All these years, safety is the most important element of military and civil aviation transports and ¡§Zero Mishap¡¨ is the goal for military and civil aviation industries trying to achieve. However, Taiwan military and civil aviation safety was not satisfactory in the past decade: Taiwan¡¦s civil aviation mishap rate is 3 to 4 times of world average rate and more than 70% mishaps are caused by so-called ¡§Human Factors¡¨, especially by ¡§Pilot Errors¡¨. Fatal accidents always come with Human Errors; therefore, Human Errors Reviews are very important for promoting aviation safety. The Crew Resource Management (CRM) is the non-technical method to eliminate Human Errors and promote aviation safety used by world¡¦s aviation industries. And it has been proven to be the best way for eliminating Human Errors and promoting Aviation Safety. People pay much attention to the concept of CRM because its close link with aviation safety. In this research, the concept of CRM used in civil aviation industry was applied on naval aviation. The key factors influencing the CRM were discovered by the expert questionnaire and verbal evaluations, and then the CRM Checklist was formatted. The CRM Checklist can be used in aviation operations and will be helpful for Human Error Elimination and Aviation Safety Promotion. This research is able to sort Pilot¡¦s CRM risk aspects and factors determined by Verbal Evaluation Aggregation Function. And it proves that Pilot¡¦s CRM risk factors Model is feasible and extensible. The top risk factors in all aspects of CRM surveys, determined by Verbal Evaluation Aggregation Function, are Abnormal/ Emergency Procedure Proficiency (Situation Awareness Aspect), Communication in Emergency Situation (Communication Skills Aspect), Decisive Action Taking in Necessary Condition (Team Work Aspect), Mission Assigning in Contingency (Mission Assigning Aspect), and Safe Operation Containing (Decision Making Aspect).

Spatial disorientation is the singular most common factor in human-error aviation accidents, and over ninety percent of those accidents are fatal. Despite advances in aviation over the past one hundred years in both technology and training, spatial disorientation mishaps continue at a steady pace, even though other incidents declining in frequency. Because spatial disorientation is a highly complex phenomena that involves the vestibular system, the visual system, and cognitive factors such as workload and attention, predicting spatial disorientation is extremely difficult. Likewise, exactly replicating spatial disorientation for training purposes is challenging as well as extremely dangerous and costly. The goal of this study was twofold: to understand if innate abilities can predict propensity for spatial disorientation, and to investigate the efficacy of using story-based vignettes – narratives – to train spatial disorientation to increase schematic learning in pilots. Results demonstrated that performance on a spatial orientation task such as the Direction Orientation Task (DOT) is not a reliable predictor for spatial disorientation recognition based on self-report spatial disorientation frequency. In addition, though story-based vignettes demonstrated potential for increased cue recognition over a control training event, significant differences were not found in novel spatial disorientation recognition, critical cue identification, or confidence. These findings indicate that spatial disorientation could be a completely perceptual (bottom-up) task rather than one that is both top-down and bottom-up and implies future research into the ways we describe and measure spatial disorientation in order to understand it as well as train for it.

Safety Management Systems (SMS) are becoming the industry standard for safety management throughout the aviation industry. As the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) continues to mandate SMS for different segments, the assessment of an organization’s safety culture becomes more important. An SMS can facilitate the development of a strong aviation safety culture. This study describes basic principles and components of an SMS and how safety culture and SMS are integrated. Studies focusing on safety culture assessment were identified for other industries as well as for different areas of the aviation industry. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between an organization’s safety culture and SMS implementation in collegiate flight schools. The research study was designed to determine (a) relationship between SMS implementation and safety culture, (b) the relationship between safety promotion and safety culture, and (c) the relationship between management commitment and safety culture. The study population consisted of 453 individuals at 13 collegiate flight schools. Data were gathered through an online survey to safety officers at collegiate flight schools within the University Aviation Association to determine the level of SMS implementation; and the Collegiate Aviation Program Safety Culture Survey (CAPSCUS) was used to measure the safety culture at those collegiate flight schools. The results indicated that a relationship existed between SMS implementation and safety culture, safety promotion and safety culture, management commitment and safety culture. The relationship for all three was more prominent within the Formal Safety Program major scale of the CAPSCUS. It is recommended that collegiate flight schools examine their existing level of SMS, management commitment, and their safety promotion and assess safety culture within their institution. Future studies should be done to further examine the relationship between SMS implementation and safety culture so that the collegiate flight training environment would have guidance regarding SMS implementation.

Erroneous decisions made by pilots during encounters with adverse weather is often cited as a cause of General Aviation accidents. Pilot experience, which can be measured in several ways, is believed to play a role in the outcome of such encounters. However, it is unclear whether any of the elements of experience alone or in combinations affect the likelihood of General Aviation accidents during actual encounters with adverse weather, or how they do so. One barrier to conclusively determining such effects is the danger in extrapolating simulation results to the real world; nearly all work done to date has used simulators to identify accident risk. Therefore, the extent to which such results can be applied to actual flying is not clear.<div><br></div><div>In this work, two conceptual models for analyzing experience and its role inencounters with adverse weather during the cruise phase of General Aviation Part 91 fixed wing operations are presented. A novel method for evaluating accident risk, specifically the likelihood that an incident turns into an accident is also presented and then used to evaluate the experience profile of 595 pilots, detailed in actual accident and incident reports from the NTSB and ASRS databases. The effect of various elements of experience, alone and in combinations, on that risk is evaluated using regression modeling. The level of significance for each experience variable is first established, and then a series of discrete models is developed to progressively evaluate accident risk along a hypothetical experience continuum. This approach obviates commonly encountered challenges with research in the area and provides results that are ecologically valid.<br></div><div><br></div><div>The focus of this research work was on the role of cognitive aspects of experience in the outcome of flights during the cruise phase of General Aviation Part 91 fixed wing flights between January 1, 2005 and December 31, 2015. Only flights which encountered adverse weather during the cruise phase and for which experience and/or errors in decision making were determined to be a cause or factor in the outcome were included in the study. All flights during the period that involved takeoff and landing, equipment failure or student pilots were not considered for the study. The emphasis of the research was on the effect of experience on cognitive aspects of pilot performance during adverse weather encounters, rather than “stick and rudder” skills.<br></div><div><br></div><div>It was found that variables related to the breadth or variety of pilots’ experience are more predictive of the likelihood of adverse weather encounters turning into accidents compared to those related to the duration or length of experience. While several commonly used measures of experience provide some level of insulation against accidents, the relationship between elements that define the length or duration of experience and outcomes is not linear. Furthermore, this relationship is mediated by variables that define the breadth of experience, especially at their lower levels. These findings may be leveraged to design specifically targeted regulatory or training policies and interventions to expedite the transition from novice to expert pilots in General Aviation weather-related decision making.<br></div>

The regulation and administration of aviation within this country is greatly influenced by a core set of beliefs concerning the safety of aircraft and their operation. This core set of beliefs is referred to as the ontology of aviation safety because it is grounded in a particular reference to reality. The ontology of aviation safety is founded upon the beliefs that aviation operations are either "safe" or "unsafe", that accidents ore preventable, and that if accidents happen then culpability is attributable. These core beliefs support and objectified/reified view of safety which represents a particular reality. Language, more than any other attribute, separates man from other animals. It is through language that man communicates his most profound feelings and ideas. A very basic premise of this dissertation is that language usage reflects beliefs and values. The use of the terms "safe" and "unsafe" when referring to aircraft operations represents the belief that "safe" is an attainable state, in other words, it represents an objectified/reified view of aviation safety. A hermeneutic interpretive approach was used to examine language use within various aviation texts to include: newspaper articles, speeches by Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials, testimony by FAA officials before Congress, and selected books concerning aviation safety. By referring to aviation operations as either "safe" or "unsafe" in discourse and dialogue, an objectified/reified view of aviation safety is subtly perpetuated. This view is deeply rooted in the Amierican concept of aviation safety. / Ph. D.

Airline maintenance outsourcing is a common practice in the deregulation era of airline industry, and it mainly covers topics across technology, economics, and politics. This dissertation used an explanatory sequential mixed methods research to explore the effect of airline maintenance outsource on aviation safety. The first stage of the research was a quantitative research using a panel data analysis using five models to explore the statistical relationships between the independent variables: amount of outsourced maintenance, airline profitability, and real gross domestic product per capita, and dependent variables: aircraft accident rate and aircraft incident rate for the major U.S. Part 121 passenger air carriers between 1995 and 2019. The second qualitative research was interview with commercial aircraft maintenance professionals, airline manager, civil aviation regulators, and other key stakeholders to seek their interpretation about the first stage research results, opinions and understandings about the current commercial aircraft maintenance practice, and their expectations of the industry. Both stages of research confirmed that airline maintenance outsourcing does not affect aviation safety, and there is a positive relationship between airline financial performance and aviation safety performance. Consequently, airline maintenance outsourcing is not only economically sensible but also conducive to aviation safety if it is done properly. In the second stage research, the researcher found deficiencies in the current oversight system mainly due to lack of funding and personnel which needs to be addressed. The researcher recommended activity-based accounting to solve the funding issues about airline maintenance oversight and the future study can focus on decision-making process for airline maintenance outsourcing/insourcing based on empirical data.

The Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) is a voluntary, non-jeopardy reporting program supported by commercial airlines. The program provides pilots with a way to report unsafe occurrences, including their own errors, without risk of punitive action on the part of the airlines or the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Through a set of on-site visits to airlines with ASAP programs, deficiencies were identified in the way airlines collect ASAP reports from pilots. It was concluded that these deficiencies might be limiting the ability of airlines to identify hazards contributing to reported safety events. The purpose of this research was to determine if the use of an ASAP reporting form based on a human factors model, referred to as the Threat and Error Management (TEM) model, would result in pilots providing a larger quantity and higher quality of information as compared to information provided by pilots using a standard ASAP reporting form. The TEM model provides a framework for a taxonomy that includes factors related to safety events pilots encounter, behaviors and errors they make, and threats associated with the complexities of their operational environment. A comparison of reports collected using the TEM Reporting Form and a standard reporting form demonstrated that narrative descriptions provided by pilots using the TEM Reporting Form included both a larger quantity and higher quality of information. Quantity of information was measured by comparing the average word count of the narrative descriptions. Quality of information was measured by comparing the discriminatory power of the words in the narrative descriptions and the extent to which the narrative descriptions from the two sets of reports contributed to a set of latent concepts. The findings suggest that the TEM Reporting Form can help pilots provide longer descriptions, more relevant information related to safety hazards, and expand on concepts that contribute to reported safety events. The use of the TEM Reporting Form for the collection of ASAP reports should be considered by airlines as a preferred collection method for improving the quantity and quality of information reported by pilots through ASAP programs. / text

Doctor of Philosophy / Department of Special Education, Counseling and Student Affairs / Fred O. Bradley / Over the last few years, the safety record of U.S. commercial airlines has improved to the point where the statistics on accidents are negligible. The overwhelming numbers of aviation fatalities occur in General Aviation (GA) accidents. While the fatal accident rate has improved—from around 5.0 per 100,000 miles flown in the post–World War II era to varying between 1.2 and 1.5 since 1996—it still results in 450 to 700 deaths per year. In 2013, improving GA safety was on the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB’s) most wanted list. The NTSB has cited a lack of aeronautical knowledge as the cause of many of these accidents. If pilots are required to pass Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) knowledge and practical tests prior to obtaining a new pilot certificate, how could they not possess the knowledge needed to operate in the National Airspace System (NAS)? Some, attributing it to a failure to learn basic aeronautical knowledge, are concerned that potential pilots memorize the answers to test questions published in commercially available test guides and quickly forget the material after passing the test. The purpose of this retrospective causal comparative study was to see if airman knowledge tests scores are related to fatal accidents. Fatal GA accidents that had pilot error as a causal factor were compared with those in which maintenance factors caused the accidents, to see if there were significant differences in the pilots’ knowledge test scores. The time that potential pilots took to answer skill-based questions that required calculation or interpretation was compared to the time to answer recall questions to see if rote memorization may have been involved in passing the knowledge test. The results of this paper may have implications on how AFS 630 structures the FAA knowledge tests and how instructors prepare potential pilots for these tests.

The overall purpose of the study was to examine the aesthetic impacts of wind farm obstruction lighting. The research problems investigated in this study were; aviation safety regulations for wind farm obstruction lighting in different countries, obstruction lighting technology, and the public attitudes towards wind farming. The research was designed taking into account the research problems, questions, and the researcher experience. Hence, mixed method approach was employed to collect as much, and as diverse data as possible. The sample was drawn focusing wind energy project developers, operators, and the owners. Seeking to build a detailed narrative, a web-based survey was conducted to gather the thoughts, and opinions of the sample population, in addition, to a thorough literature review conducted earlier. The key findings of this study are that the lighting system should be efficient to operate in terms of technology with least aesthetic impacts. Out-dated wind farm obstruction lighting systems are annoying, and contributes to overall aesthetic impacts that triggers nagetive attitudes towards wind farming. In addition, for wind farms near any aerodrome, infrared integrated into light emitting diodes obstruction lighting have minimal aesthetic impacts. Whereas, the radar-activated obstruction lighting is a better choice for wind farms further away from aerodromes. The study argued that understanding the affecting components of attitudes would give various stakeholders a realistic understanding about attitudes towards wind farming. This study concludes that the optimization of lighting angle, intensity, color, and luminance will help reducing the aesthetic impacts under the prevailing regulations, and mapping affective components of attitudes will help in better understanding the public support towards wind farming.

Thai Airways International Public Company Limited (THAI) is a very large organization compared to Thai standards. It generates huge incomes to a number of families, directly and indirectly. Like many airlines, the main concern with THAI and the regulatory authorities is safety because THAI is in a mass transportation business. THAI have had two accidents within a span of some six years, killing a total of 214 people. The accidents affected THAI in four key areas, namely political, economical, social and technological. This phenomenon prompted the study of aviation safety in THAI. The question that requires an answer is: “How should THAI build its protocols to enhance aviation safety?” This then became the research question. The objective of the study is to build a model suitable for THAI to enhance aviation safety, thus answering the question. Through a review of the literature within the parent disciplines, the product, process, and customers of flying activities were identified. The four processes, the MP, the HRD, the PM and the RS are recognized through rigorous search of the literature. The developments of the required seven elements of skills needed for pilot performance measurement were made.A review of study within the immediate discipline concerning Aviation Safety in THAI was carried out and the current status in THAI was defined. All of these led to the identification of research question, research objective, and research propositions. The research propositions were:• Research Proposition 1: that the management practice (MP) process receives inputs from the reporting system (RS) process. Outputs from the management practice (MP) process form inputs for the human resource development (HRD) process.• Research Proposition 2: that the human resource development (HRD) process receives inputs from the management practice (MP) process. Outputs from the human resource development (HRD) process form inputs for the performance measurement (PM) process.• Research Proposition 3: that the performance measurement (PM) process receives inputs from the human resource development (HRD) process. Outputs from the human resource development (HRD) process form inputs for the reporting system (RS) process.• Research Proposition 4: that the reporting system (RS) process receives inputs from the performance measurement (PM) process. Outputs from the reporting system (RS) process form inputs for the management practice (MP) process. • Research Proposition 5: that the individual process components identified in Research Propositions 1, 2, 3 and 4, can be consolidated into an overall, comprehensive Continual Improvement (CI) loop.Once the research propositions were established, the research design was conceived. Due to the fact that THAI is a unique airline influenced by its history of inception and by particular sets of cultures, an embedded, single case-study research method was used. Many techniques within the case-study method were employed starting from a secondary data search, direct observations, focus group interviews, elite interviews, pilot study, participant observations and in-depth interviews. Issues such as validity, reliability, sensitivity, generalizability and ethics were referred to. Issues on data processing, coding, editing, and interpreting were made and discussed.As a result of the various methods of study and the fieldwork previously mentioned, findings were derived. These were then edited, categorized, coded, tabulated and interpreted into meaningful information. Findings from the study and fieldwork supported all the propositions derived from secondary data search and literature review. Consequently the gap identified in the literature was now filled and the principal model was drawn. A slight modification was introduced in keeping with the interpretation of the findings. A recommendation was made that THAI implement policy measures and professional practices derived from the implication of the study to minimize risks in flight operations system and thus maximize safety.Based on the findings of this research, it is recommended that future studies be conducted employing a deductive, quantitative, statistical method to evaluate the model and test its theoretical implications.