News

The ASCOS Project is finished. The key results from the ASCOS Project, which ended in 2015, are being maintained by the European Commission in the Community Research and Development Information Service (CORDIS), link HERE, and the Transport Research & Innovation Portal (TRIP), link HERE.

The ASCOS approach for “Improving European Aviation Safety Approvals” was presented by Stephen Bull at the Safety-critical Systems Symposium on 2 February 2016. The presentation slides are available HERE [3.941 KB] . A technical publication prepared by Stephen Bull from Ebeni is available for downloading HERE [294 KB] .

ASCOS was presented by the Coordinator (Lennaert Speijker) at the Aerodays 2015, the European flagship event in aviation research and innovation. Technical session: Enhancing Aviation System Safety. ASCOS also shared an exhibition stand with the Future Sky Safety Programme (lead NLR) and OPTICS, the Observation Platform for Technological and Institutional Consolidation of research in Safety.

In October 2015, the Exploitation Plan [9.273 KB] was published. It describes for each of the ASCOS products and results its potential exploitation in the coming years. ASCOS supports the move towards performance based regulation, based upon agreed safety performance in combination with a risk based approach.

In September 2015, the Final Report for WP1 “Certification Processes” [4.307 KB] (lead Thales Air systems) was published. The work resulted in a new method for approval of changes in the aviation system, flexible to embrace innovation while encompassing existing established certification processes and safety standards wherever appropriate.

In June 2016, the Final Report for WP5 “Validation” [2.290 KB] (lead Deep Blue) was published. The report covers the results of three Validation Exercises performed during workshops with safety and certification experts external to ASCOS, who gained in-depth insights into the ASCOS products.

In June 2016, the Final Report for WP4 “Certification case studies” [4.563 KB] (lead NLR) was published. The efficacy of the initial ASCOS approach was evaluated, resulting in improvements and recommendations to stakeholders relevant in aviation safety.

In May 2016, all certification case studies were completed. This concerns testing of novel solutions for:
- Failure management systems installed on Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA)
- On-board automatic aircraft recovery system to reduce loss of control
- Certification of an organization providing de-icing /anti-icing services
- Integrated aircraft traffic ground based surveillance

The ASCOS Final Dissemination Forum has taken place at the European Commission, Covent Garden Building, Brussels, 28/29 May 2015. The public invitation is available HERE [893 KB] .

ASCOS is consolidating the proposed certification approach and developing guidance material A progress meeting is organized at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) UK, 31 March & 1 April, London, UK.

The ASCOS proposed certification approach is presented by Ebeni to the UK Safety and Reliability Society Western Region, United Kingdom, 24 March 2015. The presentation is available HERE [3.385 KB] .

The results of the ASCOS certification case study on an automatic aircraft recovery system are presented by NLR at the Certification Together International Conference (CTIC), February 24-26, Toulouse, France. The presentation is available HERE [4.023 KB] .

In February, ASCOS completes its Self-Assessment on the progress made towards the ACARE SRIA and FlightPath 2050 safety challenges. The public report is available HERE [1.309 KB] .

In February, ASCOS WP4 completes three certification case studies. The topics addressed are:
- Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) failure management system
- Automatic aircraft recovery system
- Certificate for de-icers

ASCOS Management Meetings take place on 15/16 January at NLR, Amsterdam.

ASCOS Familiarization Workshop on the ASCOS Tool for Risk Assessment was organized by the ASCOS WP5 Validation Team on 14 January at NLR, in Amsterdam.

On 17/18 December 2014, ASCOS results and their expected impact are presented at the first Dissemination event of the EC FP7 Project OPTICS. The presentation is available HERE [8.922 KB] .

ASCOS meets the SAE S-18 Airplane Safety Assessment Committee and the EUROCAE Working Group 63 Complex Aircraft Systems in Prague, Czech Republic, from 13-17 October 2014.

ASCOS User Group Workshop 3 on 9/10 October 2014. The ASCOS User Group meets the ASCOS Project Team in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Focus is the certification case studies, performed with the proposed ASCOS certification approach, and the validation of all the methods and tools developed in ASCOS.

In October 2014, ASCOS deliverable D5.2 (Validation plan and scenarios) was completed, and delivered to the User Group

In September 2014, the final deliverables from WP2 Continuous Safety Monitoring were completed:
- Tools for continuous safety monitoring (D2.4)
- Final report WP2 - Continuous Safety Monitoring

In July 2014, an initial assessment of the progress of ASCOS towards achieving the FlightPath 2050 safety goals was made by the European Commission Project OPTICS.

In July 2014, the final deliverables from WP3 Safety Risk Management were completed:
- Total aviation system safety standards improvements (D3.5)
- Final Report WP3 – Safety Risk Management (D3.6)

The ASCOS Project Steering Committee Meeting 4 took place at NLR, Amsterdam on 4 July 2014. ASCOS proceeds as planned, with WP2 Continuous Safety Monitoring and WP3 Safety Risk Management nearing completion.

In June 2014, the Deliverable D5.1 Validation Strategy was completed, and delivered to the User Group.

In March 2014, the following three ASCOS deliverables are delivered to the European Commission:
- Process for continuous safety monitoring (D2.3)
- Tool for risk assessment (D3.3)
- Tool for overall safety impact (D3.4)

The ASCOS Project Steering Committee Meeting 3 took place at NLR, Amsterdam on 16 January 2014.

The ASCOS WP4 “Certification case studies” Kick Off Meeting took place on 15 January 2014 at NLR, Amsterdam.
Four proposed changes in the total aviation system are addressed in WP4:
- Automation of RPAS failure management (WP4.1)
- Automatic aircraft recovery system (WP4.2)
- Certificate for de-icing / anti-icing services (WP4.3)
- ATM/CNS systems for improved surveillance (WP4.4)

EASA published the European Aviation Safety plan (EASp) 2014 – 2017. ASCOS contributes by performing an initial test case using the Future Aviation Safety Team (FAST) areas of change to develop a picture of the future (EASp, page 33). The first results are expected in 2014.

ASCOS contributes to the Joint Authorities for Rulemaking on Unmanned Systems (JARUS) Working Groups. ASCOS methods are e.g. used in the JARUS Working Group 4 on RPAS Detect and Avoid.

In January 2014, two technical papers are completed:
- Safety Performance Indicators (SPIs) for system of organizations
- Risk models and accident scenarios in the total aviation system

In December 2013, the following three ASCOS deliverables are delivered to the European Commission:
- Outline proposed certification approach (D1.3)
- E-learning environment to support certification processes (D1.4)
- Total aviation system safety assessment methodology (D3.1)

ASCOS meets the SAE S-18 Airplane Safety Assessment Committee and the EUROCAE Working Group 63 Complex aircraft systems in Seville, Spain, on 24 October 2013.

ASCOS participates in the EASA Workshop on Certification, which was held on 2 October 2013, at EASA, Cologne, Germany.

ASCOS User Group Workshop 2 on 19/20 September 2013. The ASCOS User Group meets the ASCOS Project Team in Arona, Italy. Intermediate ASCOS results and the plans for the coming periode were presented and discussed. The User Group provided three presentations on developments relevant for ASCOS:
- Causal model for Air Transport Safety (CATS)
- Future Aviation Safety Team (FAST)
- European Coordination Centre for Accident Reporting Systems (ECCAIRS)

ASCOS meets the EASA focal point for the European Aviation Safety plan (EASp) in Cologne, Germany, on 4 September 2013.

In August 2013, the following five ASCOS Deliverables are delivered to the European Commission:
- Analysis of existing regulations and certification processes (D1.1)
- Definition and evaluation of innovative certification approaches (D1.2)
- Framework Safety Performance Indicators (D2.1)
- Total aviation system baseline risk picture (D2.2)
- Risk models and accident scenarios (D3.2)

ASCOS meets the SESAR JU and EUROCONTROL representatives in the User Group in Brussels, Belgium, on 30 July 2013, to discuss the technical progress within ASCOS. A representative of the European Commission - DG MOVE participated in the discussions.

ASCOS Project Steering Committee (PSC) Meeting 2 took place at Thales Air Systems, Paris, on 4/5 July 2013.

An ASCOS - EASA Workshop was held on the premises of EASA, in Cologne, Germany, on 19 April 2013. With about 20 participants, all the EASA directorates were well represented.

ASCOS Progress Management Team Meeting took place at NLR Amsterdam, on 17th of January 2013.

From 16 November, 2012, ASCOS project information is available at the EC Transport and Research Innovation Portal (TRIP).

ASCOS Press Release on 31 October 2012.

ASCOS User Group Workshop on 30 October 2012. The ASCOS User Group meets the ASCOS Project Team at the premises of NLR in Amsterdam. The ASCOS objectives, methodology, and technical work packages were presented and discussed. The User Group representatives of EASA, FAA, and the SESAR JU all presented their expectations regarding the outputs and results of the ASCOS project.

ASCOS meets the SAE S-18 Airplane Safety Assessment Committee and the EUROCAE Working Group 63 Complex aircraft systems in Rome, Italy, on 17 October 2012.

ASCOS Flyer and Brochure published on 28 September 2012.

ASCOS Dissemination Plan [890 KB] published on 31 August 2012.

ASCOS meets the SESAR JU representative in the User Group in Brussels, Belgium, on 24 August 2012.

ASCOS kick-off meeting on 6 July 2012. The ASCOS project has its kick-off meeting on 6 July 2012 at the NLR premises in Amsterdam. Invited participants for the kick-off include the 14 consortium partners and the European Commission - DG RTD, as the customer.

On July 1, 2012, the ASCOS project started. From the 1st of July 2012, the ASCOS project has started to contribute to the Area/Topic “Operational Safety” in the Activity “Ensuring Customer Satisfaction and Safety” of the EU 7th Framework Programme “Aeronautics and Air Transport”.