The Geometry of Near Mid Air Collisions by Brian Peacock

Title: The Geometry of Near Mid Air Collisions
Presenter: Brian Peacock of SIM University
Length: 17 minutes
Format: Downloadable video in SD, HD & Mobile SD
Access: Link and password emailed with confirmation of order

Mid-Air Collisions (MACs) are very rare events in aviation. In 2003, there were 20 reported MACs during approximately 25 million general aviation flight hours (NSTB, 2003). A Near Mid-Air collision (NMAC) is defined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as when two aircraft pass within 500’ of each other without regard to the direction of the proximity. A NMAC also exists whenever any crewmember believes a collision hazard exists. It is the pilot’s responsibility to “see and avoid” other traffic, but this activity may be beyond the pilot’s capabilities in some situations. Consequently, the problem has and continues to stimulate considerable technology development effort to mitigate this human limitation.

The results, conclusion and application of a project to investigate the accuracy of pilots’ estimations of distance in Near Mid-Air Collision (NMAC) situations is discussed during the presentation.

Brian has spent more than 20 years in academia, 15 years in industry with General Motors as manager of ergonomics, and 4 years as disciplinary coordinating scientist for space human factors with NASA. He has published numerous articles on a broad range of ergonomics topics and books on Statistical Distributions, Automotive Ergonomics and The Laws and Rules of Ergonomics in Design.

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This presentation was given at the CIEHF event ‘Human Factors in Aviation Safety‘ on 10th November 2015 at the Radisson Blu hotel, East Midlands Airport.