ABSTRACT

Objective: This study is an analysis of the planning of general aviation (GA) pilots and its impact on airspace infringements.

Background: Past studies identified the contribution of inadequate flight planning to airspace infringements in Europe, but without any discussion relating to the processes involved and their shortcomings. This article, therefore, examines the flight route decision making of GA pilots.

Method: Twenty-seven recreational GA pilots who flew an airplane, glider, or ultralight aircraft were interviewed using semistructured interviews in Finland, Norway, and the United Kingdom. These nations experienced a relatively high number of reported airspace infringements. Interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results: The results showed that GA pilots planned a route near controlled or restricted airspace especially in areas with small uncontrolled airspace. This decision was typical for GA pilots who were based in the capitals of the European nations. The selected flight path and altitude were influenced by factors related to the pilot (e.g., risk management) and the airspace design (e.g., low lower boundary of controlled airspace). Pilots who were aware of the risk of straying into airspace while flying such a route considered mitigation measures, such as cross-checking the aircraft’s position frequently.

Conclusion: Such findings can address airspace infringements by encouraging pilots to take mitigation actions while flying such a route, including flying at a greater distance from the airspace.

摘要

目的：本研究分析了通用航空（GA）飞行员的计划及其对空域侵权的影响。

背景：过去的研究确定了飞行计划不足对欧洲空域侵权的影响，但未就所涉及的过程及其缺点进行任何讨论。因此，本文研究了通用航空飞行员的飞行路线决策。

方法：在芬兰，挪威和英国，使用半结构式访谈采访了27名乘坐飞机，滑翔机或超轻型飞机的休闲GA飞行员。这些国家所报告的空域侵权数量相对较高。访谈记录使用主题分析进行分析。

结果：结果表明，通用航空飞行员计划在受控或受限空域附近规划一条航线，尤其是在非受控空域较小的区域。该决定对于常驻欧洲国家首都的通用航空飞行员来说是很典型的。所选的飞行路径和高度受与飞行员（例如，风险管理）和空域设计（例如，受控空域的下限较低）相关的因素影响。意识到在这样的航线上飞行时可能进入空域的飞行员考虑采取缓解措施，例如经常对飞机的位置进行交叉检查。

结论：这些发现可以鼓励飞行员在飞行时采取缓解措施，包括在距空域更远的距离飞行，以减轻空域侵权。