NATS Using AI At Heathrow To Combat Visibility Issues

The UK air traffic management company, NATS, is currently trying out AI technology at London’s Heathrow Airport in hopes to help and improve the airport’s landing capacity during times of low visibility. The experiment is using high definition cameras and AI technology to help communicate to the tower whether or not arriving aircraft have left the runway. In times of low visibility it is often hard for the tower to see the runways, as it is 285 ft in the air. The hope is that this new technology will be able to tell the tower whether or not the runway is clear so that the tower does not have to rely on ground radar, which can take a long time and decreases landing capacity by as much as 20 percent on low visibility days, which can create passenger delays and disruption of aircraft movements.

In todays day and age of technology, we have come to rely on technology based communication now more than ever. Usually this technology is between two humans who are using technology such as cell phones or computers to communicate back and forth. In this article, we are taking this one step further by having people communicate directly to the technology and vice versa. The cameras are monitored by AI technology that reports back to the command tower so that the tower can make the decision needed to move planes around. The tower and the AI technology are communicating back and forth so that safe decisions can be made faster than they would be without it. This is an important step in advancing the way the aviation industry uses technology to communicate, and if this trial is successful, this communication will be important to help the airport get flights in and out on time.

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Accident Following Engine Failure At Takeoff Claims Decathlon Pilot

At Toronto’s Buttonville Municipal airport, they had an aircraft accident that happened on January 24, 2019. The aircraft that was being used was a Bellanca 8KCAB Decathlon and a student pilot was soloing in the aircraft at the time. When the student took off everything was going okay, but 90 seconds the student pilot reported hearing odd sounds coming from the engine and the student transmitted a “Mayday” to tower. The student tried to make it back to the runway but wasn’t able to and slam into the ground and died from the impact forces from the ground. From the reports, the weather was fairly good, with good visibility and with a few scattered clouds. Another report said that the aircraft just an annual inspection for legal operation. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada looked into this and said that the engine wasn’t generating at full power before impact. Also, the oil pressure was near the bottom of the safety limits for that aircraft. So far they have not able what caused the engine to act like that because after the accident they inspected the engine wasn’t able to see any signs of the engine losing power.

Looking at this article communication was critical because if communication as a bit better the accident could have been prevented or give the student pilot a chance to survive the wreck. For example, there could have been a lack of communication when the aircraft was being inspected and things were forgotten during the inspection test on the engine. Another error could have happened during the preflight and the flight instructor wasn’t around to for the preflight checklist. If there was better communication with the pilot and the people who service the aircraft then the chance of this error could have prevented.

Link: https://www.flyingmag.com/fatal-decathlon-accident-canada-investigation

Recently Emirates introduced a trend of giving away kits to their youngest passengers on board which consists of toys, travel themed lunch box, coloring book with markers and some other child friendly toiletry. This change was implemented in various airlines which clearly shows their concern and care to every age group. Different categories have been created to give the right article to the right child like older children get an animal backpack with a travel journal and toddlers get a stuffed animal such as elephant made up of soft material so that it doesn’t hurt the child. Singapore Airlines has a more specific plan for giving out the kits. For example, Babies get plush blocks, pre-school aged get mini puzzles and other older children get monopoly card.  Paul Tumpowsky, the co-founder and chief executive of Skylark a New York travel agency was travelling with her toddler daughter in a flight and he said clearly that these new amenities help in keeping the child occupied in long flights.

Airlines have started using colorful trays to serve meals to the children so that they remain occupied. A new seat back entertainment system is also initiated in airlines that aims on children. It consists of channels like Disney, Cartoon Network, BabyTV, etc. One of the common domestic carrier Jet Blue has asked Headspace to provide recently debuted kid focused videos to include in their in-flight entertainment system. Turkish Airlines has been successful in creating good terms and relation not only with children but the parents with babies as well. The parents get a pack containing a diaper changing mat, disposable bib, rash cream, baby lotion, a packet of wipes and a breast pad. This tells us that to get success in aviation world, airlines are trying their best to create good relations with every passenger on board.

Source:-

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/29/travel/how-airlines-are-catering-to-their-smallest-customers-children.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FAirlines%20and%20Airplanes&action=click&contentCollection=timestopics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=6&pgtype=collection

The article I read was on the government shutdown. Specifically it’s effects on the FAA and how they are unable to perform their regular tasks on schedule. The article is specifically Government Shutdown Causing Crisis in the Aviation Industry, written by Stephen Pope. Pope goes into the specifics of how the FAA had been loosing track of it’s scheduled plans. And how that will affect general aviation for years to come. Pope says “The impact of this shutdown is real and growing on the general aviation manufacturing and maintenance industry(.)” He goes on to say “FAA is unable to approve training manual revisions, cannot authorize training center evaluators, and will not be able to re-certify flight simulators. Without these approvals, training centers are no longer able to provide new or recurrent pilot training.” Showing direct impact on my current situation in flight training.

The lack of effective communication by the government has lead to this shutdown. And has also created issues with the TSA and it’s subsidiaries. Obviously no one wants to work without pay, and as of now we have just had the affected federal employees second zero dollar pay check. Some of the directly affected are the air traffic controllers. These people have been put in a situation where they have to work without pay while doing a very stressful job that requires high attention and very good communication skills. When someone doesn’t want to work and are annoyed by the situation they have a higher chance of making an error. And a communication error with a traffic controller can be fatal. There are procedures and regulations in place to prevent a tired, angry, or otherwise mentally drained person from being in a position to make a mistake. And the shutdown is putting strain on more than can be relieved.

The fact that the aviation industry is hurting the most by the shutdown is pushing for a resolution, hopefully sooner than later.

https://www.flyingmag.com/government-shutdown-causing-crisis-in-aviation-industry

Aeroflot 737 Hijacking Attempt

Last week, on January 22nd, a flight on an Aeroflot Boeing 737 heading to Moscow from Surgut, Siberia experienced an attempted hijacking. This threat came from a passenger who was later identified as 41 year old Pavel Shapovalov. While in flight, Shapovalov, claiming that he was carrying weapons, ordered the Captain and First Officer of the flight to divert from their original destination, Moscow, and land in Afghanistan. Although the flight was in danger, the flight crew used spectacular communication skills in order to keep the passengers and themselves safe from any further threats and/or harm. The crew spoke to the attacker and persuaded him into believing that the flight had to first land in order to refuel before making the requested trip to Afghanistan. The plane safely landed in the Russian City of Khanty-Mansiysk, where the airport’s ground crews towed the plane to a specific and secluded area of the airfield. Waiting there for the flight to arrive was the airport’s special anti-terrorism forces who immediately arrested the would-be hijacker. Because of the effective communication between the cockpit, flight crew and ground crew, this potentially unfortunate and dangerous situation was eradicated before any harm took place. According to the Russian Airline, their employees have been going through extensive precautionary training in order to effectively respond to potentially harmful situations that may arise, such as this. Because of this event, the company has implemented additional security checks on all aircraft before departure. This current event goes to show just how crucial good communication skills are as well as Crew Resource Management, as if this was not implemented, the passengers and crew of this flight may not have been so lucky.

Source: https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2019-01-22/aeroflot-737-lands-safely-after-hijacking-attempt

Aurora Flight Sciences is a subsidiary company of Boeing that is doing research on an all-electric autonomous aircraft that would be used to transfer people around a city, much like the system that Uber uses. It would be charged in docking stations that would be erected around the city in which it will operate. This aircraft was recently tested by vertical takeoff and hovering with the company looking to test the other directions of flight. In addition to the transport of people, this service will be used for the transportation of cargo.
Although Boeing is the biggest company that is working on this issue, there are other companies that have tested their own versions of this type of aircraft. The Alpha One prototype that was built by Airbus also accomplished a similar feat of vertical flight and hovering. However, unlike Boeing that has a partnership with Uber to implement their new aircraft into the already existing network that Uber has developed Airbus is looking to create its own network.
Although this is a great idea that has many benefits that it could provide for the public in terms of transportation there are also a lot of drawbacks that it will bring. Security being one of the main concerns as there is the threat of the aircraft being hacked or midair collisions.
The importance of good communication will be important mainly in the digital side of things. There needs to be efficient and secure communication between whatever server is being used as a control station and the individual aircraft. Also, clear communication of the dangers that can be associated with using this mode of transportation will need to be adequately explained to the customers of this mode of transportation failure to explain the risks that can come with this could result in lawsuits that could severely affect the company in question or the concept as a whole.

On January 23, Boeing tested its new air taxi prototype. For the planes first flight it only used its four electrically driven rotors to lift the plane vertically off of the ground. It is similar to how a drone or helicopter would take off as it is equipped with skids and no wheels. Once off the ground the vehicle would be propelled forward by a single propeller on the back. The total time for this test flight lasted under a minute but it was a success for the Boeing team as their prototype was able to lift off. During this short time the on board autonomous system was briefly tested. This vehicle was originally only a design but within a year it became reality with the working prototype. The plane is completely electrically driven and is expected to get a range of 50 miles with a top speed of 150 mph off of one battery charge. It is designed for short trips around a city like a taxi or an Uber without having to go through traffic. Boeing has partnered with Uber’s Elevate program who has plans to be operating air taxis in major cities like Dallas and Los Angeles within four years.

The FAA has had some concerns with communication as the plane is autonomous. Since there is no pilot flying this vehicle it can be considered a safety hazard as it will be flying overtop of highly populated areas. The article did not mention if it is capable of handling other air traffic and if it would be able to avoid other aircrafts. Boeing’s air taxi has raised additional questions of how ATC will handle an autonomous vehicle. As of right now this technology is years away from becoming reality and by then we might have answers to all of these questions.

https://www.wired.com/story/boeing-air-taxi-uber/

On Sunday, January 20, a United Airlines 777 aircraft flying from Newark Liberty international Airport bound for Hong Kong had to divert to Goose Bay, Canada due to a passenger with a medical emergency. The patient was sent to a local hospital for treatment and when the aircraft was about to taxi for takeoff, there was a mechanical problem with the aircraft which left all passengers and crew stranded on the plane for 16 hours. Due to Goose Bay being so small, there were no customs officials to check the passengers and crew in to Canada. This meant that all crew had to spend the night on the aircraft. The next day buses started to arrive but could only take 16 people at a time which made for a very lengthy process. Passengers started to complain about running out of food and water as well. In an interview with one of the passengers he also said that there was a very large gap in communication between the airline, aircrew, passengers, and the people at the airport in Goose Bay, Canada. He thought it was absolutely ridiculous that there could not have been more support for him and his fellow passengers stuck on that plane. He also said that they were left in the dark for ten to twelve hours on what the plan was to accommodate for all these stranded passengers. They had finally coordinated a bus plan that would start in the night but that somehow got pushed back to the morning when daylight came. United Airlines’ response to the incident is that they ere going to send another plane to Goose Bay to fly all the stranded passengers back to Newark Liberty International Airport. United believes that the problem came from the extremely cold temperatures that prevented the aircraft from closing the door properly. United has taken a lot of hits in the past few years with different incidents that can possibly damage their reputation and reliability. It’s only a matter of time until which straw breaks the camel’s back.

Project Blue Angle has been investigating a aircraft wreck near Papua New Guinea for the past months. The aircraft is thought to be that of the famous Amelia Earhart. Much of the aircraft that has been brought up from the ocean has been found to match those of Earhart’s aircraft.

The fact that it is still unsure even now in 2019 of where Earhart went down goes to show how far communication has come. Back in her day if she had the communication technology we have today, she would have been able to be found to an exact point. Yet with no way to say where she was, or even that she was going down when she did, it has been a mystery of what happened to her.

Aircraft wreck site points to Amelia Earhart’s lost plane

Howdy! My name is Barrett Gardner, I’m a Air Transportation major and hoping to follow the pilot track to get my CFI. I am originally from Dallas, Texas, which played a huge part in my love for aviation. As Dallas is the main hub for American Airlines my mother worked for them for twelve years, which allowed my family to be able to travel the world for free through non-reving. All of this travel instilled a love of flying into me from a young age. The things that other people dreaded when it came to flying, going through security, connecting flights, etc, were all things I loved. These seemingly minute tasks that most people hate, I enjoy. Racing with my family to see who can be ready through security first, getting to see a new airport for the first time. This love of travel and flying lead me to the only job I have ever wanted, to be a pilot.

“Wanderlust” is defined as a strong desire to travel and I believe the word describes me perfectly. Having been exposed to so many different places and so many different cultures all my life the idea of being tied down to a desk job in one city for the rest of my life terrifies me. To solve this conundrum I came to the Ohio State University and chose to study aviation. Following graduation I want to work as a CFI so that I can accumulate the hours I need to begun working for an airline and eventually working as an international pilot. Working as an international pilot would be my dream come true, I would get to fly and travel the world and just maybe I’d get to fly the plane for a little boy or girl that has a little wanderlust in them.