Aviation Human Factors Related Industry News

Long Term Exposure to Aircraft Noise Linked to High Blood Pressure

Long term exposure to aircraft noise, particularly during the night, is linked to an increased risk of developing high blood pressure and possibly heart flutter and stroke as well, suggests research published online in Occupational & Environmental Medicine.

The research team drew on data from 420 people living near Athens International Airport in Greece, where up to 600 planes take off and land every day.

They formed one of six groups of people living near six large European airports who had taken part in the HYENA study, which assessed the potential health impacts of aircraft noise in 2004-6.

The aircraft and road traffic noise exposure levels estimated for their postcodes at that time – less than 50 decibels to more than 60 dB – were used for the current study in 2013.

Daytime aircraft noise was defined as that occurring between 07.00 and 23.00 hours, and that occurring between 23.00 and 07.00 hours was defined as night-time aircraft noise.

Around half of the participants (just under 49%) were exposed to more than 55 dB of daytime aircraft noise, while around one in four (just over 27%) were exposed to more than 45 dB of night-time aircraft noise. Only around one in 10 (11%) were exposed to significant road traffic noise of more than 55 dB.

Between 2004-6 and 2013, 71 people were newly diagnosed with high blood pressure and 44 were diagnosed with heart flutter (cardiac arrhythmia). A further 18 had a heart attack.

Exposure to aircraft noise, particularly at night, was associated with all cases of high blood pressure, and with new cases.

When all cases of high blood pressure were included, every additional 10 dB of night-time aircraft noise was associated with a 69% heightened risk of the condition. When only new cases were included, every additional 10 dB was associated with a more than doubling in risk.

Exposure to night-time aircraft noise was also associated with a doubling in risk of heart flutter diagnosed by a doctor, but this only reached statistical significance when all cases, not just new ones, were included in the calculations.

A heightened risk of stroke was similarly linked to increasing aircraft noise exposure, but this was not statistically significant, possibly because of the small number of cases involved, suggest the researchers.

The associations between road traffic noise and ill health were much weaker and less consistent, the findings showed.

This is one of the first long term follow-up studies of aircraft noise so it’s not possible to draw conclusions about cause and effect at this stage until more evidence/studies become available, say the researchers.

They point out that they were unable to look at specific causes of death among the 78 people who died between 2004-6 and 2013. The numbers studied were also relatively small, and it wasn’t possible to account for the potential effects of air pollution.

Nevertheless, a growing body of evidence links noise exposure to ill health, they emphasize.

TED – Ideas Worth Spreading How I Built a Jet Suit

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Aviation Technologies to Offer Online Bachelor’s Degree

The Southern Illinois University at Carbondale will offer an online bachelor’s degree specialization in aviation maintenance management this fall.

The online program is for graduates of 2-year aviation maintenance technician schools, avionics, and other aviation-related programs who already are working in the field, and gives students an opportunity to earn a bachelor’s degree in aviation technologies, Karen Johnson, associate professor in the Department of Aviation Technologies, said. Students will be able to use previous coursework from accredited institutions in addition to work experience as required credit hours.

Classes will begin with the fall 2017 semester in August. It is possible, based on a student’s own pace, applicable credit hours, and work experience, to earn the bachelor’s degree in 1 year, Johnson said.

The online offering is the first for aviation technologies and SIU’s aviation program, Michael Burgener, aviation technologies department chair, said. Aviation program faculty will teach the courses.

“This new program in aviation technologies will allow aircraft technicians working in industry to complete their Bachelor’s degree online while continuing in their careers,” Burgener said. “They don’t have to disrupt their lives by leaving work and enrolling in a traditional university program.”

Information on the program and courses is available online or by contacting Rachel Lee, academic adviser.

For additional information on the Department of Aviation Technologies program, visit their website:

http://aviation.siu.edu/technologies/program-and-degree-information/amm-onlinedegree.php%20

EASA Publishes Safety Info on Wake Vortex

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has recently published safety information bulletin SIB 2017-10 to remind pilots and air traffic controllers about the risks associated with wake turbulence encounters at high altitude and applicable precautionary measures.

“With the increase in overall volume of air traffic and enhanced navigation precision, wake turbulence encounters in the en route phase of flight have progressively become more frequent in the last few years,” the bulletin said.

The document comes just 6 months after a Bombardier Challenger 604 at FL340 was severely damaged and its occupants injured when it encountered wake turbulence 12 nm from an Airbus 380 that had passed overhead in the opposite direction at FL350. As the bulletin noted, the so-called “heavy” and “super heavy” aircraft—such as the Airbus 340 and 380 and Boeing 747—are more prone to generate stronger vortices, although there is also potential from other large aircraft types.

Considering the high operating airspeeds in cruise and the standard 1,000-foot vertical separation in RVSM airspace, EASA said that wake can be encountered up to 25 nm behind the generating airplane, but “the most significant encounters are reported within a distance of 15 nm.” The bulletin concludes with illustrations that show various scenarios of wake turbulence encounters and recommended avoidance techniques.

Please feel free to download the bulletin from: http://ea.ecn5.com/Clicks/ZHQ2WW91M0IxMTcxN3lHK1RtVU4yeUowTXNodXRsQi9xRURJWnpqRkdEcUtmNnFFS3c5eW1wSUJlS0s3YStMM1g0MzZKcWRYMjFoME9NdjE3dTBuMGc9PQ%3d%3d

FAA Seeking to Identify and Track Drones in Flight

Eventually, the recommendations the new Aviation Rulemaking Committee produces could help to pave the way for drone flights over people and beyond visual line of sight, FAA reported.

Saying that knowing the identity of whoever is flying a drone unsafely or somewhere it shouldn’t be flown is a critical question for law enforcement and homeland security, the Federal Aviation Administration is creating a new Aviation Rulemaking Committee that will help the agency create standards for remotely identifying and tracking unmanned aircraft in flight.

The committee hold its first meeting June 21–23 in Washington, D.C.

Currently, there are no established requirements or voluntary standards for electrically broadcasting information to identify an unmanned aircraft while it is in the air, FAA reported, adding that it is setting up the committee “to help protect the public and the National Airspace System from these ‘rogue’ drones.” It’s clearly a big committee, because FAA listed 73 organizations as confirmed members. They include the Air Line Pilots Association, the American Association of Airport Executives, AT&T, BNSF Railway, Ford Motor Company, the Helicopter Association International, Intel Corp., the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Governors Association, Qualcomm, SAE International, the Texas Department of Public Safety’s Aircraft Operations Division, Verizon, the New York City Police Department, and PrecisionHawk. FAA said the committee’s membership “represents a diverse variety of stakeholders, including the unmanned aircraft industry, the aviation community and industry member organizations, manufacturers, researchers, and standards groups.”

Its major tasks include:

• •
  Identify, categorize, and recommend available and emerging technologies for the remote identification and tracking of drones,
• •
  Identify requirements for meeting the security and public safety needs of law enforcement, homeland defense, and national security communities for remote identification and tracking,
• •
  Evaluate the feasibility and affordability of the available technical solutions and determine how well they address the needs of law enforcement and air traffic control communities,

“Eventually the recommendations it produces could help pave the way for drone flights over people and beyond visual line of sight,” FAA added.

For more information about the rulemaking committees, please view the FAA website:

https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/rulemaking/committees/documents/

Al “Blackie” Blackman, American Airlines

Celebrating Amelia Earhart’s Life and Legacy 120 Years Later

Women have been a vital part of the airline industry since the early 1900s, thanks to the brave female aviators who forged the way for women today to chase their aviation dreams.

On July 24, 1897, female pilot and aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart was born in Atchison, Kansas. It was there that the young pilot fostered her love of flying, including her first ‘flight’ with a homemade ramp and sled on a snowy day.

Fascinated with flight, Earhart began her flying lessons in 1921 with the help of Anita Snook, a fellow female pilot. Just over a year later in 1922, Earhart set a new world record for female pilots when her plane reached an altitude of 14,000 feet. In 1923, she became only the 16^th woman to earn her pilot’s license.

After embarking on a trip across the Atlantic with copilot Wilmer Stultz in 1928, Earhart’s notoriety in the United States spread. She accepted a position at Cosmopolitan magazine, where she wrote about the need for public acceptance of women in aviation and became a member of the National Aeronautic Association to advocate for the establishment of separate women’s records. Earhart set seven women’s distance and speed aviation records and became the first person to fly solo across both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Today we celebrate Earhart and her accomplishments that changed aviation forever. Through her actions and the actions of those before her, Earhart cleared a path for women around the world to, quite literally, shoot for the stars and pursue a career in aviation.

Retrieved from http://airlines.org/blog/celebrating-amelia-earharts-life-and-legacy-120-years-later/

For more details, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amelia_Earhart