Collision risk quantification for pairs of recorded aircraft trajectories

Abstract Complex domestic airspace requires collision risk models and monitoring tools suitable for arbitrary aircraft trajectories. This paper presents a new mathematically based collision risk approach that extends the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) models to full aircraft encounters based on real trajectory data. A new continuous time intervention model is presented, along with a position uncertainty propagation model that better reflects aircraft behaviour and allows generalisation to all trajectories to eliminate degenerate cases. The proposed risk model is computationally efficient compared to the models it is based on and can be applied to large-scale trajectory data. The utility of the model is demonstrated through a series of case studies using real aircraft trajectories.