Novel Human Factors Challenges, Unexpected Events, and Safety Hazards Associated with Operation of Battery-powered eVTOL Aircraft

As the AAM industry approaches its respective takeoff, novel dimensions of aircraft design, including propulsion systems and pilot interfaces, have emerged. These new and often complex dimensions result in operations differing from traditional aviation contexts, with the potential to influence pilot behavior and decision-making (Mendolia et al., 2022). There are also novel safety-critical events that pilots must be prepared to cope with on battery-powered aircraft. To examine these issues, we conducted an interview study with 11 pilots and engineers who have either flown, worked on, or conducted research pertaining to electrically powered aircraft. During the interview process, the participants were asked to describe and identify novel events pilots would face on electric aircraft, factors that would influence their decisions regarding power management, and challenges associated with transitioning to electric aircraft. We then conducted a qualitative analysis in which we identified themes that emerged across the interview responses related to the previous categories.