WITHDRAWN: Assessment of the Systemic and Operational Factors Affecting Crew Resilient Performance in m:N sUAS BVLOS Operations

The operations surrounding multiple beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) small unmanned aircraft systems weighing less than 25 kg or 55lbs (sUAS) feature short response time and the need to manage multiple parallel inputs for the crew members, especially the Remote Operators (RO). Furthermore, the unexpected nature of in-flight events adds to the mental workload in acute timeframes. The impacts of flying multiple semi-autonomous aircraft simultaneously calls in for dynamic workload management by the RO. Therefore, there is a need for assessment of real-time resilient behaviors of the ROs under high stimulation conditions. In this paper we present an overview of the systemic and operational factors of the m:N sUAS BVLOS operations which influence ROs resilient performance either positively or negatively. For this study, we interviewed the crew members to understand their experience of managing multiple simultaneous sUAS BVLOS during flight test operations and analyzed their responses using thematic analysis to identify a list of factors that influenced their resilience potentials, i.e., ability to monitor, respond, learn, and anticipate. The outcome of this study is a comprehensive list of systemic and operational factors and an understanding of how these could affect crew members’ ability to monitor, respond, learn, and anticipate based on the learnings from the crew member’s interview responses.