Matching Items (10)
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- All Subjects: Aviation
- Creators: Niemczyk, Mary
Description
The Federal Flight Deck Officer (FFDO) program was mandated legislatively, as part of the Homeland Security Act of 2002. This study replicated earlier research that investigated pilots’ opinions of the current state of the FFDO program based on interviews. A Likert survey was created to allow simpler quantitative collection and analysis of opinions from large groups of pilots. A total of 43 airline pilots participated in this study. Responses to the Likert questions were compared with demographics, searching for significance through a Pearson chi-square test and frequencies were compared to earlier research findings. Significant chi-square results showed that those familiar with the program were more likely to agree the program should continue, it was effective, the screening and selection process of program applicants was adequate and the Federal Air Marshal Service’s management of the FFDO program was effective. Those with Military experience were more likely to disagree it was reasonable that FFDOs were required to pay for their own room and board during training or train on their own time. All those who shared an opinion agreed there should be a suggestion medium between FFDOs and their management. Unlike the prior study, all those familiar with the program agreed the weapons transportation and carriage procedures were adequate. Furthermore, all those who shared an opinion found the holster locking mechanism adequate, which was another reversal of opinion from the prior study. Similar to the prior study, pilots unanimously agree FFDOs were well trained and agreed that the program was effective and should continue.
ContributorsFerrara, Marc, M.S (Author) / Niemczyk, Mary (Thesis advisor) / Nullmeyer, Robert (Committee member) / Branaghan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
The aviation industry is considered to be the safest when it comes to transportation of people and property. The standards by which companies provide air transportation are held are very high. Nevertheless, a shortage in the number of pilots exists and companies must look for ways to meet demands. One of the ways to resolve this issue is to introduce unmanned systems on a broader scale – to transport people and property. The public’s perception regarding this issue has not been well documented. This survey identified what the public’s attitude is towards the use of these systems. One hundred fifty-seven people participated in this survey. Statistical analyses were conducted to determine if participant demographics, previous aviation background, and comfort levels were significantly related to various transportation technologies. Those who were comfortable or uncomfortable with self-driving cars kept their same comfort level for other technologies such as drone delivery services. The survey also revealed that the vast majority of respondents did not feel comfortable being a passenger on fully autonomous aircraft. With an overwhelming percentage of society not comfortable with the idea of there being no pilot for the aircraft, it is important for companies working to implement this technology to pay close attention to the public perception of autonomous aircraft.
ContributorsWollert, Matthew Benjamin (Author) / Niemczyk, Mary (Thesis advisor) / Nullmeyer, Robert (Committee member) / Wallmueller, Katherine (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
The purpose of this research was to determine if students who are enrolled in a professional flight program exhibit significantly higher rates of depression, stress, and anxiety. This study compared professional flight students to non-professional flight students to determine whether professional flight students have higher rates of depression and anxiety. In addition, this study sought to determine if there were higher depression, anxiety, and stress levels in upperclassmen (juniors and seniors) than in lowerclassmen (freshman and sophomore). Finally, upperclassmen and underclassmen within professional flight programs were compared to test if upperclassmen professional flight students exhibit higher rates for depression, anxiety and stress. These groups were compared to each other by using a survey that measures depression, anxiety, and stress. There were no statistically significant results. No singular group is more or less prone to depression, anxiety, or stress.
ContributorsJacobs, Destry (Author) / Niemczyk, Mary (Thesis advisor) / Cooke, Nancy J. (Thesis advisor) / Nullmeyer, Robert (Committee member) / Cline, Paul (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
In the U.S., less than 20 percent of wildlife strikes are reported, which leaves a large portion of incidents unaccounted for. Although wildlife strikes at airports often go unreported, since the early 1990's the number of wildlife strikes has increased five-fold and the number of damaging strikes has increased 1.5-fold. Goals for this project include determining if biological and landscape variables are good predictors of wildlife strikes. We define response variables as the number of reported wildlife strikes per 10,000 airport operations. We studied seven major airports around Phoenix, Arizona and 30 large airports in the western U.S. In the Phoenix metro valley, airports varied from having 0.3 strikes per year per 10,000 operations to having 14.5 strikes from 2009 to 2013. We determined bird richness by using the citizen-science database "eBird,"and measured species richness within a 15 kilometer area of each airport. Species richness between hotspots ranged from 131 to 320. Seasonal differences were determined using an analysis of variance (ANOVA) analysis for the seven Phoenix metro airports as well as the 30 western U.S. airports. Our results showed that there was a seasonal difference in wildlife strikes in the majority of our airports. We also used land use data from CAP LTER to determine any environmental factors such as vicinity to water or fence line located within five kilometers from airports using ArcGIS. These results are important because they are helpful in determining the factors influencing wildlife strikes based on the number of strikes reported.
ContributorsSalaki, Logan (Co-author) / Montgomery, Brett (Co-author) / Bateman, Heather (Thesis director) / Niemczyk, Mary (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
My project analyzes the air traffic control tower (ATCT) system of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to determine if a rebalancing of ATCT ownership and operation should occur. The government currently faces a problem of a tight financial budget and sequestration, which often times means mandatory budget cuts. This project provides one possible solution for the FAA to save money in their budget without adversely affecting safety. The FAA could establish appropriate criteria to compare all ATCTs. The FAA could then apply these criteria in a policy that would contract the operation of certain low-level ATCTs and conversely handle the operations at high-activity ATCTs. Additionally, the FAA could include a policy to transfer the ownership of certain low-activity towers, but transfer the ownership of high-activity towers to the FAA. The research was completed by studying various documents from the FAA, Department of Transportation (DOT), and industry groups. Most of the data analysis was conducted by creating tables, queries, and graphs from FAA data. The FAA data was found on their Air Traffic Activity Data System (ATADS). From my data analysis, I was able to identify sixty-nine ATCTs that are currently operated by the FAA that could become federal contract towers (FCT) and forty-six FCTs that could be operated by the FAA. Each FCT saves the FAA approximately $1.488 million, so the FAA could save $34.2 million per year by implementing my solutions. I have also established sample criteria for determining which ATCTs could be maintained by the FAA.
ContributorsJuri, William Joseph (Author) / Denny, Casey (Thesis director) / Niemczyk, Mary (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Technological Entrepreneurship and Innovation Management (Contributor)
Created2013-12
Description
This paper documents the work completed as part of the graduation requirements from Barrett, The Honors College. My project focused on researching, organizing, and presenting information to other ASU aviation students for the purpose of guiding them in how to effectively search for internships. My internship experiences led to a full-time job offer and this project aims to help provide other aviation students with the same opportunities.
ContributorsSmith, Ashley Nicole (Author) / Niemczyk, Mary (Thesis director) / Latham, Verne (Committee member) / Aviation Programs (Contributor) / College of Integrative Sciences and Arts (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Airports are a vital part of the United States' transportation infrastructure. A variety of factors impact the amount of aircraft that an airport can handle per hour. One of these factors is the runway capacity. Strict rules regarding the amount of separation required between two aircraft landing at the same airport and lack of available land limit the ways that airport managers and planners can tackle this problem. Research was conducted at the Arizona State University's Simulator Building using the Adacel Tower Simulation System. Modifications to the airport were then made to simulate the high speed exit. Testing utilized aircraft in the large category, including Airbus A320s, which are regularly seen at the airport. Airport capacity dramatically increased as a result. The previous AAR was 33. With the research conducted, aircraft can exit the runway between 27 and 30 seconds with final approach speeds ranging from 130 knots to 150 knots. To allow for a margin for safety, a 35 second runway occupancy time is used. With that rate, assuming that other separation standards are changed to accommodate that traffic level, the runway AAR increases to approximately 100. To reach this potential, changes to the FAAs separation requirements for aircraft on the same final approach course must be made, to allow aircraft to be closer together.
ContributorsRojas, Jorge Alejandro (Author) / Niemczyk, Mary (Thesis director) / Mandeville, Roger (Committee member) / Aviation Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12
Description
September 11th, 2001 was a day that affected everyone. The world came to a stop. The aviation industry was affected, and the national airspace system was closed for a few days. The events that occurred on that specific day enacted changes that affect the industry to this day. This paper analyzes some of the changes that were made and discusses some of the changes the industry is going through again, about 20 years after the events on September 11th. The coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we all live our daily lives and aviation is not exempt. Changes to aircraft cleaning procedures, boarding processes, and seat design have all been ways the industry has gone through changes. The results of a potential recovery as well as the long-term changes are discussed.
ContributorsPomerantz, Spencer (Author) / Niemczyk, Mary (Thesis director) / Pearson, Michael (Committee member) / Aviation Programs (Contributor, Contributor, Contributor) / Human Systems Engineering (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
There are significantly higher rates of pilot error events during surface operations at night than during the day. Events include incidents, accidents, wrong surface takeoffs and landings, hitting objects, turning on the wrong taxiway, departing the runway surface, among others. There is evidence to suggest that these events are linked to situational awareness. Improvements to situational awareness can be accomplished through training to instruct pilots to increase attention outside of the cockpit while taxiing at night. However, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) night time requirements are relatively low to obtain a private pilot certification. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of flight training experience on conducting safe and incident-free surface operations at night, collect pilot opinions on night training requirements and resources, and analyze the need for night time on flight reviews. A survey was distributed to general aviation pilots and 239 responses were collected to be analyzed. The responses indicated a higher observed incident rate at night than during the day, however there were no significant effects of night training hours or type of training received (Part 61, Part 141/142, or both) on incident rate. Additionally, higher total night hours improved pilot confidence at night and decreased incident rate. The overall opinions indicated that FAA resources on night flying were effective in providing support, but overall pilots were not in support of or against adding night time requirements to flight reviews and found night training requirements to be somewhat effective.
ContributorsWhittard, Megan (Author) / Niemczyk, Mary (Thesis advisor) / Nullmeyer, Robert (Committee member) / Hampshire, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Checklists have become a vital aspect of aviation, regardless of skill level. From general aviation pilots going through flight training to commercial airline pilots responsible for hundreds of lives every day, checklists are used from the moment you step into the cockpit until the last light that is turned off at the end of the flight. Checklists are such a significant part of aviation, and several different ways to run a checklist have been created (such as the challenge-response and do-and-tell methods). Despite these variations in checklist usage and procedures, all methods are restricted in terms of user involvement; in other words, pilots are not easily engaged or invested in the checklists that they use in day to day operations. Theorized through exposure to this issue as a student and as a Certified Flight Instructor, Know Go™ has been created as a long term tool to replace conventional checklists with a resourceful one that acts as both a normal checklist for daily use and a learning tool for long term retention. The purpose of this text is to introduce the capabilities of the application, as well as discuss the theories behind the effectiveness of the application. The developmental processes and the challenges associated with application production will also be analyzed.
ContributorsPetitt, Keely M (Author) / Niemczyk, Mary (Thesis director) / Hampshire, Michael (Committee member) / Aviation Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05