How to Enhance Safety of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations in National Airspace Systems
The rapid growth of small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUASs) has raised some safety concerns when sUASs enter the national airspace. As sUASs interact with traditional manned aircraft within this airspace, guaranteeing their safe operations has emerged as a top priority for aviation authorities, poli...
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MDPI AG
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Drones |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/8/12/774 |
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| author | Dothang Truong Sang-A Lee Trong Nguyen |
| author_facet | Dothang Truong Sang-A Lee Trong Nguyen |
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| description | The rapid growth of small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUASs) has raised some safety concerns when sUASs enter the national airspace. As sUASs interact with traditional manned aircraft within this airspace, guaranteeing their safe operations has emerged as a top priority for aviation authorities, policymakers, and industry stakeholders. To address this challenge, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has introduced waiver rules, empowering operators to navigate deviations from specific regulations under well-defined circumstances. Additionally, the FAA developed proposed rulemakings to seek input on how to enhance safety and address risks associated with sUAS operations. The primary question is: How do these current waiver rules and rulemakings align with the Safety Management System (SMS), and what changes are needed for better alignment? The main purpose of this paper is to compare the FAA’s sUAS safety requirements, particularly waiver rules and rulemakings, with the SMS’s safety risk management component to identify alignments and gaps between them. A qualitative data analysis was conducted using three FAA waiver trend analyses and five Notice of Proposed Rulemakings (NPRMs) for sUASs. The results revealed that most sUAS waiver rules and rulemakings sufficiently align with the first three components of the SRM framework (system analysis, identify hazards, and analyze safety risk). However, there are significant gaps in the last two components (assess safety risk and control safety risk). The findings of this study make significant contributions to the sUAS safety management literature. They enable both the FAA and sUAS organizations to promote uniform operational protocols, training initiatives, and risk mitigation approaches tailored to sUAS operations. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-bcbfc32958564cd691de6bd3e80c6211 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2504-446X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-bcbfc32958564cd691de6bd3e80c62112025-08-20T02:00:37ZengMDPI AGDrones2504-446X2024-12-0181277410.3390/drones8120774How to Enhance Safety of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations in National Airspace SystemsDothang Truong0Sang-A Lee1Trong Nguyen2School of Graduate Studies, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL 32114, USASchool of Graduate Studies, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL 32114, USADepartment of Aviation Science and Management, Middle Georgia State University, Macon, GA 31206, USAThe rapid growth of small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUASs) has raised some safety concerns when sUASs enter the national airspace. As sUASs interact with traditional manned aircraft within this airspace, guaranteeing their safe operations has emerged as a top priority for aviation authorities, policymakers, and industry stakeholders. To address this challenge, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has introduced waiver rules, empowering operators to navigate deviations from specific regulations under well-defined circumstances. Additionally, the FAA developed proposed rulemakings to seek input on how to enhance safety and address risks associated with sUAS operations. The primary question is: How do these current waiver rules and rulemakings align with the Safety Management System (SMS), and what changes are needed for better alignment? The main purpose of this paper is to compare the FAA’s sUAS safety requirements, particularly waiver rules and rulemakings, with the SMS’s safety risk management component to identify alignments and gaps between them. A qualitative data analysis was conducted using three FAA waiver trend analyses and five Notice of Proposed Rulemakings (NPRMs) for sUASs. The results revealed that most sUAS waiver rules and rulemakings sufficiently align with the first three components of the SRM framework (system analysis, identify hazards, and analyze safety risk). However, there are significant gaps in the last two components (assess safety risk and control safety risk). The findings of this study make significant contributions to the sUAS safety management literature. They enable both the FAA and sUAS organizations to promote uniform operational protocols, training initiatives, and risk mitigation approaches tailored to sUAS operations.https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/8/12/774small Unmanned Aircraft SystemSafety Management System (SMS)safety risk managementwaiver rulesNotice of Proposed Rulemakingsqualitative study |
| spellingShingle | Dothang Truong Sang-A Lee Trong Nguyen How to Enhance Safety of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations in National Airspace Systems Drones small Unmanned Aircraft System Safety Management System (SMS) safety risk management waiver rules Notice of Proposed Rulemakings qualitative study |
| title | How to Enhance Safety of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations in National Airspace Systems |
| title_full | How to Enhance Safety of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations in National Airspace Systems |
| title_fullStr | How to Enhance Safety of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations in National Airspace Systems |
| title_full_unstemmed | How to Enhance Safety of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations in National Airspace Systems |
| title_short | How to Enhance Safety of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Operations in National Airspace Systems |
| title_sort | how to enhance safety of small unmanned aircraft systems operations in national airspace systems |
| topic | small Unmanned Aircraft System Safety Management System (SMS) safety risk management waiver rules Notice of Proposed Rulemakings qualitative study |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2504-446X/8/12/774 |
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