Risk Management and Aeronautical Decision-Making

 

            Aeronautical Decision-Making (ADM) is training the mind to consistently review circumstances and make the best decisions in response. One essential element to ADM is situational awareness. Situational awareness involves the power of observation. It’s taking into account what’s going on amongst the current surroundings. Another essential element to ADM is the decision maker’s ability to foresee a number of outcomes and choose the one that will be most successful. The ability to make oneself aware of outcomes is gained with training and (direct and/or indirect) experience. Lastly, the decision maker must follow up to make sure no other changes have occurred. Since the opportunity for change consistently exists, the decision maker must reliably verify the previous actions are still successful and future circumstances will flourish, as well. If not, the process starts all over again.

            Risk management and ADM can be applied similarly for manned and unmanned aircraft situations. The risk management and ADM issues in unmanned aerial systems (UAS) that really stood out were the single pilot mindset and the way that pilot had to assess risk for successful outcomes. A lone pilot is not afforded the benefit of other crewmembers for situation and attitude checks and balances. Automation and sharp physical, psychological, physiological, and psychosocial characteristics are the single pilot’s tools for success. The pilot must act as her/his own quality control in decision-making (Federal Aviation Administration, 2016). So, risk assessment will be a supplemental layer of weight added onto the decision-making process.

            Commercial UAS operators certified under CFR 14 Part 107 face some unique challenges. One operator challenge will be staying abreast of the local, state, and federal regulations on operating restrictions. That may include volunteering to continue operations under Section 333 Exemption, if applicable. Since the Secretary of Transportation uses a risk-based analysis to determine airworthiness certifications, it is advisable to continue to consider exemptions placed on operating rules to avoid mishaps. Limited resources and inconsistent procedures are another operator challenge. The FAA has been charged with overseeing aircraft design and the use of the National Airspace System. Some decisions behind the oversight have taken decades to accomplish success. However, the UAS industry brings with it a Silicon Valley pace of design iterations occurring on a yearly or even monthly timeframe (Turner et al., 2016). As technology grows and evolves, so will human factors challenges.

Thanks You

References

Federal Aviation Administration (2016). Chapter 10: Aeronautical Decision-Making and judgment. Remote pilot - Small unmanned aircraft systems study guide. https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/media/remote_pilot_study_guide.pdf

Turner, J. S., Gomez, A. M., Milner, K. J. (2016). 5 major obstacles for unmanned aircraft systems. Wiley Law. https://www.wiley.law/article-5-Major-Obstacles-For-Unmanned-Aircraft-Systems#:~:text=%205%20Major%20Obstacles%20For%20Unmanned%20Aircraft%20Systems,its%20efforts%20to%20safely%20integrate%20UAS...%20More%20