Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Studies Drone and Aircraft Near-midair Collisions | Aviation International News

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Embry-Riddle Study Examines Drone, Aircraft Close Calls

A new study by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University researchers examined near-midair collisions between drones and aircraft.

A light aircraft in flight near a drone. — This image, showing a small uncrewed aerial system (sUAS or drone) flying dangerously close to an airplane, was captured as part of testing conducted jointly by researchers from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Oklahoma State University in 2019. (Photo: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University)

By Curt Epstein • Business Aviation Services Editor

July 25, 2023

With the number of small uncrewed aerial systems (sUAS, aka drones) increasing, researchers at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) have developed a new method to quantify close calls between them and piloted aircraft. In a paper published in the SAE International Journal of Aerospace, researchers from the university noted there were at least 24 near-midair collisions (NMACs) around Dallas-Fort Worth Airport (KDFW) between August 2018 and July 2021. NMACs are defined as a drone coming within 500 feet of a piloted aircraft.

For the study, the researchers used drone and aircraft telemetry data collected from a UAS detection device attached to an antenna mounted on the roof of the airport’s Terminal C concourse. It captured flight data—including altitude and launch location—for each of the nearly 460,000 drone flights within a 30-mile radius of KDFW during that span. That data was combined with ADS-B and Mode S signals and fed into a proprietary data analytics software package.

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