Research papers

Understanding Aviation Mental Health with Explainable Artificial Intelligence in Incident Reports

Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) is a flourishing field that extends beyond mere predictions to clarify complex paradigms in aviation mental health, offering insights into the traces of mental health-related cas…

Clear Skies, Clear Minds: Navigating Mental Health Attitudes in Collegiate Aviation Education

This study explores the attitudes towards mental health within the aviation community, focusing on the perspectives of flight instructors and flight students within a university based part 141 program.

Flying Under the Radar: A Survey of Collegiate Pilots’ Mental Health to Identify Aeromedical Nondisclosure and Healthcare-Seeking Behaviors

The disclosure of a new or existing mental health condition in a pilot complicates their medical certification status. It has been proposed that the threat of losing medical certification often discourages pilots from se…

The Pilot Mental Health Campaign: A New Approach to Aviation Mental Health

The Pilot Mental Health Campaign (PMHC) is a non-partisan, grassroots organization committed to advocating for policy changes to make it easier for aviation personnel to receive timely and medically appropriate mental he…

Understanding Collegiate Aviation Pilot Mental Performance Studies and Future Research Opportunities

According to the Federal Aviation Administration (2022), fatigue is defined as “a condition characterized by increased discomfort with lessened capacity for work, reduced efficiency of accomplishment, loss of power or ca…

Tour-Based Network Design and Demand Forecasting for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM)

Tour-Based Network Design and Demand Forecasting for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Mohammed Almasabi, Dr. Yu Zhang, & Sasan Mahmoudinazlou Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) has emerged as an alternative urban transportation with…

A Structured Program for Pilots and Traffic Controllers with Mental Issues.

A Structured Program for Pilots and Traffic Controllers with Mental Issues. by Ian Blair Fries, M.D. Senior HIMS AME, MRO, SAP. Many pilots and controllers are avoiding appropriate mental care that would have to be repor…

Examination of Urban Air Mobility Integration into the National Airspace System

The Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) initiative aims to enhance air transportation for people and cargo in areas with limited aviation services.

Uncertainty and Assurance in AAM Regulation

The regulatory environment of aviation safety has played an important role in establishing the current outstanding safety performance of the air transportation industry.

Identifying Stereotypical Inceptor-Movement Pairings for eVTOL Hover and Forward Flight

Urban Air Mobility is becoming a reality. Joby Aviation, Volocopter, and Supernal are developing and manufacturing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircrafts to fly passengers in metropolitan areas.

Integrating Unmanned Aerial Systems for Enhanced Wildlife Hazard Assessment in Airport Environments

Our team has explored the use of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) technologies to develop a concept of operations for data collection during a Wildlife Hazard Assessment.

Using Natural Language Processing to Identify Mental Health Indicators in Aviation Voluntary Safety Reports

Voluntary Safety Reporting Programs (VSRPs) are a critical tool in the aviation industry for monitoring safety issues observed by the frontline workforce.

Aeromedical Transformation: From Clinical to Performance-Based Assessments.

Statement of the Problem or Issue: The traditional approach to aeromedical evaluation primarily focused on clinically based assessments may not comprehensively capture the dynamic demands of modern aviation operations.

Real-Time Detection of Sea Turtles Using UAV and Neural Networks on Edge Devices

Sea turtle populations continue to diminish around the globe for various reasons. Therefore, the need for innovative solutions to monitor sea turtles has been increasing.

Computational Cognitive Modeling of Pilot Performance in Pre-flight and Take-off Procedures

While the current practice of pilot training relies on flight instructors’ subjective assessment, computational cognitive modeling may be used to support future objective assessment and diagnosis of pilot performance.

History’s Slowest Digital Transformation: The Long Road to Flight Data Monitoring

Flight data monitoring (FDM) began in the flight test community in 1939 and entered the airline industry in 1974. In the 48 years since, however, very few operators have chosen to adopt this practice, which has shown cle…

Virtual Reality & Pilot Training: Existing Technologies, Challenges & Opportunities

The introduction of virtual reality (VR) to flying training has recently gained much attention, with numerous VR companies, such as Loft Dynamics and VRpilot, looking to enhance the training process.

How Intensity Impacts Success in Collegiate Flight Programs

With colleges and universities continuing to face challenges around student retention and degree completion, collegiate aviation program are attempting to find ways to improve the success rate of students enrolled in the…

A Comparative Analysis of School Choice Factors Influencing Non-Collegiate Flight School Selections Between Groups of Nontraditional, Traditional, and Teenage Student Pilots

To assist with exploring strategies for effectively promoting vocational noncollegiate flight schools to diverse student markets of nontraditional student pilots, traditional student pilots, and teenage student pilots, t…

Evaluating the Potential of Using EEG to Monitor Cognitive Workload in Simulated Suborbital Flight

Mental workload can be assessed using electrophysiological measures of brain activity, such as electroencephalography (EEG). EEG signals reveal cortical electrical activity.

'I’m a Pilot First, Female Second': Why Flight Deck Gender Imbalance Persists and the Case for Allyship

Why is there greater gender parity for long-haul truck drivers, astronauts, and paleontologists than for women airline captains? This study uses a mixed-methods approach to examine the underlying causes of the gender imb…

Integrated Organizational Machine Learning for Aviation Flight Data

Increased availability of data and computing power has allowed organizations to apply machine learning techniques to various fleet monitoring activities.

The Challenges of Pilot Language Training for Effective Aeronautical Communications in Multicultural Contexts

This paper discusses the main elements that account for effective aeronautical communication in multicultural contexts and identifies the approaches that can offer support to these elements.

Career Choice Motivation for Professional Pilots

This study identified key motivational factors of current flight training students to better understand how individuals are motivated to pursue a career in aviation.

Training Methods Research Opportunities for a Pilot Workforce in Transition: A Literature Review

Over the next 15 years, 50% of the U.S. commercial air carrier workforce will retire, making way for younger pilots from Generations Y and Z.

Addressing the Target Outcomes, Functional Objectives and Functional Skills of Aspiring Aviators in Individualized Education Plans and Section 504 Plans

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has very specific requirements for individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) that center around the executive function abilities of individuals without the…

Development of a Safety Performance Decision-Making Tool for Flight Training Organizations

The purpose of the research was to create and validate a safety performance decision-making tool to transform a reactive safety model into a predictive, decision-making tool, specific to flight training organizations, to…

Interpersonal Skills in a Sociotechnical System: A Training Gap in Flight Decks

This research analyzed the perceptions of interpersonal skills on established aviation safety models, Crew Resource Management (CRM), and Threat and Error Management (TEM) using feedback from industry pilots.

Assessing Past Airworthiness Directives And How Safety Management Systems May Benefit Aviation Product Design And Manufacturing

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) continues to promulgate Safety Management Systems (SMS) across aviation organizations when it recently issued SMS requirements for EASA certificated Part 145 maintenance, …

Application of Density Altitude Climatology to General Aviation Impacts

Density altitude (DA) plays a key role in flight safety because it helps pilots anticipate poor aircraft performance when temperatures are warmer than standard.

ChatGPT in the Classroom: A Practical Guide for Educators

This paper explores the potential applications of ChatGPT, a powerful Artificial Intelligence (AI) large language model (LLM) developed by OpenAI, for aviation education applications.

Review of VR Technical Specification Requirements for a Procedural Training Task

Many aviation education and training programs are expanding their learning materials to include virtual learning environments (VLEs) that utilize virtual reality (VR) technology.

High-Flying Results: A Case Study in a Pilot Development Mentor Program

Consistently considered one of the world’s most stressful occupations, the job of an airline pilot requires increasingly specific skills and responsibilities, especially amidst the global pandemic (Cullen, et al., 2020; …

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Trends in Representation of Women Professionals in the Aviation Industry

Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) stands as an integral component of any successful organization. Historically, society has overlooked and underplayed DEI matters, resulting in the underrepresentation of minority gr…

Guest Editors' Introduction to Special Issue: Artificial Intelligence in Aviation

Identifying Aircraft Damage Mitigating Factors with Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI): An Evidence-Based Approach to Rule-Making for Pilot Training Schools

Recent pilot shortages have brought pilot training into focus as the industry attempts to rectify a compounding problem. The FAA has implemented some recent rule-making regarding pilot training that has left the General …

Machine Learning - Hail Awareness Spatial Analysis Toolkit (HASAT)

The National Airspace System (NAS) is a sophisticated network of air traffic control, navigation, and communication systems that play a critical role in ensuring the safe and efficient flow of air traffic across the Unit…

An Exploratory Single-Case Study Unveiling the Promise of Artificial Intelligence in Aviation Education

Higher education institutions continuously seek ways to improve teaching methods and enhance student learning experiences by leveraging emerging technologies in the classroom.

A New Trajectory in UAV Safety: Leveraging Reinforcement Learning for Distance Maintenance Under Wind Variations

In the field of aviation, safety is a critical cornerstone, and the operation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems is deeply connected with this principle.

Human-AI Teams in Aviation: Considerations from Human Factors and Team Science

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has transformed the way human-computer interaction (HCI) teams can collaborate and coordinate in various domains, including aviation and crew resource management (CRM).

Low-Resource Automatic Speech Recognition Domain Adaptation – A Case-Study in Aviation Maintenance

With timeliness and efficiency being critical in the aviation maintenance industry, the need has been growing for smart technological solutions that optimize and streamline the different underlying tasks (Bergkvist & Sab…

An Enhanced Deep Autoencoder for Flight Delay Prediction

Accurate and timely flight delay prediction cannot be overemphasized because of the ever-increasing demand for air travel and its importance in deploying intelligent transportation systems.

Artificial Intelligence in Aviation: A Path Analysis

The study applied the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to assess trust in artificial intelligence (AI) within the US commercial aviation industry.

User Experience, Motivation and Self-Efficacy Comparisons Between Virtual Reality and Conventional PC-Based Flight Simulation Training

The current project investigated the effect of utilizing Virtual Reality (VR) technologies for flight training by comparing user experience, motivation, and self-efficacy when using conventional desktop flight simulation…

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Game-Based Virtual Reality in Satellite Ground Control Operations Education and Training

There is increased global demand for satellite amenities such as navigation, communications, weather reporting, disaster management, agricultural operations, or humanitarian assistance.

A Tale 3 Airlines: Customer Service in Summer 2022

Does customer service - good or bad - really matter? Customer surveys from Ryanair, Southwest and Spirit Airline passengers were examined to determine their perceptions on customer service for May through September 2022.…

Just Culture in Aviation: A Metaphorical Study on Aircraft Maintenance Students

Just Culture, a sub-dimension of safety culture, has been a prominent and debated topic in aviation safety in recent years. Just culture signifies a work environment where employees are motivated to provide essential saf…

Airspace Saturation and Midair Collision Risk: A Case Study at a Class D Airport

Near midair collisions are precursor events to actual collisions and may be an indicator of risk. While previous studies have used reports of near midair collisions to relate factors such as airspace saturation to near m…

Taking Flight or Taking a Pass? Exploring Factors Influencing Consumer Willingness to Pay for eVTOL Travel

The Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industry is experiencing significant growth due to technological advancements and increasing demand for efficient travel experiences.

Comparative Analysis of Aviation and Ground Transportation Safety Standards Applicable to the Integration of Unmanned Aircraft Operations

This study performed a comparative analysis of SMS in both the aviation and ground transportation industries to identify any gaps that may impact aviation safety by incorporating UAS operations within the ground transpor…