Bertrand, Sylvain (ONERA), Nicolas, Raballand (ONERA), Flavien, Viguier (SNCF Réseau), Florent, Muller (ONERA)

Ground Risk Assessment for Long-Range Inspection Missions of Railways by UAVs

Scheduled for presentation during the "Aviation and Risk Analysis" (FrA2), Friday, June 16, 2017, 10:40−11:00, Salon AB

2017 International Conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems, June 13-16, 2017, Miami Marriott Biscayne Bay, Miami, FL,

This information is tentative and subject to change. Compiled on April 24, 2024

Abstract

This paper investigates the feasibility of a long-range inspection mission of railways by UAVs from a risk point of view. Ground risk for population of inhabited areas is assessed for such a mission and compared to the ones of shorter “elementary” flights for which flight authorizations have already been obtained or would be easy to obtain. By this comparative approach, the feasibility of the full inspection mission can be investigated without too much sensitivity to input data and model parameters. Use of an emergency parachute is also investigated as a potential risk mitigation procedure. Risk evaluation models as well as developed metrics for risk analysis are presented in the paper. Results of risk numerical assessment and comparison are presented for the cases with and without an emergency parachute.