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Abstract

This study examined environmental situation awareness issues associated with accidents and incidents involving civil and public use unmanned aircraft systems operating in the National Airspace System. The data were derived from an information synthesis of archival publically available reports from the FAA Preliminary Reports of Unmanned Aircraft System Accidents and Incidents database, as recorded in the Aviation Safety Information and Analysis Sharing system. Some type of environmental situation awareness was an issue in 13 of the 274 accident and incidents examined, with navigation situation awareness as the most prevalent issue followed by lesser frequencies of weather, terrain, and altitude situation awareness related events. The identification of the types of environmental situation awareness issues associated with accidents and incidents provided insights for consideration when developing technology and training for unmanned aircraft systems.

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Situation Awareness Issues in Unmanned Aircraft Systems Accidents and Incidents

Abstract

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