Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine July 2017 - 20

Commercial Airline Single-Pilot Operations: System Design and Pathways to Certification

Figure 13.

Incapacitation procedure.

psychophysiological monitoring devices are also capable of detecting an incapacitation event, allowing the VPA to assume temporary
autonomous control while simultaneously alerting and transferring control authority to the ground crew. The VPA interfaces with
the trajectory optimisation, negotiation and validation, as well as
SA&CA functions of the NG-FMS to provide autonomous flight
planning and real-time re-optimisation capabilities in the event of
pilot incapacitation. The certification aspects of the VPA will need
to allocate significant consideration towards the performance and
integrity of these adaptive cognitive systems, as well as evaluating the HF implications of the resulting HMT-these are relatively
new concepts in civil aviation but are critical enablers for greater
autonomy in the future air traffic system. It is envisaged that further research in the area of cognitive systems will support the design, development, test and evaluation (DDT&E) phases as well
as provide a pathway to certifying SPO. Ultimately, the SPO is a
feasible option for overcoming the foreseen worldwide shortage of
experienced flight crews in the context of next generation communication, navigation, surveillance, air traffic management and avionics (CNS+A) system implementations. The eventual deployment
of these systems will be enabled by the necessary advances in the
certification and training processes, which will have to address all
safety, technical, and regulatory implications.

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JULY 2017

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine July 2017