Rotorcraft Wire Strikes

Rotor Safety Challenge (RSC)
Tracks: Pilot, Safety
Instructor: Alexia Payan, PEGASAS, FAA Center of Excellence for General Aviation Safety

This session will review current wire-strike prevention and protection technologies and their advantages and disadvantages. We’ll explore the development of a database of wires and cables in the United States using machine learning techniques and satellite imagery, look at the requirements for implementing such a database in an electronic flight bag, and provide insight into the development of a modeling and simulation environment for the design of new, mechanically enhanced wire-cutter systems for lightweight helicopters.

Instructor Bio

Alexia Payan is a research engineer at the Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). She holds a doctorate in aerospace engineering and master’s degrees in aerospace engineering and earth and atmospheric sciences. Alexia is currently Georgia Tech’s deputy site director for the Partnership to Enhance General Aviation Safety, Accessibility, and Sustainability (PEGASAS)—an FAA Center of Excellence for General Aviation Safety. Alexia earned her private pilot’s license in 2015.