METHOD OF IMPROVING AERONAUTICAL SAFETY RELATING TO AIR/GROUND COMMUNICATIONS AND TO THE ENVIRONMENT OF AIRCRAFT

• US 20070215745A1
• Filed: 03/14/2007
• Published: 09/20/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2006
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Thales SA
• Original Assignee: Thales SA
• Inventors: Lorido, Didier, Marty, Nicolas, Fleury, Stephane
• Application Number:
  US11/686,344
• Publication Number:
  US 20070215745A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 244/2
• CPC Class Codes: G01C 23/005 Flight directors indicating arrangements specially adapted for rotary gyroscopes G01C19/32
• CPC Class Codes: G08G 5/0013 with a ground station

Abstract

The method in accordance with the invention is a method of improving aeronautical safety relating to air/ground communications and to the environment of aircraft and it is characterized in that the quality of the air/ground exchanges between the crew and an air traffic control center is monitored automatically aboard the aircraft in which this method is implemented, that the context arising from these exchanges is correlated with the onboard data and those produced by the monitoring of the environment of the aircraft, and that warnings destined for the crew of the aircraft are formulated by allocating these messages a severity level as a function of the degree of dangerousness of a detected threat and/or of gaps or inconsistencies between the instructions and information from the control center and the flight parameters of the aircraft or the intentions of its crew and/or messages destined for the air traffic control.

Claims

1. A method of improving aeronautical safety relating to air/ground communications and to the environment of aircraft, comprising the steps of:

automatically monitoring the quality of the air/ground exchanges aboard the aircraft between the crew and an air traffic control center correlating the context arising from these exchanges with the onboard data and those produced by the monitoring of the environment of the aircraft, and formulating warnings destined for the crew of the aircraft by allocating these messages a severity level as a function of the degree of dangerousness of a detected threat and/or of gaps or inconsistencies between the instructions and information from the control center and the flight parameters of the aircraft or the intentions of its crew and/or messages destined for the air traffic control.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the quality of the air/ground exchanges is monitored with respect to the procedures in force.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the procedures in force are standardized default procedures.

4. The method according to claim 2, wherein the procedures in force are configuration-based company procedures.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein each directive from the ground is interpreted and gives rise to an analysis allowing the crew to evaluate the acceptability thereof.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring of the digital air/ground exchanges is carried out with the aid of the Data Link services of the aircraft.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring of the voice air/ground exchanges is carried out with the aid of a voice recognition system.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the formulated warnings destined for the crew of the aircraft are visual messages.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the formulated warnings destined for the crew of the aircraft are audible messages.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the formulated warnings destined for the crew of the aircraft are also dispatched to the maintenance and/or flight recorders of the aircraft.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the formulated messages destined for the control center on the decision of the crew are automatically pre-formatted and comprise clarification requests and/or ambiguous or incorrect message rejections.

12. The method according to claim 7, wherein the voice recognition system is configured so as to support several languages.

13. The method according to claim 9, wherein the formulated warnings destined for the crew of the aircraft are also dispatched to the maintenance and/or flight recorders of the aircraft.

14. The method according to claim 2, wherein the formulated messages destined for the control center_on the decision of the crew are automatically pre-formatted and comprise clarification requests and/or ambiguous or incorrect message rejections.

15. The method according to claim 3, wherein the formulated messages destined for the control center on the decision of the crew are automatically pre-formatted and comprise clarification requests and/or ambiguous or incorrect message rejections.

16. The method according to claim 2, wherein the monitoring of the voice air/ground exchanges is carried out with the aid of a voice recognition system.

17. The method according to claim 3, wherein_the monitoring of the voice air/ground exchanges is carried out with the aid of a voice recognition system.

18. The method according to claim 2, wherein the formulated warnings destined for the crew of the aircraft are visual messages.

19. The method according to claim 3, wherein the formulated warnings destined for the crew of the aircraft are visual messages.

20. The method according to claim 4, wherein the formulated warnings destined for the crew of the aircraft are visual messages.