Aeronautical Science

  Air Traffic Control Mishap   The FAA and NTSB are currently investigating a runway incursion that happened at Austin-Bergstrom International Airport on February 4 th in an apparent air traffic control error. A FedEx cargo plane was given clearance to land moments before a Southwest jet was cleared for takeoff on the same runway. As the FedEx plane descended, the pilot noticed it was overflying the Southwest jet and aborted their landing by conducting a go-around. The near miss came within approximately 150 feet. (Bodell, 2023)   I chose this event because it comes on the heels of the runway incident at JFK back in January when air traffic control prevented a collision from occurring, and the software outage just prior to that. All these events are safety issues the FAA is dealing with and at a time when it claims this is the safest in aviation history. The FAA is doing a sweeping safety review of the agency and has requested additional funding to modernize ...

  Wildlife Hazard Mitigation     Aircraft and bird collisions are known as bird strikes and are a very severe threat to aviation safety. Bird strikes are nothing new to the aviation world. The first one was recorded in 1905 by the Wright brothers. The most famous one would be in 2009 when Captain Sullenberger landed US Airways flight 1549 in the Hudson River after striking a flock of Canadian geese resulting in dual engine thrust loss. (Strategies, n.d.)   According to the Bird Strike Committee that was founded in 1991, bird and other animal strikes cause approximately $650 million in damage annually to civilian and U.S. military aircraft every year. Bird strikes account for 97% of wildlife hazards. While mammals account for 2% and bats and other reptiles account for 1%. (Administration, 2022) The aviation bird-strike hazard is an industry, worldwide problem that affects everyone from pilots, mechanics, airport operators, wildlife analysts, and anyone to do...

  Aviation and Transportation Security Act   Terrorist hijackings were nothing new to the aviation world with countless hijackings or attempts throughout the history of aviation. Although measures were taken beforehand, September 11, 2001 would be the day that changed the aviation world forever. Many of us most likely remember where we were on that fateful day when 18 operatives from an al-Qaeda terrorist network hijacked four commercial airliners over the U.S. killing nearly 3,000 people.   In response to this, Congress would go on to pass S.1447 - Aviation and Transportation Security Act on November 19, 2001, establishing the TSA. Quite a few major changes came along with this new Act including federalization of the screening workforce, 100% screening of baggage for explosives, expanded list of individuals that could be denied aircraft boarding or subjected to additional screening, deploying an increased amount of air marshals, the creation of a program to arm aircraft ...

  Team-Based Human Factors Challenges        As we read from the FAA’s website about Human Factors in Aviation Maintenance, the FAA states, “Our research combines scientific understanding of human performance with applied studies conducted with industry partners. The results are solid science, psychology, and engineering delivered in plans, procedures, and software that can be immediately implemented to improve safety.” (Human Factors in Aviation Maintenance, n.d.) The last line about the software that can be implemented to improve safety brings up the Maneuvering Characteristics Augmentation System (MCAS) tragedies that caused two catastrophic crashes, killing 346 people, and grounding Boeing’s 737 MAX 8 in the process.        In short, the MCAS was designed and released by Boeing for the new MAX 8. Due to the larger engines on the MAX 8, the engines were installed forward and higher than the previous positions. The engine housings...