'Curious Conversations' podcast: Ella Atkins talks about engineering safer airspace
Ella Atkins joined Virginia Tech’s “Curious Conversations” to talk about the complexities of air travel safety. She explained the differences between visual flight rules and instrument flight rules and the challenges posed by having two sets of rules in the same airspace. Atkins also discussed the recent incidents involving aircraft collisions and the technological advancements that could enhance safety, which include updating methods of data sharing and the use of automated systems.
Takeaways
Visual flight rules allow pilots more freedom while instrument flight rules provide structured flight plans and greater situational awareness across the airspace system.
Currently, air traffic control communications is primarily voice-based, but the addition of data link communication could provide faster and more accurate transfer of critical information.
Systems such as the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System already in use by many military aircraft could be employed across commercial airlines as a tool for mitigating collisions resulting from human error.
About Atkins
Atkins is head of the Kevin T. Crofton Department of Aerospace and Ocean Engineering and the Fred D. Durham Chair in Engineering at Virginia Tech. Her research centers on the investigation of airspace and aircraft autonomy and safety, and she is a licensed private pilot.
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About the podcast
"Curious Conversations" is a series of free-flowing conversations with Virginia Tech researchers that take place at the intersection of world-class research and everyday life. Produced and hosted by Travis Williams, assistant director of marketing and communications for the Office of Research and Innovation, university researchers share their expertise and motivations as well as the practical applications of their work in a format that more closely resembles chats at a cookout than classroom lectures. New episodes are shared each Tuesday.
