Handover Between Air Traffic Control Department by Type C Message Based on MH/T 4029.3 Standard

Air traffic control is an important tool to ensure the safety of civil aviation. For the departments that do the work of air traffic control, reducing the percentage of unsafe event is the core task of safety management. If the relationship between the percentage of unsafe event and their influencing factors can be effectively clarified, then the probability of unsafe event in some control department can be predicted. So, it is of great importance to improve the level of safety management. To quantitatively estimate the probability of unsafe event, a three-layer BP neural network model is introduced in this paper. First, a probabilistic representation of unsafe event related to air traffic control department is made, and then, the probability of different classes of unsafe events and safe events is taken as the outputs of the BP neural network, the factors influencing occurrence of unsafe event connected with air traffic control is taken as inputs, and the sigmoid function is chosen as activation function for the hidden layer. Based on the error function of neural network, it is proved that the general BP neural network has two drawbacks when used for the training of small probability events, which are as follows: the pattern does not ensure that the sum of probability of all events is equal to one and the relative error between the actual outputs and desired outputs is very large after the training of neural network. The reason proved in this paper is that the occurrence rate of the unsafe event is much smaller than that of the safe event, resulting in each weight in the hide layer being subjected to the desired outputs of the safe event when using the gradient descent method for network training. To address this issue, a new mapping method is put forward to reduce the large difference of the desired outputs between the safe event and unsafe event. It is theoretically proved that the mapping method proposed in this paper can not only improve the training accuracy but also ensure that the sum of probability is equal to one. Finally, a numeric example is given to demonstrate that the method proposed in this paper is effective and feasible.

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THE USE OF THE ANALYTIC HIERARCHY PROCESS FOR ADMISSION TO AN AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL DEPARTMENT

International Journal of the Analytic Hierarchy Process ◽

10.13033/ijahp.v10i1.503 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Mustafa Özdemir ◽

Müjgan Sağır Özdemir

Keyword(s):

Analytic Hierarchy Process ◽

Traffic Control ◽

Air Traffic Control ◽

Selection Process ◽

Air Traffic ◽

Analytic Hierarchy ◽

Control Department ◽

The Analytic Hierarchy Process ◽

Hierarchy Process ◽

Selection Of

Meeting the need for qualified staff in the field of air traffic control depends primarily on selection of appropriate candidates among many applicants. The selection of competent air traffic controllers, who play a vital role in the air traffic system, is of critical importance and is usually conducted through multi-stage examinations. It is also important to use correct methods in the selection process in order to identify the most suitable candidates. In particular, the application of subjective examinations, such as interviews in a standard way, and determination and standardization of criteria can assist in selecting the right candidates. Within this context, the student selection process in an air traffic control department is investigated, with the aim of supporting the interview examination through the Analytic Hierarchy Process. The criteria weighting is determined by expert opinion. Thirty-nine candidates are ranked according to the AHP, with the current and proposed rankings being compared. As a result, the ranking has changed significantly with the proposed approach.

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Workload Perception of Air Traffic Control Officers and Pilots During Continuous Descent Operations Approach Procedures

Aviation Psychology and Applied Human Factors ◽

10.1027/2192-0923/a000154 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 2-11

Author(s):

Marina Efthymiou ◽

Frank Fichert ◽

Olaf Lantzsch

Keyword(s):

Fuel Consumption ◽

Traffic Control ◽

Air Traffic Control ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Air Traffic ◽

Reduce Fuel Consumption ◽

Total Load ◽

Open Path

Abstract. The paper examines the workload perceived by air traffic control officers (ATCOs) and pilots during continuous descent operations (CDOs), applying closed- and open-path procedures. CDOs reduce fuel consumption and noise emissions. Therefore, they are supported by airports as well as airlines. However, their use often depends on pilots asking for CDOs and controllers giving approval and directions. An adapted NASA Total Load Index (TLX) was used to measure the workload perception of ATCOs and pilots when applying CDOs at selected European airports. The main finding is that ATCOs’ workload increased when giving both closed- and open-path CDOs, which may have a negative impact on their willingness to apply CDOs. The main problem reported by pilots was insufficient distance-to-go information provided by ATCOs. The workload change is important when considering the use of CDOs.

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How to Evaluate Remote Tower Metrics in Connection With Weather Observations

Aviation Psychology and Applied Human Factors ◽

10.1027/2192-0923/a000142 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 100-111 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Maik Friedrich ◽

Christoph Möhlenbrink

Keyword(s):

Traffic Control ◽

Air Traffic Control ◽

Influential Factors ◽

Air Traffic ◽

Weather Event ◽

Evaluation Of Performance ◽

Weather Events ◽

Weather Observations ◽

Validation Experiment ◽

Remote Controller

Abstract. Owing to the different approaches for remote tower operation, a standardized set of indicators is needed to evaluate the technical implementations at a task performance level. One of the most influential factors for air traffic control is weather. This article describes the influence of weather metrics on remote tower operations and how to validate them against each other. Weather metrics are essential to the evaluation of different remote controller working positions. Therefore, weather metrics were identified as part of a validation at the Erfurt-Weimar Airport. Air traffic control officers observed weather events at the tower control working position and the remote control working position. The eight participating air traffic control officers answered time-synchronized questionnaires at both workplaces. The questionnaires addressed operationally relevant weather events in the aerodrome. The validation experiment targeted the air traffic control officer’s ability to categorize and judge the same weather event at different workplaces. The results show the potential of standardized indicators for the evaluation of performance and the importance of weather metrics in relation to other evaluation metrics.

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