Pilots' Estimation of Altitude of a Small Unmanned Aircraft System

2018Final report; June 2018PDFTech ReportDOT/FAA/TC-18/23DOT-VNTSC-FAA-18-0351FA0IB700Drone aircraftAltitudeLine of sightVisual perceptionAir pilotsField testsSmall UASSmall unmanned aircraft systemsAltitude estimationGround observerMassachusettsJohn A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)Lennertz, TracySparko, Andrea L.Cardosi, KimLu, JasonYost, AlanKendra, AndrewSheridan, ThomasJohn A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (U.S.)United States. Federal Aviation Administration. Emerging Technologies (AIV-0)NTL-AVIATION-AVIATIONNTL-AVIATION-Aviation Human FactorsVolpe National Transportation Systems Center, Technical Reference CenterSmall unmanned aircraft system (sUAS) operations are growing at a rapid rate. Currently, the FAA permits both hobbyist and commercial operations; for commercial operations, the sUAS must generally be flown under 400 feet. We examined the ability of commercial and hobbyist sUAS pilots to estimate the altitude of their ownship during a realistic flying task. Participants were instructed to fly a DJI Phantom 4 Pro sUAS to three prescribed altitudes: 50 feet, 200 feet, and 350 feet from its starting point and take a photo of a target. Results indicated that participants\u2019 altitude estimates were below the prescribed altitude of 50 feet 52% of the time, and they were below prescribed altitudes of 200 feet and 350 feet 89% of the time. Performance did not differ between hobbyist and commercial pilots. Variability in absolute and barometric measurements of altitude was also observed. The results suggest that sUAS pilots are poor at judging the altitude of their ownship, especially at higher altitudes. The variability in performance and altitude measurements indicates that pilots need a reliable and standard way to measure the altitude of their ownship