Helicopter Flight Operational Quality Assurance (HFOQA): Development of HFOQA Analysis Software

<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>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science in Aeronautics

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis - Open Access

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Applied Aviation Sciences

Year

2006

Author dc:creator

• Teixeira, Sergio

Contributors dc:contributor

• Thomas Weitzel
• Pete Rounseville
• Sam Wellington

• helicopter
• HFOQA
• quality assurance
• Aviation
• Aviation Safety and Security

Repository record dc:identifier

https://commons.erau.edu/db-theses/196

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:commons.erau.edu:db-theses-1281