A virtual pilot assistant system for single pilot operations of commercial transport aircraft

The paper presents the conceptual design of a Virtual Pilot Assistant (VPA) based on an analysis of the requirements for single-pilot operations of commercial transport aircraft. In particular, the analysis takes into account existing literature on single pilot operations from general aviation and military standards. The analysis also considers relevant human factors engineering and system design aspects of Remotely-Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) and conventional two-pilot aircraft. The VPA performs a real-time assessment of the single-pilot‟s cognitive states as well as making predictions on the performance levels of the single pilot, thereby providing complementary and timely support to the single pilot as required. In case of pilot incapacitation, the VPA enables the single-pilot aircraft to be operated as an RPAS, allowing ground operators to take over as necessary and make an emergency landing at a suitable location.