Flight Risk Assessment Research Articles

Evaluation of a Team-Based Flight Risk Assessment Tool in Air Medical Transport

ObjectiveFatigue is common in emergency medical services (EMS) and is exacerbated in air medical transport. There is no gold standard for recognizing high-risk factors contributing to fatigue. Current survey instruments designed to assess fatigue in EMS have limited evidence supporting their reliability and validity. The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of a team-based flight risk assessment tool (FRAT) as an instrument to improve safety and patient care for air medical transport. MethodsThe FRAT factors professional experience, stressors, sleepiness, and work conditions at the beginning of each shift and generates a team-based score. The 1,919 FRAT scores from a single air/ground critical care transport program during 2021 were retrospectively analyzed against measurable operational outcomes and indicators of error, including first-pass intubation success, the presence of quality assurance flags on documentation, and the time spent on scene. ResultsThere were 281 occurrences of a FRAT score that warranted mitigation, and 259 reported mitigation strategies. There were no associations between FRAT score and intubation success, quality assurance flags, and scene time. ConclusionThe team-based FRAT score triggered a mitigation activity on 281 occasions in 2021. There were no associations between the FRAT score and specific quality measures examined.

Task complexity and operational risk management in military aviation

Flight risk assessment has been based on traditional tools that are simple to use but not validated for the consideration of all relevant Complexity Contributing Factors (CCFs). This work aims to improve the process of risk management of missions in military aviation and allow for a more thorough examination of Complexity Contributing Factors (CCFs). After a series of structured workshops, a classification scheme of 46 CCFs was developed and tested in a large number of operational missions (n = 227). Principal Components Analysis has verified four complexity classes that provided a structure for the CCFs while multiple linear regression analysis showed that the four classes of complexity correlated well with mission success outcomes. The study provides evidence that the classification scheme of complexity considers a variety of observable markers (CCFs) which can be used to rate complexity and introduce mission changes that create a safety environment for military missions. Practitioner summary: This study develops a classification scheme of complexity with a large number of observable markers (Complexity Contributing Factors) that can be used to rate the complexity of missions in military aviation. Earlier studies on task complexity and a series of workshops with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) have been used to develop the classification scheme which was validated with data from a large number of military missions.

Hazardous flight region prediction for a small UAV operated in an urban area using a deep neural network

With an increase of UAVs in logistics and transportation, the safety of UAVs operated in the urban wind environment becomes an important issue. Small UAVs are more sensitive to the wind environment because of their small size, slow cruising speed, and limited endurance. In the unmanned aircraft system traffic management (UTM), a safety risk assessment under bad weather conditions is an important component. In this study, a hazardous flight region prediction system for small UAVs operated in urban areas is developed using a deep neural network (DNN) to support a risk assessment and safe trajectory planning. A large eddy simulation (LES) is applied to reflect the terrain-driven wind environment in the urban area. The result of a weather research and forecasting (WRF) model is used as an initial and boundary condition of the LES to generate a realistic complicated wind environment in an urban area. Furthermore, an iterative nesting algorithm is applied to the LES to obtain a sufficient resolution of the wind environment, which is suitable for the small UAV scale. The deviation distance from the original flight path due to the wind environment is considered as a flight hazard criterion in this study. The proposed system is able to predict deviation distance due to the wind environment over the entire flight space over time by using the DNN model. The training data for the DNN is obtained using the multicopter flight dynamics simulator, which can take into account the influence of a specific wind environment. With the indexes considering this deviation distance and the local topography (distribution of buildings) in the urban area, the hazardous flight region is predicted. The information supplied by the proposed hazardous flight region prediction model can be used for the flight risk assessment and safe flight trajectory planning to increase the flight safety of small UAVs.

Using neural networks to predict high-risk flight environments from accident and incident data

ABSTRACT Flight risk assessment tools (FRATs) aid pilots in evaluating risk arising from the flight environment. Current FRATs are subjective, based on linear analyses and subject-matter expert interpretation of flight factor/risk relationships. However, a ‘flight system’ is complex with non-linear relationships between variables and emergent outcomes. A neural network was trained to categorize high and low-risk flight environments from factors such as the weather and pilot experience using data extracted from accident and incident reports. Negative outcomes were used as markers of risk level, with low severity outcomes representing low-risk environments and high severity outcomes representing high-risk environments. Eighteen models with varied architectures were created and evaluated for convergence, generalization and stability. Classification results of the highest performing model indicated that neural networks have the ability to learn and generalize to unseen accident and incident data, suggesting that they have the potential to offer an alternative to current risk analysis methods.

Factorial Validity of the Flight Risk Assessment Tool in General Aviation Operations

Factorial Validity of the Flight Risk Assessment Tool in General Aviation Operations

Fatigue in Aeromedicine: A Validity Study of the Flight Risk Assessment

ABSTRACT Objective: A validation study was conducted on the Flight Risk Assessment (FRA), a unique self-report fatigue measure for flight medics on duty. Background: Air medical professionals face unique challenges above and beyond the difficulty of working in a hospital setting or prehospital ground medicine. Providers frequently work multiple 24-hour shifts, resulting in circadian rhythm disturbance and cumulative sleep loss. The plane environment and the effects of flight are also contributory to fatigue; however, air medics must engage in emergent, time-sensitive, life-saving procedures despite these challenging circumstances. Although the aeromedical industry has rapidly expanded in the past several decades, the field of flight medicine lacks validated tools to evaluate fatigue levels, and many companies rely on flight providers’ recognition of fatigue to prevent work-related mistakes. Method: To establish construct validity, scores on the FRA were compared to scores on the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (PVT), an objective measure of fatigue. Results: The results indicate that a total of five questions on the FRA was significantly and strongly correlated with mean reaction time on the PVT (r = .60, p = .001). Perceived fitness for duty was poorly correlated with fatigue levels as measured by the FRA (r < .01) suggesting medics may have difficulty recognizing when they are fatigued and fit for duty. Conclusion: The air medical industry is rapidly expanding, and valid and reliable measures are indicated to assess fatigue levels among providers. Initial findings suggest the FRA is an efficient tool to objectively measure the fatigue levels of air medics through a self-report measure.

On Flight Risk Analysis Method Based on Stability Region of Dynamic System Under Icing Conditions

The occurrence of loss of control in flight is often accompanied by deep coupling of flight parameters. In order to explore the mechanism of coupling induced flight risk, a method of flight risk assessment based on the stability region of a nonlinear dynamic system was proposed. The Monte Carlo method was improved to identify the boundary of the stability region, and the key parameters that can represent the flight safety were set. The risk quantification method and the colorized flight risk characterization method were proposed. Combined with the case of aircraft encountering icing, the variation trend of flight stability region and flight risk under different icing degrees was calculated. The results showed that with the aggravation of icing, the flight stability region was significantly reduced and the coupling of flight parameters was aggravated. And compared with the traditional angle of attack protection method, this method can find the potential flight risk earlier, and characterize the way of parameters’ coupling and the flight risk evolution process. The proposed method can improve the pilot’s situational awareness, and also provide theoretical support for the prevention of flight risk under adverse conditions, and provide reference for the further development of boundary protection control law.

Flight risk assessment method of transport aviation

Flight risk assessment method of transport aviation

A-11 Fatigue and Errors in Aeromedicine (FEAr) Pilot Study

Abstract Objective The FEAr pilot study was conducted to evaluate the construct validity of an instrument that measures self-reported fatigue levels among air medics (the Flight Risk Assessment [FRA] measure). Data Selection The population of interest, flight medics, is highly specialized and relatively small. As a result, non-probability, convenience sampling was used (N = 27). The participants were recruited from one air medical company with bases located across ten western states. Medics took two measures, the FRA and the PVT, three times a day, for three days. Data Synthesis To establish construct validity, scores on the FRA were compared to scores on the Psychomotor Vigilance Task (PVT), which is a widely used and validated measure to detect fatigue in field settings. The results of the study indicate that a total of five questions on the FRA was significantly and moderately correlated with the PVT efficiency score (r = -.49, p = .01). The mean reaction time was also significantly correlated with the total FRA score (r = .59, p = .001). Notably, perceived fitness for duty was poorly correlated with fatigue levels as measured by the FRA (r &lt; .01). Conclusions The results of this study contribute to a very limited body of research on fatigue among air medical providers. Specifically, the study contributes to the knowledge about the construct validity of the Flight Risk Assessment, which can be used to evaluate fatigue among air medics. Further analysis can assist in determining appropriate cutoff scores to inform time-out policies for medics.

Ballast Flight Risk Assessment Based on Reliability Theory

Ballast Flight Risk Assessment Based on Reliability Theory

Building a Viable Flight Risk Assessment Process in Business Jet Operations: Selecting a Risk Assessment Tool, Setting Baselines, Trigger &amp; Mitigation Points

In November 2006, The International Civil Aeronautics Organization (ICAO) issued a mandate for all member nations to set a state standard for all aviation service companies to have integrated safety management systems (SMS) in place by 2009. The FAA issued an advisory circular (AC120-92A) in 2010 addressing this issue. To date SMS has not been mandated in the United States. A major part of any SMS is creating a process for assessing risk. This paper is a case study of how one jet charter company selected a flight risk assessment tool (FRAT), trained their pilots and then analyzed close to 800 flights in order to set trigger points for assessment use, risk values that required management involvement, and risk values that required some sort of mitigation. The paper also discusses how the operation dealt with pilot push back, FRAT evolution and the dynamic personality of aviation in general.

Cognitive Task Analysisof Air Traffic Controller's Flight Risk Assessment

Cognitive Task Analysisof Air Traffic Controller's Flight Risk Assessment