Flight Safety Assessment Method of Civil Aircraft During Approach Based on Cluster Analysis

The civil aircraft maneuvering process during approach is complicated, and the aircraft may be affected by wind shear, cross winds and other adverse weather conditions, which will influence flight safety. To achieve real-time assessment and early warning of civil aircraft flight safety during approach, the flight requirements of civil aircraft during approach are analyzed according to flight manuals, and the decision requirements of the approach phase are formed. Flight states, including engine speed, aircraft descent rate and heading angle, are selected as monitoring parameters to represent the flight safety of civil aircraft during approach. The historical flight data of the approach phase in the flight operations quality assurance database are divided into two categories: safe approach and abnormal approach by using a cluster analysis algorithm. Based on the analysis of cluster calculation results and the characteristics of the flight mission in the approach phase, the value requirements of flight safety monitoring parameters and their combinations during the approach phase are proposed, and the criteria and evaluation methods of flight safety in the approach phase are established. Taking the incident of the Shenzhen Airlines runway undershoot as an example, the aircraft’s flight status during approach is evaluated based on cluster analysis. The results show that the abnormal approach state in the event can be accurately and timely identified before the aircraft descends to the decision height, reserving time and space for pilots to execute the go-around procedure and improving the flight safety of civil aircraft during approach.