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.

Student pilots are the future of aviation and one of the biggest problems that they face as new pilots is fatigue. The survey was sent out asking if student pilots were fatigued, if they attribute flight training, school work, work outside of school, and social obligations to their sleep loss, and how they spend their time on those activities. The survey was given to aviation students at Arizona State University (ASU) Polytechnic Campus. ASU student pilots were found to be fatigued through a single sample t-test. Other t-tests were done on each of the questions that asked student pilots how flight training, school work, work outside of school and social obligations affect their sleep loss. Flight training and school were found to be contributing to student pilots sleep loss. Work outside of school and social obligations were found to not be contributing to student pilots sleep loss. It was found that student pilots’ tendency to use a planner or calendar was found to not be significant. Along with this planning through the week when they will do assignments or study for exams was also not found to be significant. Students making lists of assignments and when they are due was also found to not be significant. The t-test also found that student pilots are neutral on the topic of whether good time management skills would help increase the amount of sleep that they get.

Nicotine and tobacco use, whether it be through cigarette smoking or other devices, creates negative health conditions in pilots. The literature that was reviewed pertained to nicotine withdrawal symptoms and their negative impact on pilot performance. There have been studies conducted in order to explore how these symptoms impact pilot performance using cigarettes as the only nicotine device and does not specify the nicotine levels or the frequency of use. This thesis extends this work to examine the relationship between the nicotine withdrawal symptoms and the nicotine behaviors of pilots. It was hypothesized that the extent of withdrawal symptoms may differ by device and by nicotine levels and frequency of use, with higher levels and more frequent use being associated with more severe withdrawal symptoms. These behaviors included the device they use to take nicotine whether it be cigarettes, vaporizers, e-cigarettes, or smokeless tobacco. The behaviors also included exploration of how nicotine levels relate to withdrawal symptoms whether the nicotine level is as low as 3mg or high as 36mg. The last relationship that was explored was that between the withdrawal symptoms presented in pilots and how often they used nicotine, whether it be often as every day or less frequent as 1-2 times a year. It was found that there is no statistical relationship between nicotine withdrawal symptoms and the nicotine habits such as device used, nicotine level used, and frequency of use.

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.

Hypoxic hypoxia is a physiological condition which can manifest as a result of reduced barometric pressure, resulting in an insufficient amount of oxygen for use by the tissues in the body. Hypoxic hypoxia is of concern to pilots due to dangerous impairment the condition can cause in-flight, such as short term memory loss, incoordination, or incapacitation. Several aircraft incidents and accidents have been attributed to hypoxia in the past ten years. To train for hypoxia recognition, high altitude chambers are used to induce hypoxia in participants, through a reduction of pressure inside a reinforced chamber. The training allows participants to experience their personal physiological symptoms of hypoxia in a controlled environment, in order to be trained in recognition and intervention techniques. This study surveyed 110 participants of high altitude chamber training to analyze perceptions, experience, and attitudes of respondents toward the training. Significant results were found; to include 99% of participants stating they would recommend the training to others, and 96.8% stating they felt they were a safer pilot, crewmember, or other support personnel due to attending high altitude chamber training. Two questions related to formal regulatory oversight revealed non-significant results. The purpose and results of this study are intended to support the improvement of aviation physiological training practices, in an effort to reduce hypoxia-related aircraft incidents an accidents in the future.

The statistical significance of airport environment incidents related to pilot confusion at night was explored. Some articles suggest there is a higher rate of incidents during the day than during the night, while others suggest any low visibility environment will a greater processing time for the brain to react to outside references. Other researchers suggest incidents are not tied to time of day but to time spent looking inside the cockpit compared to outside the cockpit. Using this research and an analyzation of incident reports collected by the Aviation Safety Reporting System, this paper suggests there is a statistically significant relationship between incidents involving pilot confusion on the surface and time of day.

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.

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.

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, more commonly referred to as drones, have been a hot subject for the past few years. In the news, stories about drones cause the public alarm because of their seemingly increasing use. Problems have arisen with drones congesting airspace where manned aircraft fly, posing a huge threat to pilots and passengers of those aircraft. They have also caused concern of the public in matters of privacy. Drones are a go-anywhere and see-anything type of tool. They go where manned aircraft cannot, and where humans on the ground cannot. This video takes an in depth look at the issue of increasing civilian drone use, new regulations on users, categorizing types of drones, and possible solutions to the problems. Throughout the video, there will be three interviews. These interviews will be with experts in the field. The first person is Dr. Sarah Nilsson, Esq. She is a lawyer in drone law with her own practice. She has her PhD, CFI, and CFII as well as professional flying experience. The second person is Mr. Chris Andres. He is the Airport Administrator of Chandler Municipal Airport and offers a unique perspective on drones from an airport management standpoint. Lastly, the third person interviewed is a salesman at Viper Hobbies located in Mesa, AZ. He offers a perspective of drone use from the retail side, and also insight in FAA requirements of retailers and how retailers might offer education on regulation to the public.