relative incidence and importance. The second report identifies the strategies that tower controllers use to mitigate complexity, the types of information that they require, and the sources of this information. The participants reported relying on two to three core strategies, which they supplemented with ad hoc techniques. Results from this field study hold implications for future tower automation equipment design. Future research efforts should systematically investigate tower controller information needs and focus, in particular, on sources such as high traffic volume and frequency congestion, which are among the most prevalent sources of complexity within this environment. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Complexity Study of the Maastricht Upper Airspace Centre

This technical report (2006-403) was published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in February 2006 and was written by Geraldine Flynn, Claire Leleu and Brian Hilburn. This report describes a complexity study performed on all the Maastricht UAC sectors. Particular focus was put on the Brussels sectors in the vicinity of the REMBA navaid to assess if airspace changes made in May 2004 resulted in a reduction of complexity. The study was conducted over two separate weeks; one in April 2004 and the other in August 2004. The sectors were classified into three groups sharing similar complexity characteristics. The results are presented in I/D cards for each sector; these contain the quantitative values of the selected complexity indicators. The results of this study may be used to support safety management processes in MUAC to reduce complexity and increase safety and to support the MANTAS project. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Conflict Probability and Incrossing Probability in Air Traffic Management

This technical report (NLR-TP-2002-444) was published by NLR (the National Aerospace Laboratory of the Netherlands) in 2002 and was written by H. A. P. Blom and G. J. Bakker. This paper studies performance metrics that are of use in the evaluation of conflict detection and resolution in air traffic management. The metrics studied are conflict probability and incrossing probability, both of which are closely related to the safety criteria used by the civil aviation community. The main contribution of this paper is to develop mathematical characterisations for these metrics, and to show typical differences in their behaviour through numerical evaluations of these metrics for some simple examples. This research has been performed with support of the European Commission through the HYBRIDGE project. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available as a PDF file.

CoSpace 2004: Aircraft Guidance Model Based Experiments - Analysis of Interaction of Airborne Spacing with an Airborne Collision Avoidance System

This technical note (Number 2005-8) was published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in May 2005 and was written by Dan Ivanescu, David Powell, Chris Shaw, Eric Hoffman and Karim Zeghal. This air traffic management research study analysed the interaction between a potential future airborne spacing application and an existing Airborne Collision Avoidance System (ACAS). The time-based airborne spacing application ‘merge behind’ was simulated in fast-time for a range of merge angles (45°, 90°, 135° and 180°), target spacing times (60 and 90 s) and altitudes (6,000 and 11,000 feet) under turbulent wind and extreme entry conditions. Trajectory pairs were analysed for potential collision alerting conditions using an ACAS simulator based on Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) II version 7 logic. Results show how, with realistic turn anticipation, the TCAS estimated time to go to Closest Point of Approach (CPA) decreased as merge angle was increased and as target spacing was reduced, but still remained above the Traffic Advisory (TA) and Resolution Advisory (RA) thresholds for the duration of all trials. This note describes results of aircraft model based experiments conducted at the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre (EEC) in 2004 and presented at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Guidance, Navigation & Control Conference in August 2004. The results, based on normal operating conditions, are consistent with the hypothesis that the airborne spacing ‘Merge’ application is robust. The results based on extreme conditions may be useful to evaluate the limits of applicability for ‘Merge’ application. [Taken from abstract]. This is in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Critical Incident Stress Management in Air Traffic Control

This technical note (Number 2004-15) was published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in November 2004 and was written by Marc Baumgartner. Following a number of air disasters, several countries have introduced a programme designed to decrease the psychological impact on the air traffic controller, primarily using an approach known as Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM). This approach helps controllers deal with suffering a loss of separation incident or accident. This report first considers the task of the air traffic controller, and then reviews theories and models of stress, relating these to air traffic management and losses of separation. Methods of dealing with such stress and/or trauma are then reviewed, leading to a focus on the ‘Mitchell Method’ and CISM. The results of a survey of CISM applications worldwide are then reviewed to see the state of practice of CISM in Air Traffic Management. [Taken from abstract]. This is in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Design and Installation of Flasher Baffles at the Arcata/Eureka Airport

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AR-TN05-41) was produced by the Fire Safety Branch of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in August 2005 and was written by James W. Patterson. The medium intensity approach lighting system with runway alignment indicator lights operating on runway 32 at the Acrata/Eureka Airport in McKinleyville, California, was causing a severe glare hazard to motorists driving on a nearby highway that crossed through the system, approximately 1400 feet from the end of the runway. Engineers designed, developed, and constructed three different aluminum baffles specifically for the situation at the airport. Ground and flight evaluations were conducted to determine if the glare hazard had been evaluated without effecting the usability of the lights for approaching aircraft. The results of those evaluations have been released in the following Technical Note. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Development of Airport Active Runway Vehicle Lighting

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report DOT/FAA/AR-TN04/9 by James W. Patterson dated May 2004. Runway incursions are a leading cause of airport ground accidents and usually result from the presence of unauthorized ground vehicles within the active runway area. In many cases, air traffic control personnel can become confused by the numerous flashing lights and various colors of lights on vehicles operating on the airport and because of this, are unable to distinguish which vehicles are on the runway and which are on a parallel taxiway or holding short of the runway. The purpose of this evaluation was to determine the feasibility of equipping airport ground vehicles with supplemental warning beacons that would be illuminated only when the vehicle was on an active runway, thus providing a visual cue to eliminate any confusion in regards to the location of the vehicle. The objective of the research was to evaluate the various beacon features available, such as beacon colors, flash patterns, flash speeds, or beacon separation distances, to determine if there was a particular combination that would make the beacon unique enough to be used for this purpose. To investigate these features, an evaluation was conducted in which numerous vehicles were fitted with modified light beacons that enabled the project participants to observe the supplemental warning beacons in operation. The participants evaluated various beacon colors, flash patterns, flash speeds, and light bar arrays at various separations during the course of the evaluation. In addition, surveys were taken at various airports to determine which type of vehicle lighting was currently being used. The supplemental warning beacon concept was not feasible for various reasons. It was determined that the available colors were not unique enough to identify the vehicles on the runway, because these colors are already being used for other functions in the airport environment. In addition, it was determined that adding another beacon of a different color to the standard amber beacon would require them to be spaced approximately 2 feet apart to ensure that the beacons did not blend when they flashed in unison. The beacons would also have to be mounted vertically, one above another, to make both of them visible from a 360 degree radius. For most vehicle applications, however, mounting beacons vertically or horizontally apart from each other is not acceptable. [Taken from abstract]. The full text of the report is available in PDF format from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Development of Obstruction Lighting Standards for Wind Turbine Farms

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AR-TNO5/50) was published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in November 2005 and was written by James W. Patterson, Jr. The U.S. Department of Energy has mandated that renewable energy sources, such as wind turbines, will provide 5 percent of the nation’s electricity by the year 2020. As a result, wind turbine farms are sprouting all over the USA; farms having over 200 turbines spread over mountain ranges up to 20 miles long are not uncommon. Standing at heights up to 442 feet, these structures are considered obstructions to air navigation. As such, these obstructions must be illuminated so the aircraft can easily identify and avoid them, while at the same time, minimizing any impact of the illumination on surrounding communities. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Discussion of Approaches to Estimate the Aircraft Stopping Distances Under Standard Operating Procedures

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report DOT/FAA/AR-TN07/21 written by Andrew Checg and dated June 2007. The Federal Aviation Administration is currently engaged in research of aircraft operational landing performance, aiming to increase the safety and efficiency of aircraft operations in terminal areas. One of the primary research objectives was to identify the operational landing distances achieved in line operations under standard operating procedures. The landing distance is defined as the total distance, from the runway threshold, needed for an aircraft to make a full stop during a landing operation. This distance consists of two components: the touchdown point (i.e., airborne distance) from runway threshold and the stopping distance after touchdown. Although several algorithms have been recently developed to identify aircraft touchdown points via available landing parameters, solutions to adequately determine the aircraft stopping distance are still greatly sought after. This technical note addresses the difficulties of estimating the operational aircraft stopping distance and discusses approaches to resolve the problem. In particular, a new method is proposed to estimate the aircraft stopping distance via studying the deceleration pattern during rollout. The deceleration pattern provides a useful means to estimate the operational stopping distance since it is the realization of a pilot’s decision and command under the specific landing conditions, including the piloting techniques, weather conditions, runway situation, air traffic control demands, etc. There are several advantages to this approach. First, the deceleration pattern identified by ground speed information contains relatively little contamination of measurement noise so that a troublesome noise-filtering process is generally not required. Second, this approach is simple and straightforward because it does not depend on the availability of additional information regarding external factors that affect the deceleration performances. Assumptions and investigation results are demonstrated with operational landing examples. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Effect of Aircraft Time Keeping Ability on Arrival Traffic Control Performance : Probabilistic Modelling

This technical report No.2009 012 was published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in April 2009 and written by D. Ivanescu, A. Marayat and C. Shaw. Probabilistic modelling is used to investigate the air traffic control performance benefits of aircraft flight management systems (FMS) respecting required times of arrival (RTA) at an initial approach fix (IAF ∌10,000 feet) agreed in advance, typically before top of descent. The probability of a sequence of aircraft meeting all controlled time of arrival (CTA) tolerances (±30s) is modelled mathematically for different: (a) arrival control horizon times up to 1 hour, (b) mixtures of RTA equipped and unequipped traffic, (c) traffic densities, and (d) RTA accuracy. Results indicate the probability of a CTA sequence being met is above 0.9 for all arrival control horizon times tested with 100% of aircraft equipped with RTA, but decreases with decreasing RTA equipage levels for arrival control horizon times greater than ten minutes. Increasing RTA accuracy (standard deviation) from ±10s to ±5s (50%) increases probability of CTA sequence conformance e.g. for average traffic density from 0.92 to 0.95 (3%) for 95% equipage and 20 minutes arrival control horizon time. The probability of bunching of two to four aircraft in a spacing slot of 90s at the TMA entry is reduced by at least a factor of ten when all aircraft are equipped with RTA compared to all aircraft unequipped. Extended arrival control horizon times enabled by RTA allow delay absorption by speed control instead of path-stretching resulting in fuel savings increasing (relative to a controller without an arrival manager) from 110 ± 10 kg at 15 minutes to 150 ± 25 kg at 70 minutes. These fuel savings are due to improved efficiency in absorbing airborne delay with longer arrival control horizon times. Fuel savings analysis by Airbus related to optimisation of vertical profile, better metering at IAF and more accurate estimated times of arrival (ETA) are included in appendices. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it.

Effects of Collocation and Reduced Lateral Separation Standards in the New York Integrated Control Complex

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report DOT/FAA/CT-TN04/8 by Todd Truitt March 2004. The authors used a high fidelity, human-in-the-loop simulation in two experiments examining the concept of the New York Integrated Control Complex (NYICC). The first experiment examined the potential effects of collocation alone and collocation with expanded terminal separation standards on the arrival traffic flow into Newark. The second experiment examined the same effects on the departure traffic flows primarily from Newark International (EWR) and LaGuardia (LGA) airports. Each experiment compared three different conditions. In the Normal condition, the participants controlled traffic as they normally would, and a removable wall physically separated the terminal and en route sectors. During the Collocated condition, experimenters removed the wall, and the participants could engage in face-to-face communication and look at each other’s radar displays. During the Terminalized condition, we collocated the sectors and reduced the separation standard for one or both en route sectors from 5 nm to 3 nm. We collected measures throughout the experiments including system performance, subjective ratings of workload, subject matter expert ratings of performance, communication behaviors, and participant opinion. Overall, both experiments provided support for the NYICC concept of operations. [Taken from abstract]. The full text of the report is available in PDF format from the online catalogue of the Willaim J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Enhanced Aircraft Conspicuity to Reduce Runway Incursions

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AR-07/18) was produced by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Aviation Research and Development in April 2007 and was written by Donald W. Gallagher. A study, which was conducted for the Runway Safety and Operational Services Office concerning controller and pilot error in surface operations, recommended increasing aircraft conspicuity when the aircraft is on the runway through the use of existingaircraft lights, thus making the aircraft more conspicuous to controllers and pilots both on the ground and on approach. The objectives of this research effort using standard aircraft lighting were to (1) determine the best aircraft lighting configuration for making an aircraft on the active runway more conspicuous to an aircraft on final approach and (2) determine from an air traffic control (ATC) tower which aircraft lighting configuration is better for making an aircraft on a runway more conspicuous to air traffic controllers. This research examined aircraft conspicuity from the two perspectives mentioned above, using a representative selection of aircraft types to the extent available as a target aircraft. Two aircraft were used for the approaches, one of which was equipped with an eye-tracker device that the subjects wore during the approaches. Results of the flight test showed that, of the external aircraft lighting configurations studied (steady and pulsing landing lights), none provided enough of a visual cue for the needed conspicuity for an approaching aircraft. From the ATC tower, steady and pulsing landing lights were both effective in providing the needed conspicuity. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Evaluation of a Prototype Advanced Taxiway Guidance System (ATGS)

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AR-TN00/9) was produced by the Fire Safety Branch of the Federal Aviation Administration in February 2000 and was written by Eric S. Katz. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Aviation Research, Airport Technology Research and Development Branch, AAR-410 has designed, installed, and evaluated a prototype Advanced Taxiway Guidance System (ATGS) at the Atlantic City International Airport (ACY). The principal feature of this prototype is automatically controllable taxiway lighting, which is used to provide improved surface route guidance to taxiing aircraft. The system automatically illuminates a specific taxiway route for each arrival and departure thus reducing the chances of an aircraft making a wrong turn. The system is also designed to detect and provide Air Traffic Control (ATC) alarms for potential runway incursions, pilot route deviations, and route conflicts between aircraft. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Evaluation of Advanced Conflict Modelling in the Highly Interactive Problem Solver

This technical report (NLR-TP-2001-639) was published by NLR (the National Aerospace Laboratory of the Netherlands) in 2001 and was written by B. A. van Doorn, G. J. Bakker and C. Meckiff. The aim of this paper is to describe small scale experiments on advanced conflict modelling support to the planning controller, using the Highly Interactive Problem Solver (HIPS), developed at the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre (Meckiff, 1998; Price and Meckiff, 1997). The HIPS tool was extended through the integration of the probabilistic conflict detection approach of Bakker et al. (2000, 2001). The resulting probabilistic HIPS prototype tool supports conflict detection and resolution and provides a graphic insight into the implications of using collision risk probabilities in air traffic control. Small scale controller supported real-time experiments with the new tool were undertaken using various conflict geometries and collision risk thresholds. For the purposes of comparison, the results of the integration exercise were superimposed on the original HIPS displays that were based on simple geometric conflict detection with fixed separation standards. The results show a clear potential for a probabilistic approach that is based on a collision risk formulation. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Evaluation of Alternative Pavement Marking Materials

This technical report (DOT/FAA/CT-94/199) was produced by the Fire Safety Branch of the Federal Aviation Administration in January 1995 and was written by Keith W. Bagot. This study was undertaken to evaluate potential alternative marking materials for use on airport pavement marking systems. The materials were evaluated for conspicuity, durability, rubber buildup, color retention, friction, environmental acceptability, and cost benefits. In all, five materials (two water-borne, two epoxies, and one methacrylic resin) were evaluated at three test airports around the country for a period of one year. The three test airports, chosen for thir different climatic conditions, were Atlantic City, Greater Pittsburgh, and Phoenix Sky Harbor International airports. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it.

Evaluation of In-pavement Runway Guard Lights

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AR-TN04/49) was produced by the Fire Safety Branch of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in December 2004 and was written by James W. Patterson Jnr. The following FAA Technical Note describes the evaluation of in-pavement runway guard lights, which are a series of alternate-flashing yellow, unidirectional in-pavement lighting fixtures equally spaced along a runway holding position marking that are only visible to aircraft approaching the hold position from the taxiway side of the fixture. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Evaluation of Light Emitting Diode Linear Source Devices

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report DOT/FAA/AR-05/2 by Donald Gallagher dated January 2005. With rapid advances in the light emitting diode (LED) design and production arena realized in the latter half of the 1990s, increases in intensity and reduction in cost made the use of LED source devices practical for airport use. In particular, airport engineers and designers realized that the LED, when configured in a linear array, might well serve to enhance and embolden the conventional paint markings on the airport movement area. This report describes the evaluation that was conducted to determine the effectiveness and applicability of the LED configured in a linear array to enhance paint markings on the airport surface, and to develop specifications and certification procedures for these sources. The evaluation was conducted over a 5-year period at the Federal Aviation Administration William J. Hughes Technical Center, and elsewhere, by subjective visual inspections and pilot opinion of various configurations, sizes, and colors. During this time, two different products were evaluated—a flexible strip of encapsulated LEDs and a rigid strip of encapsulated LEDs. The results of the investigation showed that both the flexible and rigid linear LED strips enhanced the visibility of the paint markings as indicated by the increased acquisition distances. However, the installation and robustness of these sources needs more attention from the vendors to enable the use of this product on airports. The specifications and certification criteria for LED linear strips were developed and are included in appendix A. [Taken from abstract]. The full text of this report is availabel in PDF format from the online catalogue of the William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Evaluation of Triple Independent Instrument Landing System Approaches to Runways Spaced 4,000 Ft and 5,300 Ft Apart Using A Precision Runway Monitor System

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA/CT-TN02/16, by Sherri M. Magyarits and Richard E. Ozmore, DOT/FAA/CT-TN02/16, dated May 2002. The MPAP (Multiple Parallel Approach Program) test team introduced aircraft blunders to test the air traffic control system ability to maintain adequate separation between aircraft on final approaches during critical situations using the proposed runway configuration. The full text of the report is available in PDF format, from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

FAA : Data and Statistics

This is part of the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) web site. The site provides access to a number of aviation safety resources including accident and incident data, aviation data and statistics, aviation forecasts, funding and grant data, passenger and cargo information and safety resources.

FAA Aviation News

A freely available aviation safety magazine from the FAA. You can subscribe to receive each issue automatically, or visit the site to view the full text of issues back to 2001, via a clickable table of contents page.

Feasibility of MALSR and runway lighting for ILS approaches for helicopters

This provides access to a Federal Aviation administration (FAA) report DOT/FAA AR-TN05/55 by Sherri Magyartis. The Federal Aviation Administration Office of Aviation Research and Development Airport and Aircraft Safety R&D Division (ATO-P), William J. Hughes Technical Center Flight Program Group (ACB-870), Simulation and Analysis Group (ACB-330), and support contractors performed a human-in-the-loop Copter Instrument Landing System (ILS) study in a Level D Sikorsky 76 simulator at Flight Safety International, West Palm Beach, Florida, March 27-April 1, 2004. The purpose of the Copter ILS study was to evaluate the adequacy of airport lighting to support helicopter approaches with reduced minima. Specifically, the study investigated whether a Medium Intensity Approach Lighting System with Runway Alignment Indicator Lights, runway markings, and runway edge lights, only, would be adequate for helicopter pilots to perform an instrument approach to 100-ft decision height above the ground with visibility averaging to 1/4 mile during three time-of-day conditions (day, night, and dusk) and successfully land the helicopter using a prescribed approach and landing technique. The majority of participant feedback and performance data, based on a sample of 14 pilots, supported the feasibility of the Copter ILS procedure in terms of lighting and visual cue adequacy and the two-person crew landing technique. Some pilots did point out that the addition of runway centerline lighting would be helpful. They all agreed a two-person crew would be essential to the safety of the procedure. Pilots visually acquired the airport environment, in most cases, before the 100-ft decision height. Approach and landing performance for the most part was in accordance with the recommended parameters. Time of day appeared to have some impact on performance and opinion about the lighting and visual cue adequacy for the simulated Copter ILS approaches. Due to the small sample size in the study, the collection of more data is desirable to augment and validate the results of this simulation. [Taken from abstract]. The full text of the report is available in PDF format from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Final Report of the Comparison of the ASMT Data Collected From Real Time Simulations with Operational Data

This technical report (Number MFF ASMT (2)) was published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in September 2004 and written by Simone POzzi and Marinella Leone. This document presents: 1. an analysis of event data collected during the real-time simulations, 2. an analysis of event data collected in an operational environment, and 3. a comparison of the two data sets. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Forensic Identification of Aviation Bird Strikes in Australia

This web site provides access to an Australian Bureau of Air Safety Investigation Research and Analysis Report Grant_20050117 written by Leslie Christidis ...[et al] dated June 2006. The aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of forensic DNA-based techniques in identifying species involved in Australian aviation bird strikes. Experimental bird tissues were subjected to severely damaging conditions to determine if DNA could be extracted from these samples. In addition, DNA and feather microscopy databanks were created from the species classified as being the highest risk for strikes to provide reference data to compare against unknown samples. Finally, a DNA sampling kit was created and distributed widely to aerodromes across Australia for collection of material from unknown strikes for DNA analysis. Results of experimental bird tissue experiments showed the most detrimental conditions for DNA were to leave a sample at room temperature for 7+ days. DNA was successfully extracted from all strike samples collected with sampling kits then returned to the laboratory and positive identifications were able to be made to species level in the majority of cases. Interestingly, it was found that attempts at visual species identification were often incorrect and that the putative high risk species were only responsible for 27 per cent of the unidentified strikes. In general, we found DNA identification of strike species to be a reliable method for identifying the species involved in collisions and conclude that it would be a useful addition to the methods already employed to identify wildlife strikes at civilian aerodromes. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

GASCo : General Aviation Safety Council

GASCo is a UK charity that works to improve flight safety in all forms of general aviation. It is funded by the contributions of member organisations, pilots, aviation authorities and the public. It is also a negotiating organisation with an office and three part-time staff at Rochester Airport, Kent. It sends its magazine GASCo Flight Safety free to all UK aircraft owners and flying instructors (and to others for a small subscription) and organises seminars and flight safety events.

Hazard posed to Aircraft by Birds

This web site provides access to an Australian Tranpsort Safety Bureau Research and Analysis Report dated March 2003. Birdstrikes continue to be a problem for aviation worldwide, costing approximately $US3 billion annually. Increasingly, funds are being directed towards research which focuses on bird control and avoidance methods. Two such methods which are proving to be successful, are the use of hand held laser devices to scare birds from the airport environment, and the use of the US developed Avian Hazard Advisory System (AHAS), which allows aircraft to avoid high-risk birdstrike areas. This study investigated the Australian birdstrike data for the period 1991 to 2001. Although limited, the available data was able to be used to investigate birdstrike rates, species involvement and hazard potentials, as well as providing a time of day and phase of flight analysis. Additionally, the current study highlights the magnitude of some of the impact forces exerted during a birdstrike. The data suggest that there has been a significant increase in the rate of birdstrikes being recorded in Australia since 1992 (most notably between 1998 and 2001). The full text of the report is available in PDF format from the web site of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau.

In-Flight Radio Frequency Spectrum Measurements of Commercial Aircraft Cabins

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AR-06/41) was published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Office of Aviation Research in September 2006 and was written by Bill Straus and M. Granger Morgan. The focus on the risk posed by portable electronic devices carried onboard commercial flights has continued to intensify. Recent measurements and analyses have been useful in developing a better understanding of the issues, but has not allowed one todraw firm conclusions about what is happening in today’s revenue flight environments. This report summarizes results of a program that developed an instrumentation package and performed in-flight radio frequency (RF) spectrum measurements in commercial aircraft cabins on revenue flights in select aviation critical and personal electronics frequency bands. Specific objectives were to identify cellular in-flight calls and activity rates, assess maximum levels of received power, and identify areas that deserve further research. Measurements were made on 38 flights over the period September 23 through November 19, 2003. These flights were on Boeing 737 (37 flights) and on Airbus 320 (1 flight) model aircraft. Two major U.S. airlines participated in the flight study. This study provided the first reported characterization of the RF environment in the cabins of commercial airline flights. The key conclusions were that (1) onboard cellular telephone calls were observed in-flight and activity is appreciable; (2) signal activity was observed in the aviation critical frequency bands at field strengths capable on causing interference to onboard avionics; and (3) onboard spectral activity was observed at flight critical phases. These findings carry implications for both future research and public policy. Before the industry moves forward with policy changes, significantly more field measurement and analysis of the potential for interference is urgently needed. These studies should include a consideration of the implications of having many onboard transmitters and the potential risks posed by intermodulation. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

In-Pavement Light Emitting Diode (LED) Light Strip Evaluation

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AR-01/139) was produced by the Fire Safety Branch of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in August 2001 and was written by Donald W. Gallagher. Painted markings on runways, taxiways, and apron surfaces are often obliterated, particularly at night, when covered by even a thin layer of water or other forms of precipitation. An effective method for delineating critical areas and/or locations on the airport surface is essential. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it.

Individual and Group Approaches to Human Error Identification

This technical note (Number 2003-8) was publsihed by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in July 2003 and was written by S. Shorrock. This report gives an overview of an independent comparison of two human error analysis techniques - HAZOP and TRACEr-lite - for three projects: Co-space, Time Based Separation and CORA 2. The report presents the high-level findings of the Co-space study and compares the performance of the techniques over all three applications. Example recommendations are provided for the projects and for the implementation of the techniques in EUROCONTROL. An Annex Note detailing all of the analysis, as well as the high-level findings for Time Based Separation and CORA 2, accompanies this main report. See seperate entry for Annexe. [Taken from abstract]. This is in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Individual and Group Approaches to Human Error Identification: Annexe

This is the Annexe to technical note (Number 2003-8) published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in July 203 and written by S. Shorrock. The full text is in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Investigating Air Traffic Controller Conflict Resolution Strategies

This technical report (ASA.01.CORA.2.DEL04-B.RS) was published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in March 2002. This document reports a study investigating how controllers develop resolutions for aircraft conflict situations in en route air traffic management. Forty-five controllers in seven countries were interviewed individually and in groups, to determine their best resolutions for a series of statically presented conflict scenarios. Factors, rules and principles that they used to generate their resolutions, as well as actions they would not take (seen as poor practice) were elicited. The study showed sufficient agreement between controllers to suggest that an advisory system for controllers, such as is envisaged by the Conflict Resolution Assistant (CORA2) system, is viable. The information collected in this study can therefore be used to inform the developing CORA2 algorithm. [Taken from abstract]. This is in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Land and Hold Short Operations Lighting Control Study

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AR-TN07/60) was produced by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in January 2008 and was written by Renee N. Frierson, Donald W. Gallagher and Nelson Brown. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has suggested using a continuously illuminated bar of red in-pavement lights at Land and Hold Short Operations (LAHSO) locations; however, the United States currently uses a pulsingbar of white in-pavement lights. Since a bar of red lights usually means a go-no-further signal to a subject pilot, the ICAO suggested system would need to be automated to indicate between LAHSO and non-LAHSO operations. The purpose of this effort was to determine the critical flight situations, from the subject pilots viewpoint, under which the LAHSO red light bar must be on and off during high-capacity operations at an airport. The objectives of the evaluation were to (1) determine the appropriate clearance distance, 1 nautical mile (nm) versus 2 nm, under which the LAHSO red light bar should be turned on and off; (2) determine if there were any differences in the landing distance when clearance to land was given at 1 or 2 nm; (3) determine the subject pilot’s reaction under malfunction(s) of the LAHSO red light bar; and (4) determine if subject pilots considered the LAHSO red light bar to be an effective visual presentation for communicating a go-no-further boundary. The evaluation was conducted at the Federal Aviation Administration Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center using the Boeing 737-800 simulator. Twenty-five subject pilots that were rated in a B-737-800 aircraft and familiar with the simulator participated in the study. Each subject pilot was presented with ten different scenarios alternating between LAHSO and non-LAHSO clearances, with eight reflecting normal operations and two reflecting malfunctions deviant from normal operations. Malfunction scenarios were added to test any potential mishaps that may be encountered with an automated system. All test scenarios were conducted in visual flight rule conditions during dusk and night. The entire setup and testing of the system took approximately a year and a half to complete. The results indicated that 44% of the subject pilots expressed concern about not receiving clearance during 1-nm clearance scenarios with a possible conflicting state of the LAHSO red light bar. All subject pilots were comfortable with the 2-nm clearance scenarios regardless of the state of the LAHSO red light bar. There were no significant differences between 1- versus 2-nm clearance and landing distances. Regarding the malfunction scenarios, all subject pilots viewed the illumination of the automated LAHSO red light bar and considered the change of state as a change of clearance from non-LAHSO to LAHSO. When the LAHSO red light bar was off, all subject pilots maintained that they were still under a LAHSO clearance and were able to come to a complete stop prior to the hold short line. All subject pilots considered the LAHSO red light bar to be effective, with 72% rating it as very effective. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Level Bust Study Using Safety Principles

This technical report (Number 402) was published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in January 2006 and was written by Adrian Gizdavu, Corinne Bieder and Jean Paries. This report describes a Level Bust study made using Safety Principles (developed based on the SMART methodology). A safety architecture was developed by a team of experts consisting of ATM Experts, Pilots, Human Factors Experts, and Incident Investigators. Later on, real incidents were analysed using the safety architecture and each safety principle was analysed to see how good or bad it was performing for all the incidents analysed. After completing this exercise, a clear statistic of the performance of each safety principle was calculated, the weakest safety principles were identified, and conclusions and recommendation were made accordingly. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Main Report for the 2005/2012 Integrated Risk Picture for Air Traffic Management in Europe

This technical report (2006-05) was published by the Eruocontrol Experimental Centre in April 2006 and was written by John Spouge and Eric Perrin. There are many new concepts being developed for future ATM, e.g. conflict detection and resolution systems, new traffic management and airport throughput systems, etc. Each can have its own safety assessment and assurance programme. But the future vision of e.g. 2012, may involve a number of such new tools or systems or concepts. This raises a number of questions: What is the safety assessment of the overall system? How might these new elements interact? Are there negative interactions that can be avoided, or even positive interactions, as yet unplanned into the system design concept, which could yield extra safety? Where are the strong and weak safety areas in the overall system? Is the resultant system risk sensitive to the sequence and timing of implementation? These are not easy questions, but deserve an answer. Therefore an Integrated Risk Picture (IRP) is being developed within EUROCONTROL which has as its scope gate-to-gate operations. This development is closely co-ordinated with the FAA within the scope of the FAA/EUROCONTROL Action Plan 15 on Safety. What is being achieved in this paper is the description of the baseline risk picture for 2005 and the risk picture for 2012 (predictive mode). [Taken from abstract]. The full text is in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Modelling Human Reliability in Air Traffic Management

This technical report (NLR-TP-2001-629) was published by NLR (the National Aerospace Laboratory of the Netherlands) in 2001 and was written by J. Daams, H. A. P. Blom and H. B. Nijhuis. This paper outlines how the human information processing model of Wickens is combined with Hollnagel's cognitive control mode model and human error models for application within the context of conventional Air Traffic Management (ATM). The aim of this model-based approach is to enable the evaluation of both accident risk and aspects like cognitive workload and reliability of the human controller in managing air traffic situations safely. The combined model has been integrated with models for pilot, aircraft and other ATM elements and a comparison with available statistical data is made through running Monte Carlo simulations with the integrated model. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available as a PDF file.

National Wildlife Strike Database

Developed for the FAA by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, this is a database of reported bird strike incidents in the US. It contains a strike summary by wildlife species and state, or by ALL states and ALL species, by wildlife species and state by year. It also allows location of strikes on US map by species, and locate strikes on selected state/province map by species, and US Time Sequenced Mapping by Species.

Network Effect : A Possible Model to Highlight Interdependencies between Flow Management Regulations

This technical note (No.2006-22) was published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in December 2006 and was written by Brankica Pesic Le Foll ...[et al]. This master thesis addresses the problem of nterdependencies between air traffic flow management measures called regulations. A regulation aims at avoiding congestion at the level of a piece of airspace i.e. aims at avoiding too many aircraft getting through a piece of airspace during a certain time period (generally, one hour). Traffic flows link pieces of airspace. Thus, interaction between regulations is likely to happen. Propagation of this impact is known as network effect. In this thesis, network effect is analysed as a system behaviour problem for which it is difficult to give a mathematical formulation. For this reason, network effect has been modelled by applying a tree-based method. Tree-based methods belong to the class of data-mining algorithms, one of the supervised learning methods. As a result of this application, a classification tree that presents the prediction model has been generated. Since the objective of this research study was to create a model that would detect interaction in the general case, the tree should detect interactions without taking into account a specific day. Interactions which are significant could be analysed. The accuracy of prediction depends on available data as well as on the tree size. The choice of a relevant indicator is important for interaction detection. Therefore, in this report several indicators were tested such as an indicator delta, or difference in delay in comparison to the baseline delay. The conclusion presents directions for future work and possible operational use. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Night Vision Goggles in Civil Helicopter Operations

The aim of the Australian Transport Safety Bureau is to maintain and improve transport safety and public confidence. This is the full text (538 KB, PDF) of an Aviation Safety Research report number B2004/0152 published in April 2005. Pilots flying under Visual Flight Rules (VFR) rely on visual information to avoid weather, obstacles and terrain and to maintain control of an aircraft’s orientation. This visual information is significantly degraded during night operations. Specifically, visual acuity, the ability to estimate depth and the ability to identify objects are greatly diminished. Furthermore, colour vision and peripheral vision are degraded or non-existent. Night Vision Goggles (NVGs) are binocular devices that enhance unaided night vision for pilots. Typically, NVGs are mounted on a pilot’s helmet. This position enables pilots to look through the goggles outside the cockpit or under the goggles at flight instruments. By enabling the pilot to see in the dark, NVGs have the potential to improve the safety of visual flight at night. Despite the advantages associated with NVGs, their application has limitations. In order to use NVGs safely, a Night Vision Imaging System (NVIS) is required of which NVGs form just one part. NVIS are currently being approved for use by civil helicopter pilots in some parts of the world. In December 2004 the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) introduced procedures for CASA Flying Operations Inspectors to approve some NVG helicopter operations.

On Track : A Confidential Airspace Infringement Project

The site provides access to UK Civil Aviation Authority Civil Aviation Paper 2003/5, prepared by The Airsapce Infringement Steering Group, dated 11 July 2003. This report presents the work and recommendations of the “On Track” project. The project ran from June 2001 to January 2003, with the aim ‘To identify the causal factors behind airspace infringements, and to make recommendations for safety improvements.’ The significant findings of the project are summarised in section 7 of the report under the following headings: Airspace and ATC Issues, Lower Airspace Radar Service, Maps and Charts, Aeronautical Information Circulars, NOTAMS, GPS, GPS Training, R/T Training, Navigation Training, GA use of Transponders, Licensing Issues, Communication and CAA Investigation and Follow-up Procedure. The text of the document is available online in PDF format (469 kb) from the CAA's web site.

Paradigm Shift - Strategic Segmentation of Air Traffic and Airspace

This technical report (2006-01-FR) was published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in January 206 and was written by L. Guichard, S. Guibert, M. Brochard and K. Belahcene. This study addresses the issue of the functional breakdown of traffic demand, in the framework of the operational concept developed by Paradigm Shift project in 2004. Considering the Dual Airspace concept aiming at introducing a small number of continental highways supporting cruising traffic in complement to all-included sector-based traffic (district) as of today, this study is an attempt to describe the role that each local and tactically autonomus entity could play in the context of the European air navigation system. Today, the air navigation system management is a data based process: the infrastructures are “virtual” and the air traffic controllers do not handle aircraft directly but more with air trajectories and paths. Any information and any action is based on data exchanged between the various air navigation system actors. Instead of focusing our effort in looking at way to improve the separation of air trajectories, it was felt to be more efficient to propose a way to structure and federate the information exchanged and better to manage the knowledge. The idea is to propose a common language using constraints to define the air trajectories. This would enable to share common information amongst all actors involved in the Air Navigation Sy stem, would improve synergy between them, and would increase the efficiency and the capacity of the overall system. For example, sharing common information would enable a more efficient proactive airspace management, and enable designers finding solution for the future situation rather than the past one as it is done today. The aim here is to strategically analyze the traffic demand expressed by the airlines, and to introduce the air navigation services segmentation. This feature enables to describe traffic demand without referring to predefined infrastructure. Traffic demand, expressed in terms of city pairs, is understood as an objective at the level of air navigation as a whole. This objective is then declined on the basis of the chain of responsibility associated with the flight. This expression of traffic demand shall be seen as a first step towards the contractualisation of the Air Traffic System and Contract of Objectives in association with the target windows proposed by Paradigm SHIFT. This is also used to define from a strategical point of view, what a traffic flow is: traffic flow being defined via a regular expression. The global traffic demand being expressed in terms of city pairs and a series of Functional Blocks of Airspace (FBA) (each FBA being identified with a character), a search algorithm looking for the longest common path (character string) amongst the traffic demand is proposed. It results in highlighting the main traffic flow. This allows to quantify the best solutions applicable for the Dual Airspace concept evaluation, identifying which flows are good candidates for highways implementation. A model is developed here to visualize the main traffic flows based on these principles. This allows to quantify the best solutions applicable for the Dual Airspace concept evaluation and to identify which flows are good candidates for highways implementation. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Paradigm Shift: Dual Airspace Experiment

This technical report (2006-08) was published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in March 2006 and was written by L. Guichard, S. Guibert, D. Dohy and J. Y. Grau. The entire ATM community highlight the fact that current air traffic management system cannot cope with the challenges of future air transport system. The aim here is to propose an original air traffic management system which will enable to cope with the peaks in demand expected in the future. The paradigm of Dual Airspace aims at increasing the en-route traffic by introducing a functional division of the traffic. This concept is based on separation of traffic patterns and creation of two kinds of control units: the highways and the sectors. This paper presents the first results obtained after a proof of concept experiment, assessing the impact on one en-route control sector of a highway passing through the sector. It represents an initial assessment of the concept, in terms of capacity and efficiency, while also maintaining a high level of safety, which should allow its operational relevance. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it.

Pilot-Based Spacing and Separation on Approach to Landing: The Effect on Air Traffic Controller Workload and Performance

This technical report (DOT/FAA/CT-05/14) was published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in December 2005 and was written by D. Michael McAnulty and Carolina M. Zingale. This document summarizes the existing literature on workload and performance issues related to pilot-based spacing and separation, methods under investigation for managing increases in traffic. Multiple concepts are under development, all of which involve pilot use of a Cockpit Display of Traffic Information (CDTI) that presents data about nearby traffic (e.g., location, altitude). More advanced CDTIs include functions that alert the pilot to potential conflicts or provide guidance about flight paths or speeds. This document focuses on concepts proposed for use during sequencing and merging and on final approach. Some concepts are considered more basic in that they would involve little change to current procedures and require only basic CDTI functionality. The literature indicates that pilot use of a basic CDTI to assist in visually acquiring traffic and following a lead aircraft is beneficial, and that pilot workload is generally acceptable. Controller reaction to pilot use of the CDTI for these purposes has also been generally positive. More advanced concepts that involve the use of more sophisticated CDTI functions require modifications to current procedures and additional controller workstation tools. The results from most studies indicate that the advanced concepts require further development before they become operationally feasible. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Polyester Marking Material Study

This technical report (DOT/FAA/AR-TN06/33) was published by the Federal Aviation Administration in August 2006 and was written by Holly M. Cyrus and Renee Frierson. This research was conducted to determine if polyester marking material would be an acceptable addition to the existing paint materials specified in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Advisory Circular 150/5370-10A Item P-620, Runway and TaxiwayPainting. The polyester marking material was applied on the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center at the FAA ramp, Pangborne Road, and the Pavement Test Facility for an evaluation period of 1 year starting in August 2004. Three different types of pavement were used during the tests: Hot-Mix Asphalt, Aged Portland Cement Concrete, and New Portland Cement Concrete. The chromaticity, retro-reflectivity, baseline, pull-off strength, and friction tests were performed on the polyester marking material. Based on the test results, the polyester marking material maintained its retro-reflectivity, but the chromaticity level for yellow was not acceptable. When simulated in a high-traffic airport environment, the polyester marking material failed (disintegrated) after less than a day’s worth of operations. Therefore, the polyester marking material is not suitable for the airport environment. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Preliminary Results from a European Safety R&D Program

This is a paper presented at the 6th USA-Europe ATM R&D Seminar, Baltimore, MD, USA, 27-30 June, 2005, published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in July 2005 and written by Barry Kirwan [et al]. Following two severe accidents which involved significant ATM contributions, namely the runway incursion in Milan airport in Italy and the mid-air collision near Ueberlingen in Germany, the role of safety received a new focus in its agenda. A High Level European Action Group on ATM Safety (called ‘AGAS’) was set up to consider the actions needed to prevent recurrence of these and similar accidents. These deliberations, over the period of approximately nine months, yielded eight ‘threads’ of action, which were put into a Strategic Safety Action Plan. This paper concerns one of these threads, the one concerned with Safety Research and Development (SRD). Whereas the other seven threads were primarily concerned with relatively short-term measures (e.g. guidance on runway safety, safety regulation, safety assessment, safety nets' improvement, etc.), the SRD program was more medium-long term in its focus. This paper therefore outlines the safety R&D program and objectives, and the results obtained at this point in time, roughly half-way through its initial timeline. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat will be required in order to read it.

Radar Control Collision Avoidance Concepts : An Output of the Avoiding Action Working Group

This provides access to a UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) publication Civil Aviation Paper (CAP) 717, sponsored by the Air Traffic Services Standards Department, 2nd edition, 31 January 2005. The CAA established a Working Group to examine the factors that can influence the suitability of avoiding action instructions issued by air traffic controllers. The Group noted that these factors were not always well understood by controllers and pilots. This document contains an overview of the various factors involved and provides a number of example scenarios and offers guidance on avoiding action instructions that may be suitable. This guidance will be incorporated into controller training schemes where appropriate and will be of interest to pilots and flying training organisations. The text of the document is available in PDF format (238 kb).

Reduced Approach Lighting Systems (ALS) Configuration Simulation Testing : Final Report

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report, DOT/FAA/AR-02/81, by Donald W. Gallagher, dated July 2002. The availability of Global Positioning System (GPS) approaches has already increased the number of runways capable of handling Instrument Flight Rule (IFR) approach operations. In an effort to reduce the overall length of ALSs, this report describes the methods, using simulation, by which the minimum visual cues with respect to length of an ALS is needed by pilots during an approach at Category I minimums. The full text of the report is available in PDF format, from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

Report of the Comparison of the ASMT Data Collected from Real Time Simulations with MFF

This technical report (Number MFF ASMT (1)) was published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in September 2004 and was written by Simone Pozzi and Marinella Leone. This document presents the comparison of the ASMT data collected during the MFF real-time simulation with the MFF hazard analysis (OHA) of ASAS Spacing. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Review of Air Traffic Management-Related Accidents Worldwide : 1980 - 2001

This technical report (NLR-TP-2003-376) was published by NLR (the National Aerospace Laboratory of the Netherlands) in 2004 and was written by G. W. H. van Es. The National Aerospace Laboratory NLR has conducted a study to obtain more insight into the historical safety performance of the Air Traffic Management (ATM) system. The research objective of the present study is to quantify the historical safety performance of a number of selected ATM-related accident types. The study was not limited to accidents in which ATM was a causal factor but also covered all accidents that can be related to the ATM system in general. This paper presents an analysis of ATM-related accidents involving civil transport aircraft which occurred worldwide during the period 1980-2001. ATM-related accident rates by event type, flight phase and world region are estimated and presented in this report. The causal factors in the ATM-related accidents were also analysed. The important findings of this study are that the majority of all ATM-related accidents occurred during the taxi flight phase, that the most frequently identified event was a collision of an aircraft with a vehicle on the ground, that the most frequently identified causal factors in the ATM-related accident sample belonged to the Flight Crew group, and that the most frequently identified causal factor in the ATM-related accident sample was "Low visibility" closely followed by "Lack of positional awareness of the flight crew on ground" and "Incorrect or inadequate instruction/advice given by ATC". [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available as a PDF file.

Review of Techniques to Support the EATMP Safety Assessment Methodology

This technical note (Number 2004-1)was publsihed by Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in January 2004 and was written by M. Everdij. This report presents the main results of a survey conducted, aimed at collecting and evaluating techniques and methods that can be used to support the guidelines of the EATMP Safety Assessment Methodology (SAM). Over 500 techniques were collected that can possibly support SAM. Nineteen of these techniques have subsequently been selected for more detailed evaluation along a template format. These 19 techniques are believed to be able to support the SAM either immediately, or with some tailoring or adaptation to the ATM context. The report explains how the collection process was organised, presents statistics on the 500 collected techniques, explains how 19 techniques were selected from these 500, explains how the template format was developed, and gives the detailed evaluation results for the 19 selected techniques. In addition, it provides techniques that are judged to be significantly important and therefore deserve further development. Many details are provided in a separate Technical Annex. See further entry 'Review of Techniques to Support the EATMP Safey Assessment Methodology: Annexe. [Taken from abnstract]. This is in PDF format so will require Adobe Acrobat software in order to read it.

Review of Techniques to Support the EATMP Safety Assessment Methodology: Annexe

This is an Annexe to a technical note (Number 2004-1) published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in January 2004 and written by M. Everdij. This is in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Runway Excursions : Part 1 - Worldwide Review of Commercial Jet Aircraft Runway Excursions

This provides access to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau Research and Analysis report dated April 2009. Over the last decade there has been a noticeable reduction in the number of non-fatal and fatal accidents involving the worldwide commercial jet aircraft fleet. Despite this, runway excursions continue to remain prevalent, accounting for approximately a quarter of all incidents and accidents in air transport, and 96 per cent of all runway accidents. Runway excursions involve aircraft running off the end of the runway (overrun) or departing the side of the runway (veer-off). A number of catastrophic runway excursions occurred across the world in 2007 and 2008, resulting in hundreds of fatalities and significant property damage in communities adjacent to the airport. This report, the first in a two-part series, provides a statistical picture of runway excursion accidents over a 10-year period - how frequently they occur, why they occur, and what factors contributed to those accidents. A search of the Ascend World Aircraft Accident Summary identified 141 runway excursion accidents involving the worldwide commercial jet aircraft fleet between 1998 and 2007. Those accidents resulted in 550 fatalities. Of those 141 accidents, 120 occurred during the landing phase of flight. An in-depth analysis of those 120 accidents was conducted in order to identify the types of flight crew technique and decision-related, flight crew performance-related, weather-related, and systems-related factors that contribute to runway excursions. Fortunately, Australia has not experienced a runway excursion accident of the severity of those seen overseas. However, given the proximity of Australia's major airports to urban residential and industrial areas, Australia is not immune. Since 1998, three excursions of Australian-registered commercial jet aircraft have been investigated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau. While two of those incidents were relatively minor, one incident involving a runway overrun in Thailand resulted in substantial damage to the aircraft. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat softwareis required in order to read it.

Runway Excursions, Part 2 : Minimising the Likelihood and Consequences of Runway Excursions, An Australian Perspective

This provides access to an Australian Transport Safety Bureau Research and Analysis Report No. AR2008018_2 written by R.P. Taylor, and S.T. Godley dated June 2009. While most runway excursions are relatively minor with no serious injuries or aircraft damage occurring, they do have the potential to pose a serious risk to public safety and infrastructure. This has been illustrated by several significant runway overruns around the world in 2007 and 2008, resulting in hundreds of on-board fatalities, as well as ground fatalities and significant property damage in communities adjacent to airports. Further analysis of the Ascend World Aircraft Accident Summary set of 120 runway excursions on landing involving commercial jet aircraft between 1998 and 2007 (used in the first report in this series), was performed to map the distance that aircraft overran or veered off the runway. Most aircraft stopped within 1,000 ft of the runway end, and within the extended runway edges. Preventative risk controls are the most important way to reduce the likelihood and consequences of runway excursions. These include reinforcement of safe approach techniques, pre-landing risk assessments, line-oriented flight training, clear policies on go-arounds, quality runway surfaces with safety features such as grooving and surface texturing, runway lighting, and indicators of remaining runway length through distance remaining signs and cockpit alert systems. If these preventative risk controls fail, recovery risk controls are an important 'last line of defence' to mitigate severe consequences if a runway excursion does occur. Recovery risk controls include runway strips, runway end safety areas, soft ground arrestor beds, and public safety areas. Telephone surveys of 43 major airports found that runway end safety areas in Australia meet or will soon meet Civil Aviation Safety Authority requirements. A large majority of Australian airports had good quality runway surfaces that reduced the risk of a runway excursion occurring in the first place. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it.

Runway Incursion Alert Using Knowledge Rules

This technical report (NLR-TP-1999-307) was published by NLR (the National Aerospace Laboratory of the Netherlands) in 1999 and was written by H.H. Hesselink. A runway incursion is a situation where two or more aircraft or vehicles occupy one runway simultaneously and as such create a potentially dangerous situation. We can think of many situations where two aircraft/vehicles occupy the same runway simultaneously, but do not cause a conflicting situation, e.g. two taxiing aircraft on a closed runway or a departing aircraft lining up behind a landing one. From the current increase of simultaneous aircraft movements and an increasing use of intersecting runways and runway crossings, there is a large potential for conflicts and a need for tower controller decision support in surveillance and monitoring. A Runway Incursion Alert tool enables ground movement capacity to be optimised, while maintaining safety. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Safety Case in ATM is More than Accident Risk Assessment Alone

This technical report (NLR-TP-2001-624) was published by NLR (the National Aerospace Laboratory of the Netherlands) in 2001 and was written by H. A. P. Blom and M. H. C. Everdij. New CNS/ATM concept developments are typically undertaken without feedback from appropriate safety assessments. Capacity-efficiency enhancements are realised by exploiting new technology, changing human controller roles and introducing new procedures. However, effectively supporting demand and safety is more than making sure that every ATM function is safe. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available as a PDF file.

Safety Considerations for Operation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in the National Airspace System

This is a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) International Center for Air Transportation, Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics report, prepared by Roland E. Weibel and R. John Hansman, ICAT-2005-1, March 2005. There is currently a broad effort underway in the United States and internationally by several organizations to craft regulations enabling the safe operation of UAVs in the NAS. To inform future Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations, an investigation of the safety considerations for UAV operation in the NAS was performed. Key issues relevant to operations in the NAS, including performance and operating architecture were examined. A system safety analysis was performed according to FAA system safety guidelines for two critical hazards in UAV operation: midair collision and ground impact. Event-based models were developed describing the likelihood of ground fatalities and midair collisions under several assumptions. From the models, a risk analysis was performed calculating the expected level of safety for each hazard without mitigation. The variation of expected level of safety was determined based on vehicle characteristics and population density for the ground impact hazard, and traffic density for midair collisions. The text of the report is available in PDF format (2.1 Mb).

Safety Modelling and Analysis of Organisational Processes in Air Traffic : Final Report

This technical report No.2009 022 was published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in December 2009 and written by S.H Stroeve and A. Sharpanskykh. Safety culture is broadly recognized as important for air traffic management (ATM) safety and various studies have addressed its characterization and assessment. However, relations between safety culture and formal and informal organizational structures and processes are yet not well understood. This impedes structured improvement of safety culture. As a way forward, NLR Air Transport Safety Institute, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and EUROCONTROL have collaborated in a EUROCONTROL CARE Innovative Research III project. The aim of this project is to enhance safety analysis of organizational processes in air traffic by development of formal approaches for modelling, simulation and analysis of organizational relationships and processes. These models aim to provide a proper basis for understanding the causal relations between organizational processes that influence safety culture, such that robust and flexible policies may be identified to improve and maintain a sufficient level of safety culture in an organization. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it.

Safety Modelling and Analysis of Organisational Processes in Air Traffic : Model Evaluation and Improvement

This technical report No.2009 019 was published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in March 2009 and written by A. Sharpanskykh and S.H. Stroeve. Results of a model-based sensitivity analysis are presented for various safety culture indicators. On this basis, the organizational model has been updated and predictions of safety culture indicators for a specific ANSP are provided. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat sfotware is required in order to read it.

Safety Modelling and Analysis of Organisational Processes in Air Traffic : Validation

This technical report 2009 020 was published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in September 2009 and written by S. H. Stroeve and A. Sharpanskykh. This report presents the results of the organizational model as well as a validation of these results. In the validation study we compared the model results for a particular ANSP with the results of a EUROCONTROL safety culture survey study of ANSP in three phases: Phase 1 - Comparison of model-based and survey-based safety culture indicators, where the input values of the model were completely based on organizational information available prior to the survey questionnaire results; Phase 2 - Comparison of model-based and survey-based safety culture indicators, where the input values of the model used organizational information in combination with survey questionnaire results; Phase 3 - Comparison of major organizational factors affecting the safety culture indicators and related organizational improvement options, which were inferred from a sensitivity analysis of the organizational model, with key issues and recommendations stemming from safety culture survey workshop results. [Taken from abstract]. The fulltext is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it.

Scheduling Aircraft Using Constraint Satisfaction

This technical report (NLR-TP-2002-299) was published by NLR (the National Aerospace Laboratory of the Netherlands) in 2002 and was written by P. van Leeuwen, H. H. Hesselink and J. H. T. Rohling. In this paper, an airport departure scheduling tool for aircraft is presented based on constraint satisfaction techniques. Airports are getting more and more congested with the available runway configuration as one of the most constraining factors. A possibility to alleviate this congestion is to assist controllers in the planning and scheduling process of aircraft. The prototype presented here is aimed to offer such assistance in the establishment of an optimal departure schedule and the planning of initial climb phases for departing aircraft. This goal is accomplished by modelling the scheduling problem as a constraint satisfaction problem, using ILOG Solver and Scheduler as an implementation environment. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available as a PDF file.

Standard Airport Taxi Route Study

This technical report No.2009 002 was published by the Eruocontrol Experimental Centre in March 2009 and written by A. Kristensen ...[et al]. This report describes a EUROCONTROL Standard Taxi Route study which has been designed to validate the use of standard taxi routes as an input to the routing function of an A-SMGCS. A set of 10 European airports have been visited, selected in co-operation with the EUROCONTROL team, in order to observe the controllers at their work, collect data for the study, and discuss the issues regarding standard airport taxi routes and ASMGCS. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software is required in order to read it.

Subjective Workload Ratings and Eye Movement Activity Measures

This technical report (DOT/FAA/CT-05/32) was published by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in December 2005 and was written by Ulf Ahlstrom and Ferne Friedman-Berg. In the present study, we evaluated the possibility of using eye movement activity measures as a correlate of cognitive workload. Using data from a high-fidelity human-in-the-loop weather simulation, we explored eye activity measures like pupil diameter, blink duration, and saccade distance, and assessed their relationship to subjective workload ratings. In our initial analysis, we established that although there was no significant effect of weather tool use on subjective workload ratings, there was a significant relationship between subjective workload ratings and our task load variable aircraft density. We found a linear increase in workload ratings with an increasing number of aircraft in the sector. In a subsequent analysis, we assessed the relationship between eye movement activity measures and aircraft density. We found that the mean blink duration and the mean saccade distance decreased as aircraft density increased, while the mean pupil diameter increased with an increasing number of aircraft in the sector. After establishing the relationship between these eye activity metrics and subjective workload, we evaluated whether we could use changes in eye movement activity along with other system state variables, like distance to weather from the outer marker, to measure ongoing controller workload. We developed both individual controller models and a general model (across controllers) to assess whether it was possible to predict the minute-by-minute number of aircraft in the sector. Using both multiple regression modeling and neural network models, we were able to produce individual controller models and general models with good prediction performances. We discuss possible applications for these findings in future air traffic control (ATC) research, in adaptive automation, and in ATC interface design. [Taken from abstract]. This is a PDF file, so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Test Report Describing the Emission Characteristics and Qualitative Assessement of the Effects of a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) on Selected Aeronautical Systems Operating Below 960 mhz

This provides access to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) report DOT/FAA/CT-TN04/12 by Marty Badinelli, Ed Coleman, Kiem Hoan and Larry McMillen dated January 2004. Ultra Wide Band (UWB) equipment is a technology that proponents claim has been in use for years but in very limited numbers. Recently the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) amended Title 47, Part 15 of the Code of Federal Regulations to allow such devices. The Office of Spectrum Policy and Management (ASR-1) is concerned about the effect these UWB systems will have on FAA systems. The UWB emissions cover very large bandwidths that include restricted frequency bands reserved for critical civil aviation safety services. At the request of ASR-1, the FAA Technical Center conducted Part 15 emission measurements and Operational Tests on an available Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) which is an UWB device. These tests were designed to provide a qualitative assessment of the effects on aeronautical systems operating below 960 Megahertz (MHz). At the time of this data collection effort no Part 15 certified UWB devices were available, consequently a grandfathered device was used. This Report describes these tests. The tests show that this grandfathered Ground Penetrating Radar GPR exceeded the new FCC Part 15 requirements by as much as 12 decibels (dB), caused severe interference in some scenarios to the FAA’s Air Traffic Control receivers making Air to Ground communications difficult if not impossible, and interfered with the audio portion of airborne communications and NAVAIDS radios. It is recommended that the FCC Part 15 regulations be amended to require that UWB testing utilize smaller spectrum analyzer bandwidths so that individual spectral lines that may cause interference would be visible on the spectral analyzer. The FAA also recommends that the FCC require that GPRs be shielded so that emissions other than those required for proper operation of the equipment, are suppressed. [Taken from abstract]. The full text of the report is available in PDF format from the online catalogue of the FAA William J. Hughes Technical Center Library.

The Characterisation and Modification of Wakes from Lifting Vehicles in Fluids

This is Research and Technology Organization(RTO) AGARD Conference Proceedings, AGARD-CP-584, dated November 1996. This proceedings was sponsored by the Advisory Group for Aerospace Research and Development. Papers presented during the eight sessions addressed the following subjects: vortex wakes, air traffic control procedures, structure of a transport aircraft, the interaction between an injected vortex and a rolling up vortex sheet, three-dimensional turbulence models, and simulations of aircraft in vortex wakes. For individual titles, see N97-17636 through N97-17671. Bibliographic and abstract details are available in HTML format. A table of contents, and the full text of the document (64 Mb) can be accessed online in PDF format. The document is contained in the RTO's Full Text Publication Library.

Towards a Controller-Based Conflict Resolution Tool: Literature Review

This technical report (ASA.01.CORA.2.DEL04-A.LIT) was published by the Eurocontrol Experimental Centre in March 2002. This document is a review of the literature and issues surrounding the area of conflict resolution. In particular it focuses on the potential development of a proposed controller based conflict resolution tool called CORA (Conflict Resolution Assistant), and how such development may proceed. The advantages and disadvantages of a controller-based approach are documented, and a number of approaches in this area, and more generally in the area of conflict resolution tools, are surveyed. It is concluded that such a human centred or human-informed approach is warranted, and initial ways forward are suggested. [Taken from abstract]. This is in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

Wake Turbulence : Obstacle to Increased Air Traffic Capacity

This is a full text book made available by National Academies Press written by Committee to Conduct an Independent Assessment of the Nation's Wake Turbulence Research and Development Program, National Research Council and dated 2008. Without major changes, the current air transportation system will be unable to accommodate the expected increase in demand by 2025. One proposal to address this problem is to use the Global Positioning System to enable aircraft to fly more closely spaced. This approach, however, might be limited by the wake turbulence problem, which can be a safety hazard when smaller aircraft follow relatively larger aircraft too closely. To examine how this potential hazard might be reduced, Congress in 2005 directed NASA to request a study from the NRC to assess the federal wake turbulence R&D program. This book provides a description of the problem, an assessment of the organizational challenges to addressing wake turbulence, an analysis of the technical challenges in wake turbulence, and a proposal for a wake turbulence program plan. A series of recommendations for addressing the wake turbulence challenge are also given. [Taken from abstract]. The full text os available to read online in open book format.

Wind Energy and Aviation Interests Interim Guidelines

Guidelines to assist those involved in the development of wind farms in ensuring they present no danger to civil and military aviation have been published jointly by the United Kingdom's Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the Ministry of Defence (MOD) and the British Wind Energy Association (BWEA). Because of their physical size, in particular their height, wind farms can be a hazard to aviation. Large rotating wind turbine blades may also have an impact on the operation of radar. Many windfarms are already in operation and the number can be expected to increase sharply over the next few years. The guidelines, published in October 2002, are aimed primarily at all those involved in the consultation process for wind farms, including wind farm developers and local authorities. In particular, it gives guidance to developers on the issues to be taken into account in decisions on the location of wind farms. The text of the document is available in PDF format from the BWEA's web site.

Wire-strike Accidents in General Aviation: Data Analysis 1994 to 2004

This web site provides access to an Australian Bureau of Safety Investigation Research and Analysis Report 20050055 dated June 2006. Wire strikes are a significant safety concern for general aviation (GA) operations. Wire strikes may result in fatalities and/or the destruction of an aircraft. This research analyses the characteristics of GA wire-strike occurrences using aviation accident and incident data collected by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB). The analysis found that 117 wire-strike accidents and 98 wire-strike incidents were reported between 1994 and 2004. The rate of wire-strike accidents reported per 100,000 hours flown ranged from around 0.9 in 1997 and 1998 to 0.1 in 2003. The figures suggested a downward trend beginning in 1998, with a return to previous accident rates in 2004. Reported wire-strike incidents were primarily in only two of the statistical groups used by the ATSB for investigative purposes aerial agriculture operations and other aerial work. The majority of wire-strike accidents were associated with aerial agriculture operations (75 accidents or 64 per cent). The findings reinforce the clear danger to pilots flying at low level because of wires, particularly when conducting aerial agriculture operations and other aerial work. [Taken from abstract]. The full text is available in PDF format so Adobe Acrobat software will be required in order to read it.

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