Running head: FUTURE AIRCRAFT SAFETY 1

Future Aircraft Safety

Name
Institutional Affiliation
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Future Aircraft Safety

Flying is regarded as the safest form of transport. Strajnar, Žagar, and Berre (2015),

note that the fatalities experienced per million kilometers traveled by aircraft is 0.003 compared

to 2.57 and 0.27 by car and rail respectively. Over the last few decades, safety has been the

highest priority in the aviation industry, with most of the safety concerns negated by the

advancement of technology. Notably, the introduction of jet engines in the 1950s has provided

high aircraft reliability that was not possible to acquire with the piston engines (Leveson, 2015).

Also, the introduction of anti-collision systems has enhanced airspace management. Given the

projected growth of air travel and the development of large-capacity aircraft, engineers have a

more significant task ahead in improving the safety of the future aircrafts.

To meet the technical demands of global air surveillance, Iridium, a communications

company based in Virginia, United States, is developing the next generation satellites that will be

used to provide automatic dependent monitoring and services. This technology will enable

aircraft to be tracked via satellite navigation through periodical broadcasting. The prospected 66

cross-linked and Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites will be able to orbit 485 miles above the earth

and also ensure a minute-to-minute tracking of the airplane around the world (Khan, Rathnayaka,

Ahmed, 2015). If such a satellite is developed, future incidents due to loss of communication will

be minimal.

Lack of real-time aircraft location is one or main challenges facing the Air traffic

Controllers (ATC). For instance, the mysterious loss of MH370, a Malaysian airliner, which

claimed the lives of 239 people was attributed by lack of a steady stream of the airplane position

during the flight (Heilig & Sutcliffe, 2016). Therefore, a successful development of the cross-
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linked satellite will ensure that airplanes fly at predictable routes with more data available of

their location.
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References

Heilig, B., & Sutcliffe, P. R. (2016). Coherence and phase structure of compressional ULF

waves at low‐Earth orbit observed by the Swarm satellites. Geophysical Research

Letters, 43(3), 945-951.

Khan, F., Rathnayaka, S., & Ahmed, S. (2015). Methods and models in process safety and risk

management: past, present and future. Process Safety and Environmental

Protection, 98(1), 116-147.

Leveson, N. (2015). A systems approach to risk management through leading safety

indicators. Reliability Engineering & System Safety, 136(2), 17-34.

Strajnar, B., Žagar, N., & Berre, L. (2015). Impact of new aircraft observations Mode‐S MRAR

in a mesoscale NWP model. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 120(9),

3920-3938.