Gaps Analysis for the Development of an IASMS for Commercial Aviation Operations

An In-time Aviation Safety Management System (IASMS) [1,2] is a set of services, functions, and capabilities (SFCs) necessary for monitoring known hazards and emergent risks, assessing safety data for anomalies, precursors, and trends, mitigating hazards that reach safety thresholds, and assuring efficacy of controls in mitigating hazards. An IASMS will continually monitor the National Airspace System (NAS) to collect data on the status of aircraft, air traffic management (ATM) systems, weather, and airports. The NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) System-Wide Safety (SWS) Project has a Sub-Project focused on a Technical Challenge entitled In-time Aviation Safety Management Systems (IASMS) for Commercial Aviation Operations, referred to herein as Technical Challenge 6 (TC-6). This Technical Challenge was initiated in fiscal year (FY) 2024 to accomplish research and development (R&D) of a prototype IASMS by FY 2028 that demonstrates its potential. The TC-6 FY24 (Level 1 Milestone ID: TC6-01-01) research goals include 1) an IASMS research roadmap for 2035 and 2045 vision time horizons and 2) a safety management system (SMS) gaps analysis in collaboration with external stakeholders. In collaboration with SWS, the Flight Safety Foundation (FSF) published a roadmap [3] and Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University published a gaps analysis [4]. In response to three critical areas identified in the roadmap and analysis, the TC-6 research team has conducted work in data analytics, learning from all operations, and human performance (with emphasis on fatigue) to address research gaps. This report outlines the efforts made by the TC-6 team to surmount research barriers, achieve roadmap goals, and address the gaps identified in the analysis. By focusing on these areas, the team aims to enable both short and long-term impacts through future R&D to inform NASA’s project planning and, potentially, influencing other projects. Ultimately the SWS Project seeks to inspire operators as they evolve their current SMSs into analogous IASMS that make the best possible use of the significant investments that they already make in collecting, storing, and managing operational data. The efforts necessary to enable such evolution include outreach activities to increase 1) stakeholder awareness, 2) engagement with stakeholders within their SMS to reach mutual understanding, and 3) collaborative research with stakeholders that demonstrates the potential of their operational and safety data. This report describes TC-6 and larger SWS Project team efforts, which have resulted in numerous agreements and domestic and international partnerships. These cooperative efforts will continue over the lifespan of the TC-6.