Current status of UAVS

UAVs, also commonly been called as drone, is firstly a military technology that commonly uses for capture image around the world for national defense issues. UAVs technology Is now currently developed into civilian uses. The civilian uses are usually image captures purpose, for example farming, movie filming, news reporting, photograph, real state. Also there are package or mail delivery service operating by using drones.(Techworld, 2016) The development of the civilian uses is causing a significant increase in the number of drone operators. However as the uses of UAVs are significant growing, there is more safety concern rising regarding the operation of UAVs. According to FAA official website. There are different rule according to different model and different uses. For hobby and recreational uses, the aircraft need no be registered if it’s weigh under 55 pounds and operating height under 500 feet. However UAVs operation is strictly banned form operating in a flight path or location close to an airport (FAA, 2015) For business uses, there are several different kinds of certificate need to be applied which includes Special Airworthiness certificates, UAS type and airworthiness certificates and petition for Exemption with a civil Certificate of Waiver or Authorization. However operating UAVs during a special sports event, airshow or any populated area need further special approval from FAA.(FAA,2015)

I do see UAV is integrating with national airspace, because some of the operators are lack of knowledge of rules and regulation regarding operation of UAVs, in terms of altitude and weight limitations, and location of operating. It is also very hard to enforce the violations since they could be operating anywhere anytime. Also the technology develops, the UAVs technology should becoming more common and the number of operator should be keep on growing, there will be more violation happens around the U.S which might potentially causing hazard. FAA should widely inform the rules and more education should be done.

According to the article posted by Drone study center at Bard College. As the development of technology became more advanced. The U.S military had been switching into “Stand off” strategy. The U.S military is investing heavily on long range precision weapon such as long range missile and precision guild munitions, so that the military could reduce amount of ground troop that is deployed to the battle few and fight for the war in the distance. As the article also mentions that drone is a revolutionary invention for “stand off” weapons embodying the best of long-range precision strike and reconnaissance ideals. (Gettinger, 2013) the “stand off” strategy will significantly reduce the lost of life during a battle, in economic point of view it is worth it to put investment to avoid putting troop life into danger.

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Reference

15 best uses of drones in business. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.techworld.com/picture-gallery/personal-tech/6-best-uses-of-drones-in-business-3605145/ 

Gettinger, D. (2013). Are Drones Revolutionary? Retrieved from http://dronecenter.bard.edu/drones-revolutionary/ 

 Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Frequently Asked Questions. (Dec, 2015). Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/uas/faq/#qn2 

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Cargo Pilots Fatigue

The FAA announce an improvement on pilots fatigue rules after the accident of Colgan Air3407, to improve the safety of the operation and the fatigue of the pilots, one of the change is the minimum rest hour of the pilot will be increase from 8hour to 10hour. (FAA, 2011) The allowable length of a flight duty is also adjusted according to the beginning time of the flight and number of the segment, which is in a range of 9-14 hours. Also limited the flight time of 8-9 hours of the pilot’s duty period. (FAA, 2011)

According to the FAA website and U.S government publish website, I have found the operation requirement for both the flag operation and supplemental operation, and tried the difference between these 2 requirements, clearly the operation requirement for the flag operation is more strict and detailed compare to the supplemental operation. For example for the flag operators there is a rule states “No pilot may fly more than 32 hours during any seven consecutive days, and each pilot must be relieved from all duty for at least 24 consecutive hours at least once during any seven consecutive days”(ECFR, 2016) however this rule can’t be find in supplemental operation. For the supplemental pilot it only states that” Each certificate holder conducting supplemental operations shall relieve each pilot from all duty for at least 24 consecutive hours at least once during any seven consecutive days.”(ECFR, 2016)  Furthermore there are requirements for flag operation that the rest period need to be given to pilot who is continuously flying for more than 8 hours, however in cargo operation the pilot can continue flying for more than 8 hours but less than 10 hours without resting period if the aircraft meets certain requirements(ECFR, 2016).

According to the FAA statement, “Covering cargo operators under the new rule would be too costly compared to the benefits generated in this portion of the industry”(FAA, 2011) Which show that FAA thinks that it is less beneficial for cargo operation comparing to the passengers operation, and they think it is too costly. I think one of t the safety requirement is not as high as passenger operation mainly because there are no life on board, that’s why they have a higher standard for safety it is mainly due to the value of life, and they don’t feel like change rule for cargos, and cargos might generate lesser profit compare to passenger, so that they don’t want to enforce the cargo operator to follow the rules.

I think Cargo operation should be included into the new rules, firstly I think the life of the pilots is the same no matter if they are transporting passenger or cargo, the rule will be forcing cargo operators to follow the rule and give more rest period for the cargo pilots. As well know fatigue is one of the hazard of the aviation safety. This hazard should be eliminated regardless if they pilots are transporting passengers or cargo. Also cargo planes mostly operates at night time and the equipment is more aged, so they need more attention, fatigue could cause more hazard to cargo pilots than passenger pilots.

For me as a future manager I think it is there would be some impact for me, if I am working for cargo operators in the future, the first impact I would think is a significant increase a cost which means managers need to hire more pilots for the same amount of hours. The company might stress manager to cut budget or save cost in elsewhere, However as a manager I would think the safety is priority concern for the aviation industry, I still support that cargo operator should be following the rule as well.

Reference

Press Release – FAA Issues Final Rule on Pilot Fatigue. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.faa.gov/news/press_releases/news_story.cfm?newsId=13272

ECFR 121.503. (n.d.). Retrieved February 09, 2016, from http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=5d27eb1f0c982be9486a3665a87be155

ECFR PART121.481. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=5d27eb1f0c982be9486a3665a87be155 

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Third Class Medical Reform

According to the article on Aviation Week, medical reform includes that new pilot’swill only need to obtain FAA medical certification one time to establish benchmark of their health, instead of repeating the visit to an examiner. And any pilots currently having the medical within 10 years can also meet thecondition.(McMillin, 2015) Instead of going to see the FAA examiner, they can also to do health test online and see a personal doctor, and recording onto the log book. According to General Aviation News, the agenda of the medical reform is to “reduce barriers to medicalcertification in a manner that allows for the continued safe operation ofgeneral aviation aircraft while providing cost savings to both the FAA and thegeneral aviation community” (General Aviation News, 2015) As we can see it is beneficial to both pilot community and the FAA, pilots will be required to visit examiner much lesser than it required before. However the reform of the medication need to be ensure the safety, efficiency and standard of aviation.

According to the an article on AOPA, The Pilots’ Bill of Rights 2 was passed by the end of 2015, however there are still . According Elizabeth Tennyson, the Senior Director of communication of AOPA, she states that the current extension of FAA fund willbe expired in March 31 which leaving limited time for the house and senate tosend to the president.(Tennyson, 2016) However the FAA might file a father extension. For her article, as we can see that it is very hard to estimate when will the reform actually happening. It takes a lot of time to get everything approved since a lot of oppose voice might be rise by the difference side of the society. there are still a lot of consideration need to be process before the actual reform happens. 

As one of the aspect is to reduce the visit the FAA examiner, the pilot can able to do the simple exams online and also visit a personal health inspector and put the health record onto their log books. (McMillin, 2015) To pro of the aspect is to reduce the cost of the pilot for visiting the FAA certified examiner which might be very costly to the pilots. However oppose side, it is difficult to maintain the standard, as the responsibility of the exam will be moved from FAA certified examiner to the personal physician that he pilot found, is it hard to tell if the personal physician is doing the right job that meets the FAA standard, and the honesty of the pilot might be challenged since pilot might be able to hide some of their health conditions.

For me personally I support the reform and I think it is necessary, only if the cost of the reform will be lesser than the benefits, and the safety standard can be maintained. Since it is a cost saving for both FAA and the pilots, and it will be more flexible for the pilots and reduce a lot of process. Since most private pilot flies for their own leisure instead of commercial flying, It is alright to give  some responsibilities for private pilot to keep impact their own health condition, FAA should come out with a plan that how would they maintain the standard and inspection of the log book that records the pilot’s health condition.  

Reference

GA advocates urge Congress to support medical reform. (2015). Retrieved from http://generalaviationnews.com/2015/11/17/ga-advocates-urge-congress-to-support-medical-reform/

Millin, M. (2015, December 11). Third-Class Medical Reform Moves To Senate. Retrieved from http://aviationweek.com/awinbizav/third-class-medical-reform-moves-senate      

           

            Tennyson, E. (2016, January 14). Next steps for medical reform. Retrieved from http://www.aopa.org/News-and-Video/All-News/2016/January/14/Next-steps-for-medical-reform 

Pilots and Depression

The main focus had been moved on to the co-pilot in command Andreas Lubitz after the black box footage had been recover, which can be clearly identified captain’s voice screaming at the co-pilot to open the cockpit door. This evidence show that Andreas decided to lock the captain outside of the cockpit and intentionally dip the plane into the ground and killed 149 people on board.  A psychiatric diagnosis could explain why Andreas decided to brought down the plane. The evidence shows that Andreas did not enclose his full medical to the company, which the policy of the company requires to report the condition that might affect flight safety. The German investigator did not find any death or religious related notes(NY time, 2015), however according to the German Aviation office, the medical certification that Andreas currently have allows him to fly but does not specially state that he is currently having mentally illness. However the German investigator contacted Düsseldorf University Hospital(NY time, 2015), which  states that Andrea had receiving treatments however The hospital refused to give further details due to patient’s privacy.

December 19, 1997 Silk Air flight 185 was departed from Jakarta Indonesia to Singapore. Just half an hours after the plane took off, at the altitude of 35000 feets, without any notice the plane start dipping to the group, and crashed into Musi River in Indonesia, all 104 crews and passenger was been killed. Which include a Singaporean captain Mr. Tsu and a New Zealand nationality co-pilot Duncan Word. NTSB was involve into the investigation of the accident because the aircraft involve into the accident was a U.S made Boeing 737-300, and there was 5 U.S citizen been killed in the accident. NTSB discovered the cockpit voice recorder was intentionally deactivated, which did not record any information, however during the back ground check ofthe pilot, NTSB founds out the captain Mr.Tsu was straggling a major financial crisisand a significant lose in the stock market (WSJ,1998), which they believe causes significant mentally stress to the captain. At the final report, the NTSB conclude by the captain Tsu, intentionally crash the aircraft. It was a pilot suicide case, however there are not any medical reported of captain Tsu was filed into his company.   

Prior the German wing accident, the significance of the impact of mental health issue was not fully aware by the pilot within the pilot population, until the tragedy happens, people starting focusing on the issues, some of the companies has arranged diagnoses and exams for the pilots. According to ICAO’s manual ofCivil Aviation, there is a detailed guidance related to psychiatric illness,mood personality and behavior disorders, stress, sleep.(Aviation week, 2015) I would recommend companies and individuals to review the guideline. Also, the current system might focused on self-reporting system, which recommend the pilot to file their own medical condition, due to the privacy issue, the FAA mighthave limited access to a pilot’s personal medical record ( Aviation Week, 2015) . I believe in this case safety could overtake privacy, FAA should be given rights to access to personal mental health record to ensure the safety of the industry.

According to the FAA’s website for the first class Airlines Transport pilots, nodiagnosis of psychosis or bipolar disorder or severe personality disorders areallowed(FAA, 2006), any of these will result in revoke of medication certification. Which mean the pilot might not be allow to fly if any of those diagnosis showed up on their medical record. This is the significant reasons that stop pilot from reporting their medical condition. As I mentioned, for FAA the biggest challenge is debating between safety and privacy, if it is appropriate to access personal health record to unsure safety. And it is very difficult FAA set up a clear standard which kind of mental illness will affect the safety of aviation, , not only FAA but also the medical and science filed are finding it hard to evaluate some of the diagnosis. FAA should also publish some guild line if a pilot been discovered with a mental health issue, what process whey should have gone through to earn their medication certification back.

For the Airline company perspective, they should support their employees to not to hide their mental health condition. Most of the pilots are worried about they will be banned from flying and affect their certification. In this case, the company might able to come out with some alternate arrangement for the pilot, for example, they can be simulator instructor. So that it would keep them away from their jobs. Also the airline company should educate the pilot of what are the impact and safety issue of the mental illness, which can help them to rise their awareness, the airlines company should also have plan to support their treatment. Also the airlines should review the IATA medical guide line during their pilots training program. 

Reference 

 Eddy, M., Bilefsky, D., & Clark, N. (2015). Co-Pilot in Germanwings Crash Hid Mental Illness From Employer, Authorities Say. Retrieved January 22, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/28/world/europe/germanwings-crash-andreas-lubitz.html?_r=0 

 Editorial: Keep An Open Mind On Pilots' Mental Health. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22, 2016, from http://aviationweek.com/commercial-aviation/editorial-keep-open-mind-pilots-mental-health

 Guide for Aviation Medical Examiners. (2006, April 3). Retrieved January 22, 2016, from https://www.faa.gov/about/office_org/headquarters_offices/avs/offices/aam/ame/guide/standards/ 

 

 How do airlines screen pilots for mental health issues? (2015). Retrieved January 22, 2016, from http://fortune.com/2015/03/26/pilots-mental-health-screening/

 Was the SilkAir Crash an Accident Or Simply the Pilot's Death Wish? (1998, March 10). Retrieved January 25, 2016, from http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB889465443924232500

 

 

ATC Privatization

The current ATC system is managing and control by the FAA, it is mainly based on connecting the routes by VOR point and control the aircrafts by radar system. The next generation ATC system will be a huge improvement, the System will be modernized by using Global positioning system built on reliable satellite based navigation (Global Business Travel Association). The Next generation ATC system will be more fast and efficient with a bigger capacity to handle more traffic, which can able to reduce delays, and improves on time performance of some major hub airports. According to the Global business Travel Association, the new system will be able to reduce the delay by 35% and provides $23 billion in delay reduction benefits. (Global Business Travel Association). The new system will also helps to reduce fuel consumption, emission, noise pollution. Overall the the new system will be providing a lot more benefits comparing to the current system.


There are different voices speaking towards the ATC privatization , Some organization supports privatization, however some opposes it. The CEO of The Nation Business Aviation Association which represents private jet operator, Ed Bolen was speaking representing his 10,000 fellow member and make sure their voice to be heard.(NBAA). They think that the ATC will be affecting the entire public instead of Airline operators. It is too costly for the next generation system, and it will directly affect their operation cost which includes user fees.  However there are some large operators for example American Airlines supports the privatization, as they think the process of upgrading the current system will be much faster if it is privatized. The CEO of American airlines says. "We are seeking a transformational change to the way that the air=traffic control system is financed and governed" ( USA today, 2015) As we can see the funding and cost are the main problems of modernization, SomeLarger operators think that the benefit of privatization is larger than the cost, and they are seeking for the transformation. however some small operators think it would be too costly"

Other countries for example Canada is currently privatizing the ATC system. The private cooperation called NAV is an non-government organization overseeing the ATC system in Canada, which is founded 1996 in Ottawa. Canada has the world 3rd busiest Air traffic in the world, and they currently complete the upgrade of the next generation ATC system (AIN online 2015) which is running by far most efficient ATC system. The funding of the organization is mainly coming from the bank liability and which is currently paying back by charges using fee from the operator. As the president of the organization Kozlow mentions that " We do borrow money and we gat tat back in service charge"( AIN Oline, 2015).

According to my research the current Authorization of ATC program was assign to FAA in the FAA Modernization ACT 2012, the current authorization was expired in September 2012. The congress have rights to make the final decision if the ATC system should be privatilizaed.The congress will have to make ashort term extension (center of America Progress May,2015)  of the current act, until the the final decision been made. In my own opinion, one of the important steps of the conversion is to form the new organization that will be overseeing the ATC systems. The next step is to collect funding to run the organization. According to my research on the Center of American Progress, the initial funding might be highly possible coming from the AATF, Airport and Airway Trust fund. which is initially 16 billion dollar. The fund is capitalized from aviation taxation. Before the final decision been made, the congress might also have to hear to consider difference voices from the opponent.

In my own opinion I'm strongly supporting the ATC privatization. As the privatization will be speeding up the modernization of the next generation ATC system. The new system will be able to increase the safety and efficiency of aviation system in the United State, which is the ultimate goal of everyone who involved in the industry. Also personally, as an international student in U.S, it is frustrating to see FAA is only providing job opportunity to U.S citizen only. Since, ATC will be privatized,  it would be highly possible that there will be more opportunity opens to non U.S citizen students who will be qualified for the jobs.

APA Reference.

 2015 Press Releases. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2016, from https://www.nbaa.org/news/pr/2015/20150625-062.php

 4 Essential Questions About Air Traffic Control Privatization. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17, 2016, from https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/report/2015/05/05/112406/4-essential-questions-about-air-traffic-control-privatization/ 

 Airline executives urge privatization of air-traffic control. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2016.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2015/12/01/airline-executives-urge-privatization-air-traffic-control/76604766/

 Canada's Private ATC System Offers Alternative for Cost-cutting Nations. (n.d.). Retrieved January 17, 2016, from http://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/aviation-international-news/2012-01-01/canadas-private-atc-system-offers-alternative-cost-cutting-nations 

 NextGen – Air Traffic Control Modernization. (n.d.). Retrieved January 15, 2016, from https://www.gbta.org/usa/governmentrelations/Pages/NextGen–AirTrafficControlModernization.aspx