Uncrewed Aircraft System Lost Command and Control Link Arrival Procedures with Simulated Air Traffic Control Resolution Maneuvers

This paper presents an analysis of Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) contingency management procedures, focusing on the loss of command-control link off-nominal scenario. The impact on interaction with other traffic in the airspace from navigating the uncrewed aircraft is analyzed in the Fort Worth Alliance terminal airspace. This work is the first known series of simulations of Lost Command and Control (C2) Link (LC2L) UAS procedures in a simulated realistic airspace environment with Air Traffic Control (ATC) conflict resolution maneuvers. 72 unique scenarios, in which a UAS undergoes a LC2L event, are simulated and simulated ATC resolutions are enacted using Autoresolver. Metrics including the number of unique Loss of Separation (LOS), the number of conversions, and the locations of conversions are evaluated. Scenarios with up to eight unique LOS events, up to five simulated ATC resolutions, and up to 15 additional ATC communications were observed. Critically, the path between the end of the Standard Terminal Arrival Route (STAR) and the beginning of the final approach was identified as a key issue area for the LC2L procedures. Across ten scenarios in the 9am hour, 18 predicted LOS were observed across the scenarios within this area. In summary, this work identifies challenges and their scope, tests solutions (such as LC2L procedures), and proposes potential (and realistic) mitigation(s).