Recent Research Papers

• Strategic Planning in the Airport Industry:  The Airport Cooperative Research Program explores practical guidance on the strategic planning process for airport board members, directors, department leaders, and other employees; aviation industry associations; a variety of airport stakeholders, consultants, and other airport planning professionals; and aviation regulatory agencies. A workbook of tools and sequential steps of the strategic planning process is provided with the report. Posted: 1/20/10

• Aircraft Noise: A Toolkit for Managing Community Expectations:  The Airport Cooperative Research Program explores ways to improve communications with the public about issues related to aircraft noise exposure. The report examines practices that characterize an effective communications program and provides basic information about noise and its abatement to assist in responding to public inquiries. The report 15 also identifies tools designed to help initiate a new or upgrade an existing program of communication with public and private stakeholders about noise issues. Posted: 1/20/10

• Guidebook for Conducting Airport User Surveys: Airport Cooperative Research Program released a guidebook that explores the basic concepts of survey sampling and the steps involved in planning and implementing a survey. The guidebook also examines the different types of airport user surveys, and includes guidance on how to design a survey and analyze its results. Posted: 1/6/10

• Federal Aviation Administration: Their Workplace Remains a Challenge. The General Accountability Office (GAO) found that FAA’s human capital system incorporates many practices used in leading organizations, but the agency’s placement near the bottom in best places to work rankings could pose challenges to employee recruitment, motivation, and retention. The agency ranks 214 out of 216 rated agencies. Posted: 12/1/09.
• Approaches to Integrating Airport Development and Federal Environmental Review Processes: Airport Cooperative Research Program explores practices that airport sponsors and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) planners and environmental specialists have used to integrate airport planning efforts and the FAA’s environmental review processes. Posted: 11/17/09.
• Airport Passenger-Related Processing Rates Guidebook: Airport Cooperative Research Program provides guidance on how to collect accurate passenger-related processing data for evaluating facility requirements to promote efficient and cost-effective airport terminal design. Posted: 11/17/09.
• Enhanced Modeling of Aircraft Taxiway Noise: Airport Cooperative Research Program explores ways to model airport noise from aircraft taxi operations and examines a plan for implementation of a taxi noise prediction capability into the Federal Aviation Administration's integrated noise model in the short term and into its aviation environmental design tool in the longer term. Posted: 11/10/09.
• An Assessment of NASA's National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service: The Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board has released a report that explores the use of a survey administered to pilots in order to track safety-related incidents during air travel. According to the committee that produced the report, the survey should not be used to measure rates or trends in safety in the National Airspace System because deficiencies in several aspects of the survey design make the data gathered unreliable. Posted: 11/10/09.
• Safety Management Systems for Airports, Volume 2: Airport Cooperative Research Program explores what constitutes an airport safety management system (SMS). The report examines SMS components and their interactions, and offers guidance in the planning, implementation, and operation of an airport SMS. It also provides detailed information on how to carry out each of the necessary SMS processes. Posted: 11/3/09.
• DHS and TSA Have Researched, Developed, and Begun Deploying Passenger Checkpoint Screening Technologies, but Continue to Face Challenges: The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report on TSA research, development and deployment of checkpoint screening technologies. Specifically, the report analyzes the efforts of the Department of Homeland Security Office of Science and Technology and TSA to research, develop, test, evaluate and deploy emerging technologies for use at airport passenger screening checkpoints. TSA officials acknowledged the need to improve relationships with external stakeholders and have hired an Industry Outreach Manager. Posted:11/2/09.
• NextGen: FAA Faces Challenges in Responding to Task Force Recommendations: The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that while FAA has begun to explore the use of the private sector to help develop procedures, issues related to public use of these procedures and oversight of developers remain. According to stakeholders and Task Force members, and as GAO has previously reported, FAA faces cultural and organizational challenges in implementing NextGen capabilities. Posted 11/2/09.
• Aviation Safety: Information on the Safety Effects of Modifying the Age Standard for Commercial Pilots: The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that a review of FAA’s accident and incident data and NTSB’s accident data from December 2007 through September 2009 showed that no accidents or incidents resulted from the health conditions of pilots 60 years or older. Posted: 11/2/09.
• A Guidebook for Selecting Airport Capital Project Delivery Methods: Airport Cooperative Research Program Report 21 explores various project delivery methods for major airport capital projects. The guidebook also examines the impacts, advantages, and disadvantages of various project delivery methods including design-bid-build, construction manager at risk, and design-build.  A companion publication to this report,  Evaluation and Selection of Airport Capital Project Delivery Methods, reviews pertinent literature and research findings related to various project delivery methods for airport projects. It contains definitions of project delivery methods and discusses the existing selection approaches commonly used by airports. Posted: 10/27/09.
• Passenger Air Service Development Techniques: Airport Cooperative Research Program explores the underlying competitive challenges that small communities face in retaining or enhancing their commercial air service, examines how communities can address those challenges, and describes the basic components and tools of an air service development program. (Posted 10/20/09) Also see story in October 2009 Centerlines.
• Airport Cooperative Research Program's Airports and the Newest Generation of General Aviation Aircraft, Volume 1: Forecast explores a forecast of anticipated fleet activity associated with the newest generation of general aviation aircraft over a 5- and 10-year outlook.  ACRP's Volume 2 is a guidebook designed to help airport operators assess the practical requirements and innovative approaches that may be needed to accommodate these new aircraft.  Posted: 10/6/09.
• National Strategy and Other Actions Would Strengthen TSA's Efforts to Secure Commercial Airport Perimeters and Access Controls. As a result of incidents involving employees at who used their identification badges to access secure areas to smuggle weapons aboard aircraft,  the Government Accountability Office was asked by Congress to examine the programs TSA implemented to strengthen airport security. The report indicates that while TSA has taken steps to increase airport security, it has not conducted vulnerability assessments at 87 percent of airports in the US. In evaluating the various security initiatives airports have been required to implement, GAO noted that TSA has not estimated the costs to airport operators. Psted: 10/6/09.
• Airport Governance and Ownership:  This Airport Cooperative Research Program Legal Research Digest addresses the issue of essential powers to operate an airport; defines what airport governance includes; describes the advantages and disadvantages of the various governance structures; identifies and analyzes a number of projects where airports were transferred from one form of governance to another; and examines legal problems encountered during these transfers. Posted: 9/29/09.
  
• Critical Issues in Aviation and the Environment 2009: The Transportation Research Board explores the major environmental media affected by aviation activities and the key processes that link aviation and the environment, including climate change, alternative fuels, and sustainability. The circular focuses on the state of science, rather than on policy, and the authors of various portions of the circular identify research that has the potential to yield benefits for both aviation and the environment during the next several years to several decades. Posted: 9/22/09.
• How Regulatory Standards Can Affect a Cap-and-Trade Program for Greenhouse Gases: The U.S. Congressional Budget Office has released an issue brief that examines regulatory standards and how they could affect the overall cost of implementing a cap-and-trade program in the United States. Posted: 9/22/09.
  
• Aviation Weather: The National Weather Service and the Federal Aviation Administration  are considering plans to restructure the way aviation weather services are provided at en route centers, but it is not yet clear whether and how these changes will be implemented. The General Accountability Office is recommending that the Departments of Commerce and Transportation document baseline performance for several measures, and take steps to address challenges. Posted: 9/9/09
  
• Effects of Hydrogen Peroxide on Common Aviation Textiles: The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Aerospace Medicine, has released a report that documents a materials compatibility evaluation of the effects of hydrogen peroxide exposure on the mechanical properties and flammability of commercial-grade textile materials commonly used in aviation. According to the report, hydrogen peroxide has been used for years as a disinfectant in the medical community and is under consideration in the dilute vapor form as a decontaminant/disinfectant/sterilant for transportation vehicles such as aircraft, buses, subway trains and ambulances. The preliminary flammability testing of aviation-grade wool blends indicated that 10 cycles of hydrogen peroxide vapor exposures would cause unacceptable increases in flame times. Posted: 9/8/09
  

• Guidebook for Managing Small Airports: Airport Cooperative Research Program is designed to help operators and managers of small airports find resources and identify techniques that they may apply to meet their responsibilities. A supplement, Development of a Guidebook for Managing Small Airports, documents the research process. Posted: 8/24/09

• Options and Analytical Tools to Strengthen DOT’s Approach to Supporting Communities’ Access to the System. The General Accountability Office (GAO) examined the effectiveness of the Essential Air Serivice program. It recommended that Congress should consider re-examining the EAS program in light of changes in its operating environment, and DOT should assess some of its practices as well as whether other forms of air service or other modes of transportation might better serve some communities. Posted 7/27/09.

• Federal Air Marshall Service - Actions Taken to Fulfill Core Mission and Address Workforce Issues: The General Accountability Office (GAO) has found that the Department of Homeland Security has made progress since its January 2009 report in addressing various operational and quality-of-life issues that affect the ability of air marshals to perform their aviation security mission. However, sustaining progress will require ongoing consideration of key questions, such as how to foster career sustainability for air marshals. Posted 7/27/09.

• Aviation Weather: The National Weather Service and the Federal Aviation Administration and FAA are considering plans to restructure the way aviation weather services are provided at en route centers, but it is not yet clear whether and how these changes will be implemented. In its draft report, GAO is recommending that Commerce and Transportation departments document baseline performance for several measures, and take steps to address underlying challenges affecting the agencies’ efforts. Posted 7/16/09.

• Air Traffic Control: Potential Fatigue Factors: The Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General has released a report that explores fatigue factors that could impact air traffic controllers. Posted: 7/7/09.

• How Proposed ARFF Standards Would Impact Airports:  Airport Cooperative Research Program explores the potential cost implications for airports of implementing proposed airport rescue and fire fighting regulations that would be closely aligned with standards promulgated by the International Civil Aviation Organization and the National Fire Protection Association.  Posted: 6/30/09.

• Greeenhouse Gas Legislation: Summary and Analysis of H.R. 2454 as Reported by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce: A U.S. Congressional Research Service report explores the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. The measure was then passed by the full House on June 26. Posted: 6/30/09.

• Better Data and Targeted FAA Efforts Needed to Identify and Address Safety Issues of Small Air Cargo Carriers: The General Accountability Office reports  two actions experts cited most often to further improve air cargo safety were installing better technology on cargo aircraft to provide additional tools to pilots and collecting data to track small cargo carrier operations. Using flight risk checklists can also help pilots assess the accumulated risk factors associated with some cargo flights. Posted: 6/24/09.

• International Aviation: Federal Efforts Help Address Safety Challenges in Africa, but Could Benefit from Reassessment and Better Coordination: The General Accountability Office study notes that Improving aviation safety in Africa is an important goal for the United States and the international aviation community. U.S. assistance to improve aviation safety in Africa has helped to address some challenges. Several international efforts have been implemented to assist and encourage African countries in improving their civil aviation systems. Posted: 6/23/09.

• TSA’s Role in General Aviation Security. The Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General conducted an assessment of TSA security regulations for general aviation as the result of a congressional request. The report reveals that the TSA Office of Intelligence “has not identified specific imminent threats from GA aircraft.” The Inspector General further “determined that general aviation presents only limited and mostly hypothetical threats to security” and also “that the steps general aviation airport owners and managers have taken to enhance security are positive and effective.” Posted: 6/19/09.

• The Impact of Airline Bankruptcies on Airports: This Airport Cooperative Research Program report examines legal issues presented by the filing of airline bankruptcies that are relevant to airports, and explores how airport lawyers and courts have responded to those issues. The report highlights the basics of bankruptcy theory and law relevant to airport operating agreements with airlines, and identifies issues such as lease recharacterization and payment of stub period rent that particularly affect airports dealing with airlines in bankruptcy. Posted 6/16/09.

• Increased Agency Accountability Could Help Protect Federal Employees Serving the Public in the Event of a Pandemic: The General Accountability Office has surveyed three federal agencies to determine if they comply with a 2006 directive for continuity planning during a flu pandemic. The report found that at air traffic control management facilities, where air traffic controllers work, had not yet developed facility pandemic plans or incorporated pandemic plans into their all-hazards contingency plans. Posted: 6/16/09.

• Deicing Planning Guidelines and Practices for Stormwater Management Systems: Airport Cooperative Research Program explores a wide array of practices designed to provide for the practical, cost-effective control of runoff from aircraft and airfield deicing and anti-icing operations.  Detailed operational practices were published as a collection of fact sheets. Posted: 6/9/09.

• Effective Practices for Preparing Airport Improvement Program Benefit-Cost Analysis:  Airport Cooperative Research Program explores assessment techniques that can be used by airports in performing benefit-cost analysis for hard-to-quantify benefits from projects needing more than $5 million in Airport Improvement Program discretionary funding. Posted: 6/9/09.

• Aircraft Emissions Expected to Grow, but Technological and Operational Improvements and Government Policies Can Help Control Emissions: This General Accountability Office report is based on a research of current literatures and does not make a recommendation. A number of policy options to address aircraft emissions are available to governments and can be part of broader policies to address emissions from many sources including aircraft. Market-based measures can establish a price for emissions and provide incentives to airlines and consumers to reduce emissions. These measures can be preferable to other options because they would generally be more economically efficient. Posted: 6/8/09.

  Aircraft Emissions Expected to Grow, but Technological and Operational Improvements and Government Policies Can Help Control Emissions: This General Accountability Office report is based on a research of current literatures and does not make a recommendation. A number of policy options to address aircraft emissions are available to governments and can be part of broader policies to address emissions from many sources including aircraft. Market-based measures can establish a price for emissions and provide incentives to airlines and consumers to reduce emissions. These measures can be preferable to other options because they would generally be more economically efficient. Posted: 6/8/09.

• Guidance for Identifying and Mitigating Approach Lighting System Hazards: This Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) digest is designed to assist with defining response procedures to mitigate or reduce the hazards associated with aircraft and approach lighting system incidents. Additional information is published as Contractor’s Final Report for ACRP RRD. Posted 5/27/09.

• Airport Passenger Screening: Background and Issues for Congress: A U.S. Congressional Research Service report explores policy issues and strategies for screening passengers at airports. Posted 5/27/09.

• Review of the Aviation Industry in 2008: The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Office of the Inspector General has released a report that examines aviation industry trends in 2008, and their impact on aviation system performance, demand and capacity for domestic and international flights, and air service in small communities. Posted: 5/12/09.

• Integrating Airport Information Systems: Airport Cooperative Research Program Report 13 is designed to help airport mangers and information technology professionals address issues associated with integrating airport information systems.  Analysis and Recommendations for Developing Integrated Airport Information Systems: Airport Cooperative Research Program provides a summary of the efforts associated with the development of ACRP Report 13: Integrating Airport Information Systems. Posted: 5/5/09.

• Airline Industry Contraction Due to Volatile Fuel Prices and Falling Demand Affects Airports, and Federal Government Revenues. The General Accountability Office examines the contraction of the U.S. airline industry in 2008 reduced airport revenues, passengers’ access to the national aviation system, and revenues for the Trust Fund. airline capacity reductions are causing some passengers to lose some or all access to commercial air service and contributing to increased fares in some passenger markets. Small airports, which already offer fewer flight options, had the greatest percentage decrease in nonstop destinations (16 percent) as well as a 10 percent reduction in capacity. Posted 4/24/09.

• Comprehensive Risk Assessments and Stronger Internal Controls Needed to Help Inform TSA the Resource Allocation: TSA has not followed federal internal control standards to assist it in implementing DHS’s risk management framework and informing resource allocation. Without effectively Implementing such controls, TSA cannot provide reasonable assurance that its resources are being used effectively and efficiently to achieve security priorities and that accountability and oversight regarding the quality of risk management activities implemented exists.Posted 4/24/09.

• Potential Strategies to Address Air Ambulance Safety Concerns: The air ambulance industry has increased in size, and concerns about its safety have grown in recent years. Despite the actions to improve air ambulance safety, 2008 was the deadliest year on record for the industry. In this report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) has identified several potential strategies for improving air ambulance safety. Posted: 4/23/09.

• Responsibility for Implementation and Enforcement of Airport Land-Use Zoning Restrictions: The Airport Cooperative Research Program explores federal, state, regional, and local laws and regulations pertaining to aviation land use and zoning, and identifies the primary responsibilities of each relevant legal body and how this responsibility is communicated and enforced. Posted: 4/14/09.

• Applying Smart Growth Principles and Strategies to Resolving Land Use Conflicts Around Airports: The Norman Y. Mineta International Institute for Surface Transportation Policy Studies at the San José State University College of Business has released a report that explores how the principles and strategies of smart growth can potentially be applied to resolving land use conflicts around airports. (675 pages) Posted: 4/14/09.

• A Pragmatic Approach to Regulating Greenhouse Gases under the Clean Air Act: Recent court decisions and pending legal proceedings require the Environmental Protection Agency to make decisions under the Clean Air Act on whether greenhouse gas pollution endangers public health and welfare. The Center for Clean Air Policy has released this report that explores the possible legal and policy issues involved with regulating greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act. Posted: 4/14/09.

• Increasing Feedstock Production for Biofuels: Economic Drivers, Environmental Implications, and the Role of Research: The Biomass Research and Development Initiative has released a report that examines the economic analysis of feedstocks to produce biofuels, and its impact on sustainability and greenhouse gas emissions. Posted: 4/14/09.

• Review of NASA's National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service Project: The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report that explores the nature and history of the NASA’s National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service project.  The report also examines whether the survey of commerical pilots was planned, designed, and implemented in accordance with generally accepted survey principles; and what steps would make a new survey similar to NAOMS better and more useful. Posted: 4/14/09.

• The Airport Cooperative Research Program’s Guidebook on Preparing Airport Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories explores a framework for identifying and quantifying specific components of airport contributions to greenhouse gas emissions. The report is designed to help airport operators and others to prepare an airport-specific inventory of greenhouse gas emissions. Plus appendices. Posted: 4/8/09.

• Aircraft Deicing and Airfield Anti-Icing Formulations: Aquatic Toxicity and Biochemical Oxygen Demand: The Airport Cooperative Research Program provides an interim report on a project that is exploring the environmental characteristics of aircraft and pavement deicers and anti-icers. Posted: 3/24/09.

• Carbon Sequestration Pilot Program: Implementation and Next Steps: The Transportation and Climate Change Clearinghouse of the U.S. Department of Transportation has released a report that explores preliminary results of the New Mexico Department of Transportation’s Carbon Sequestration Pilot Program. Posted: 3/24/09.

• Preliminary Observations on TSA’s Progress on Screening Air Cargo on Passenger Aircraft: The GAO found that TSA estimates that it achieved the mandated 50 percent screening level by February 2009, but the agency cannot verify this. The TSA does not expect to meet the mandated 100 percent screening deadline due in part to the challenges it faces in harmonizing security standards with other nations. Posted 3/20/09.

• Next Generation Air Transportation System - Status Report to Congress: The GAO has found that progress has been made in planning for and developing NextGen. Recent versions of NextGen planning documents have partially addressed some of GAO’s concerns about their usefulness, but industry stakeholders continue to express frustration that the documents lack any specific timelines or commitments. Posted 3/20/09.

• Climate Change -- Observations on the Potential Role of Carbon Offsets in Climate Change Legislation: In this report, the General Accountability Office (GAO) suggests that legislation that allows the use of carbon offsets for compliance should include the establishment of clear rules about the types of projects that regulated entities can use as offsets, as well as procedures to account and compensate for the inherent uncertainty associated with offset projects. Posted: 3/5/09.

• Airport Offsite Passenger Service Facilities: An Option for Improving Landside Access: Volume II: Access Characteristics and Travel Demand: The Virginia Department of Transportation has released a report that examines offsite airport facilities that provide ground transportation, baggage and passenger check in, and other transportation services to departing air passengers. The report also explores ways to develop models to determine which airports may be candidates for offsite facilities. Posted: 2/24/09.

• Federal Air Marshal Service Has Taken Actions to Fulfill Its Core Mission and Address Workforce Issues, but Additional Actions Are Needed to Improve Workforce Survey: To improve future workforce satisfaction surveys, the General Accountability Office (GAO) recommends that the Federal Air Marshall Service Director take actions to ensure that future survey questions and response options are clearly worded and structured and  the response rate is as high as possible. Posted: 2/13/09.

• National Airspace System: FAA Reauthorization Issues Are Critical to System Transformation and Operations. This report by the General Accountability Office discusses six issues that are important in reauthorizing FAA programs. Many of these issues are deeply intertwined, and addressing one can affect the others. Balancing all of these issues will be a challenge, but is essential to FAA’s ability to transform and operate the national airspace system safely and efficiently. Posted: 2/11/09.

• Aviation Security: TSA’s Cost and Performance Study of Private-Sector Airport Screening: The Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) study comparing the cost and performance of screening services at airports with TSA screeners and those with private screeners had some design strengths, such as recognizing that cost savings would be limited. However, based on the criteria that the General Accountability Office (GAO)  used, the design was limited because TSA did not include the impact of potential overlapping administrative staff; account for workers compensation, general liability insurance, and some retirement costs paid by the federal government, as well as the lost corporate income tax revenue from private screening contractors and document the rationale for including the five performance measures reviewed in the study while excluding others. Posted 2/9/09.

• Aviation Security: Status of Transportation Security Inspector Workforce: The General Accountability Office (GAO) found that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) does not have a reasonable basis for determining the workforce needed to achieve inspection goals, although it has plans to conduct a staffing study in fiscal year 2009 to identify the optimal workforce size to address its current and future program needs. Posted 2/9/09.

• Research Results Digest 5: Current and Emerging Issues Facing the Airport Industry. The Airport Cooperative Research Program summarizes the program and the process for identifying strategic research areas for use with the FY 2010 ACRP problem statement solicitation process and beyond. Posted: 2/4/09.

• Preventing Vehicle-Aircraft Incidents During Winter Operations and Periods of Low Visibility. Airport Cooperative Research Program examines factors affecting safe winter operations and the prevention of runway incursions by airport snow removal equipment operators. Posted: 12/22/08. 

• The Oregon Department of Transportation Sustainability Plan Volume 1: Setting the Context. Oregon has released a report that describes the context for the department’s sustainability plan and the vision and framework for ODOT’s sustainability goals and strategies.  The plan speaks to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, developing energy efficiency, and other sustainability objectives in ODOT’s internal operations and the statewide transportation system. Posted 12/22/08.

• U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology Program Planning and Execution Improvements Needed. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has established a program known as U.S. Visitor and Immigrant Status Indicator Technology (US-VISIT) to collect, maintain, and share information, including biometric identifiers, on certain foreign nationals who travel to and from the United States. GAO’s objectives were to determine if the plan satisfies the 12 legislative conditions and provide a management review. Posted: 12/12/08.

• Transportation Security Administration’s Suspension of the Butane Lighter Ban Onboard Commercial Aircraft - A GAO Briefing. TSA reported in May 2008 that as a result of its decision to suspend enforcement of the ban on lighters, there were no reported incidents that involved the use of a lighter to ignite an IED and that screening operations improved. The results of our analysis of TSA’s security incident reports support TSA’s finding that there were no reported incidents that involved the use of a lighter to ignite an IED. Posted: 12/5/08.

• Lessons Learned from the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme and the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism. With legislative proposals to limit greenhouse gas emissions under consideration in the United States, the Government Accountability Office was asked to examine the effects of and lessons learned from the European Union's emissions trading scheme. Posted 12/2/08.

• National Biofuels Action Plan. The Biomass Research and Development Board has released a report that examines research challenges and interagency actions necessary to develop the science and technology needed to make next-generation, cellulosic biofuels cost-effective so as to grow a biofuels industry and supply chain in a sustainable manner. Posted: 12/2/08.

• Review of the Voluntary Airport Low Emissions Program. The U.S. Government Accountability Office has released a report that explores how the Federal Aviation Administration’s Voluntary Airport Low Emissions program has been implemented, including airport participation levels, types of projects, and program expenditures.  The report also examines the potential outcomes that may be attributable to the program. Posted 11/11/08.

• CCTV Installations in General Aviation Airports.   The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has released a synthesis that explores the costs and benefits of installing closed circuit television systems in general aviation airports to address basic security issues. Posted 11/11/08.

• 11/3 - Lightning-Warning Systems for Use by Airports. Airport Cooperative Research Program explores the operational benefits associated with delay reductions that lightning detection and warning systems may be able to generate.  The report is designed to help in the assessment of whether such systems are cost-beneficial on an individual airport or airline basis.

• 11/3 - Energy [R]evolution: A Sustainable Global Energy Outlook. The European Renewable Energy Council has released a report that explores the transport sector’s energy efficiency potential.

• 10/8 - Seminar on Single European Sky - 2nd Package: Presentations Available. The European Commission has released presentations made during an Oct. 8 seminar that explored the next generation of the Single European Sky concept designed to enhance performance of Europe’s air navigation services and network functions.

• 10/28 - Carbon Counts: Incorporating the Benefits of Climate Protection into Federal Rulemaking. The Environmental Defense Fund has released a report that explores the issue of accounting for potential societal benefits associated with reducing global warming pollution as part of federal rulemakings in the area of greenhouse gas emission reductions.

• 10/28 - Airport Sustainability Practices. The Airport Cooperative Research Program explores airport sustainability practices across environmental, economic, and social issues.

• 10/7 - Impacts of Airports on Airline Competition: Focus on Airport Performance and Airport-Airline Vertical Relations. The International Transport Forum and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Joint Transport Research Centre has released a report that explores the relationship between the revenue structure, regulation, and market power of airports, and their effect on services to airlines.  The report also examines how these factors may influence vertical relationships between airports and airlines, and competition in airline markets.

• 10/7 - The Impact of Climate Change Policy on Competition in the Air Transport Industry. The International Transport Forum and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Joint Transport Research Centre has released a report that explores how climate change policy may affect competition, prices, and profitability in the air transport industry.

Research Archive by Subject 

Accidents

Air cargo

Airlines

• An Assessment of NASA's National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service: The Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board has released a report that explores the use of a survey administered to pilots in order to track safety-related incidents during air travel. According to the committee that produced the report, the survey should not be used to measure rates or trends in safety in the National Airspace System because deficiencies in several aspects of the survey design make the data gathered unreliable. Posted: 11/10/09.
• Aviation Safety: Information on the Safety Effects of Modifying the Age Standard for Commercial Pilots: The Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that a review of FAA’s accident and incident data and NTSB’s accident data from December 2007 through September 2009 showed that no accidents or incidents resulted from the health conditions of pilots 60 years or older. Posted: 11/2/09.
• Effects of Hydrogen Peroxide on Common Aviation Textiles: The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration, Office of Aerospace Medicine, has released a report that documents a materials compatibility evaluation of the effects of hydrogen peroxide exposure on the mechanical properties and flammability of commercial-grade textile materials commonly used in aviation. According to the report, hydrogen peroxide has been used for years as a disinfectant in the medical community and is under consideration in the dilute vapor form as a decontaminant/disinfectant/sterilant for transportation vehicles such as aircraft, buses, subway trains and ambulances. The preliminary flammability testing of aviation-grade wool blends indicated that 10 cycles of hydrogen peroxide vapor exposures would cause unacceptable increases in flame times.Posted: 9/8/09
  
• Review of NASA's National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service Project: The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has released a report that explores the nature and history of the NASA’s National Aviation Operations Monitoring Service project.  The report also examines whether the survey of commerical pilots was planned, designed, and implemented in accordance with generally accepted survey principles; and what steps would make a new survey similar to NAOMS better and more useful. Posted: 4/14/09
• Opinions on Cell Phone Use on Airplanes, Congestion, and Telecommuting--from the 2006 and 2007 Omnibus Household Survey. The U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics has released a report that explores opinions concerning the potential acceptability of allowing the use of cell phones on airplanes. In a 2007 survey, 39.7 said that passengers should definitely or probably be allowed to use the phones.  Released: 8/11

Air service development