Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA), or Flight Data Monitoring (FDM), has benefited flight safety in both fixed-wing and helicopter operations. The relative youth of FOQA programs has resulted in their minimal application among the helicopter fleets of the world; thus, Helicopter FOQA (HFOQA) has merited consolidation and expansion. This mixed methods design developed HFOQA analysis software via a blend of the qualitative data from helicopter and FOQA experts with quantitative data represented by a sample of de-identified digital flight data from 1,014 helicopter flights. Development of the software emphasized three domains of interest: (a) helicopter flight phases; (b) helicopter operational and maintenance events; and (c) helicopter event-related and safety/efficiency flight profile measurements. This study's resultant HFOQA analysis software has direct application to multifaceted helicopter operations (Emergency Medical Services [EMS], sightseeing, military, and others), and, in fact, has been utilized by an offshore helicopter operator in its daily operations.
","abstract_html":"<p>Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA), or Flight Data Monitoring (FDM), has benefited flight safety in both fixed-wing and helicopter operations. The relative youth of FOQA programs has resulted in their minimal application among the helicopter fleets of the world; thus, Helicopter FOQA (HFOQA) has merited consolidation and expansion. This mixed methods design developed HFOQA analysis software via a blend of the qualitative data from helicopter and FOQA experts with quantitative data represented by a sample of de-identified digital flight data from 1,014 helicopter flights. Development of the software emphasized three domains of interest: (a) helicopter flight phases; (b) helicopter operational and maintenance events; and (c) helicopter event-related and safety/efficiency flight profile measurements. This study's resultant HFOQA analysis software has direct application to multifaceted helicopter operations (Emergency Medical Services [EMS], sightseeing, military, and others), and, in fact, has been utilized by an offshore helicopter operator in its daily operations.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Teixeira, Sergio"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Aeronautics","degree_level":"Thesis - Open Access","degree_discipline":"Applied Aviation Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Thomas Weitzel","Pete Rounseville","Sam Wellington"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2006,"date_issued":"2006-06-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2006-06-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:25:37Z","subjects":["helicopter","HFOQA","quality assurance","Aviation","Aviation Safety and Security"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/196","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Thomas Weitzel","Pete Rounseville","Sam Wellington"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Teixeira, Sergio"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Applied Aviation Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis - Open Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Aeronautics"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["helicopter","HFOQA","quality assurance","Aviation","Aviation Safety and Security"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/196"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA), or Flight Data Monitoring (FDM), has benefited flight safety in both fixed-wing and helicopter operations. The relative youth of FOQA programs has resulted in their minimal application among the helicopter fleets of the world; thus, Helicopter FOQA (HFOQA) has merited consolidation and expansion. This mixed methods design developed HFOQA analysis software via a blend of the qualitative data from helicopter and FOQA experts with quantitative data represented by a sample of de-identified digital flight data from 1,014 helicopter flights. Development of the software emphasized three domains of interest: (a) helicopter flight phases; (b) helicopter operational and maintenance events; and (c) helicopter event-related and safety/efficiency flight profile measurements. This study's resultant HFOQA analysis software has direct application to multifaceted helicopter operations (Emergency Medical Services [EMS], sightseeing, military, and others), and, in fact, has been utilized by an offshore helicopter operator in its daily operations.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Helicopter Flight Operational Quality Assurance (HFOQA): Development of HFOQA Analysis Software"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Thomas Weitzel","Pete Rounseville","Sam Wellington"],"dc:creator":["Teixeira, Sergio"],"dc:description.abstract":["Flight Operational Quality Assurance (FOQA), or Flight Data Monitoring (FDM), has benefited flight safety in both fixed-wing and helicopter operations. The relative youth of FOQA programs has resulted in their minimal application among the helicopter fleets of the world; thus, Helicopter FOQA (HFOQA) has merited consolidation and expansion. This mixed methods design developed HFOQA analysis software via a blend of the qualitative data from helicopter and FOQA experts with quantitative data represented by a sample of de-identified digital flight data from 1,014 helicopter flights. Development of the software emphasized three domains of interest: (a) helicopter flight phases; (b) helicopter operational and maintenance events; and (c) helicopter event-related and safety/efficiency flight profile measurements. This study's resultant HFOQA analysis software has direct application to multifaceted helicopter operations (Emergency Medical Services [EMS], sightseeing, military, and others), and, in fact, has been utilized by an offshore helicopter operator in its daily operations.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/196"],"dc:subject":["helicopter","HFOQA","quality assurance","Aviation","Aviation Safety and Security"],"dc:title":["Helicopter Flight Operational Quality Assurance (HFOQA): Development of HFOQA Analysis Software"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Applied Aviation Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis - Open Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Aeronautics"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T19:25:37Z"}