China Safety Science Journal ›› 2025, Vol. 35 ›› Issue (8): 70-83.doi: 10.16265/j.cnki.issn1003-3033.2025.08.0813

• Safety engineering technology • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Research on collision risk of parallel air routes under autonomous aircraft operation

ZHANG Honghai1(), TANG Sijia1, WAN Junqiang2,**()   

  1. 1 College of Civil Aviation, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing Jiangsu 211106, China
    2 College of Air Traffic Management, Civil Aviation University of China, Tianjin 300300, China
  • Received:2025-03-15 Revised:2025-05-25 Online:2025-08-28 Published:2026-02-28
  • Contact: WAN Junqiang

Abstract:

In the scenario of air-ground collaborative autonomous operations, the collision risk of aircraft was assessed to ensure operational safety. The collision risk of parallel routes under autonomous flight was studied based on human factors and the performance of CNS systems. Firstly, an in-depth analysis of the characteristics of autonomous operation scenarios was performed. The Cognitive Reliability and Error Analysis Method(CREAM) model was improved by incorporating cognitive behavior and interactions between pilots and air traffic controllers to assess human reliability in autonomous operations. Subsequently, combined with the CNS performance and human factors, a collision risk model for autonomous operation aircraft was established. The lateral, longitudinal, vertical, and overall collision risks of the aircraft were evaluated separately. The feasibility of this method was validated through a parallel route example, and the impact patterns of human reliability and CNS performance on the collision risk of parallel routes were analyzed. The results indicate that the collision risk values in all three directions and the overall risk remain below the target safety level (5×10-9). Furthermore, it is demonstrated that improving human cognitive reliability and CNS performance contributes to reducing the spacing between parallel routes, thereby enhancing the safety of autonomous operations.

Key words: autonomous aircraft operation, parallel air routes, collision risk, communication, navigation, and surveillance (CNS) performance, human factors, risk assessment

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