United States of America As Represented by the Administrator of Nasa

Robert E Lawrence

Thomas R Chidester

Robert E Lynch

Brett Amidan

Gary L Prothero

Timothy P Romanowski

Thomas A Ferryman

Paul D Whitney

Alan R Willse

Daniel Edgar Robin

Amanda M White

Scott K Cooley

Jason W Prothero

Irving C Statler

Joseph Griffith Jay

Chris J Mosbrucker

Loren J Rosenthal

Adi Andrei

Laurent Bloch

Douglas A Drew

Robert J Ainsworth

William L Craine

Vincent J Zaccardi

Method and system for monitoring and comparing, in real time, performance of an aircraft during an approach to touchdown along a conventional approach path and along a contemplated modified approach path to touchdown. In a first procedure, a flight parameter value at a selected location is compared and displayed, for the planned path and for the modified path. In a second procedure, flight parameter values FP(t) at a sequence {t}of measurement times is compared and displayed, for the planned path and for a contemplated or presently-executed modified path. If the flight parameter for the planned path and for the modified path differ too much from each other, the pilot in command has an option of terminating the approach along the modified path.

Real time analysis and display of aircraft approach maneuvers

Method and system for displaying information on one or more aircraft flights, where at least one flight is determined to have at least one atypical flight phase according to specified criteria. A flight parameter trace for an atypical phase is displayed and compared graphically with a group of traces, for the corresponding flight phase and corresponding flight parameter, for flights that do not manifest atypicality in that phase.

Information display system for atypical flight phase

Method and system for analyzing and displaying one or more present flight parameter values FP(t) of an aircraft in motion at a measurement time t, and for comparing the present flight parameter value with a selected percentage band, containing historical flight parameter data for similar conditions.

Historical analysis of aircraft flight parameters

Method and system for analyzing, separately or in combination, kinetic energy and potential energy and/or their time derivatives, measured or estimated or computed, for an aircraft in approach phase or in takeoff phase, to determine if the aircraft is or will be put in an anomalous configuration in order to join a stable approach path or takeoff path. A reference value of kinetic energy and/or potential energy (or time derivatives thereof) is provided, and a comparison index for the estimated energy and reference energy is computed and compared with a normal range of index values for a corresponding aircraft maneuver. If the computed energy index lies outside the normal index range, this phase of the aircraft is identified as anomalous, non-normal or potentially unstable.

Energy index for aircraft maneuvers

Method and system for analyzing aircraft data, including multiple selected flight parameters for a selected phase of a selected flight, and for determining when the selected phase of the selected flight is atypical, when compared with corresponding data for the same phase for other similar flights. A flight signature is computed using continuous-valued and discrete-valued flight parameters for the selected flight parameters and is optionally compared with a statistical distribution of other observed flight signatures, yielding atypicality scores for the same phase for other similar flights. A cluster analysis is optionally applied to the flight signatures to define an optimal collection of clusters. A level of atypicality for a selected flight is estimated, based upon an index associated with the cluster analysis.

Identification of atypical flight patterns

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Los Altos, CA, United States of America

Robert E Lawrence