The Role Of Human Factors In Unmanned Aircraft System Mishaps

The goal of the present study was to identify common human factors (HF) contributions to mishaps and to identify areas where technological improvements may help mitigate these factors. With the push toward integration of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) into the National Airspace (NAS), safety in UAS operation becomes an increasingly pertinent issue. Mishaps in UAS operation are unfortunately a serious barrier to safety. Ninety-nine mishap reports were reviewed and classified according to the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS). Based on the findings, current and emerging technologies were reviewed to identify those that could be implemented to help avoid similar future mishaps. Results revealed two major trends in failures leading to mishaps. The first trend was a prevalence of procedural and checklist-related errors, which could be prevented by implementing smart electronic checklist and automated landing technologies. The second trend involved failures in decision-making and conditions that led to insufficient situational awareness (due to the availability and presentation of information to operators). Such failures could be prevented by implementing automated visualization technologies, technologies that appropriately leverage other human sensory modalities like haptic and auditory channels in certain situations as well as high fidelity simulation technologies that could be utilized during training (e.g., to simulate uncommon circumstances) to help counteract the high training specificity of procedural information, which is so common in many aspects of manned and unmanned aviation