Systems-theoretic process analysis of small unmanned aerial system use at Edwards Air Force Base

As the military moves forward with unmanned aerial vehicles, Edwards AFB must adjust its operations in order to accommodate testing these UASs in all stages of development. With a focus on Small UAS, this thesis applied Nancy Leveson's Systems-Theoretic Process Analysis to the problem to develop system requirements and recommendations. Several portions of both the safety review process and flight operations were highlighted as a result of this analysis. Key features were identified and discussed. 74 potential unsafe control actions were found, along with numerous causal scenarios. 141 safety recommendations were made to mitigate potential causes of the UCAs. After comparing this analysis to the existing guidance in AFTCI 91-202 and EAFBI 13-100, nine action items were identified that will enhance the safety of the system as it currently exists.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2017

Author dc:creator

• Folse, Sarah A. (Sarah Ann)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Nancy G. Leveson.

• Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Statement dc:rights

• MIT theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed, downloaded, or printed from this source but further reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/112418

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/112418