Causal analysis of vertical flight inefficiency during descents

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14295/transportes.v29i4.2486

Keywords:

Air Traffic Management, Continuous Descent Operations (CDO), Vertical efficiency, Flight trajectory data, Statistical analysis

Abstract

Continuous Descent Operations (CDOs) have proven to deliver significant economic and environmental benefits. Yet, flight trajectories are often observed to deviate from optimal procedures during actual operations. Better assessing and understanding the level of trajectory adherence to reference ideal procedures is a key step towards identifying opportunities for system performance improvement. To this end, this paper presents a statistical model of flight trajectory performance and investigates causal factors for vertical inefficiency during descents. Based on historical flight tracking data, a trajectory clustering analysis is performed to learn the airspace structure and identify the trajectory pattern followed by each aircraft. Vertical inefficiency is quantified in terms of the amount of level flight during descent. A regression model is then developed to map structural and operational factors into vertical efficiency. Our case study consists of 26,040 arrival flights for the two major airports in the Sao Paulo metroplex, Congonhas (CGH) and Guarulhos (GRU). The results reveal that airspace structure and convective weather are the most important factors affecting vertical performance in the airspace analyzed.

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Published

2021-11-18

How to Cite

Szenczuk, J. B. T. ., Murça, M. C. R. ., Sant’anna Souza, W. S. ., & Gomes, R. de A. . (2021). Causal analysis of vertical flight inefficiency during descents . Transportes, 29(3), 2486. https://doi.org/10.14295/transportes.v29i4.2486

Issue

Vol. 29 No. 3 (2021)

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2021 Joao Basilio Tarelho Szenczuk, Mayara Condé Rocha Murça, Wallace Silva Sant’anna Souza, Rogéria de Arantes Gomes

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