For every 12 days that passed in 2007, an Alaskan life was lost due to an aircraft accident. Every three days, somewhere in Alaska, an aircraft crashes.

General aviation flights are the primary transportation link between most communities in Alaska. With more small aircraft per capita than anywhere else in the world, pilot safety, aircraft communications and de-confliction are of utmost concern. The Alaska Aviation Safety Project (AASP) is an initiative to increase general aviation safety by enhancing pilot situational awareness through the integration of advanced remote sensing and aviation technologies. Funded cooperatively by NASA and the State of Alaska (SOA), the AASP represents a partnership of aviation, public, and commercial stakeholders who collectively examine the safety challenges facing Alaska’s general aviation community and work together to build low-cost, publically useful training and awareness tools.





To decrease the frequency of airplane crashes through education and tools that bridge the gap between historical knowledge and technology supporting the general aviation community. 


The principal distribution channels for AASP products are the Medallion Foundation’s training programs, the University of Alaska Aviation Technology Program, the Federal Aviation Administration, various public forums, and this portal. As a charter supporter, the Medallion Foundation leverages a variety of the AASP solutions to provide teaching content and technology for their Circle of Safety and Medallion Flyers programs. Offering a variety of mapping, simulation, and visualization solutions, the AASP has helped pilots to prepare for Alaska’s unique navigational and inclement weather conditions since 2001. While new products are released regularly, examples of AASP solutions include, but are not limited to the following:

• Microsoft Flight Simulator X (MSFS) datasets to support flight training scenarios throughout Alaska’s most dangerous and frequently traversed passages.
• Visual Nature Studio interactive models of airspace and landmark objects for the Anchorage Bowl.
• 3D Renderings of mountain passes highlighting the unique navigation, de-confliction, and weather response challenges of each area.
• Remote Sensing products that provide the basis for real-to-world aviation related visualization capabilities.
• Map Portal that showcases AASP solutions and aviation safety functions in a spatial environment.
• Anchorage Airspace Navigation training video to acclimate aviation stakeholders from outside of Alaska to the complexities of approach to, and departure from, Anchorage Bowl airspace.

• Phase I - Proved that remote sensing terrain data can be used to visualize real to world flight experiences.
• Phase II - Expanded on this concept by using these visualization products as the basis for flight simulation in aviation training devices (ATD) and fixed perspective fly-through animations.
• Phase III - Built upon this training potential by exploring the value of free-flight interaction with 3D models and leveraging remote sensing data as context for communicating complex airspace interactions.
• Phase IV (currently underway) - Serves as a transition from building preparatory tools to exploring the potential for real-time support of general aviation flight safety. The proposed solutions build upon historical lessons by exploring decision support training scenarios and en-route safety resources that will tie preparatory experiences to real-time challenges.