As students of the faculty of Aerospace Engineering at the Technical University of Delft, The Netherlands, it is mandatory to do an internship in the first or second year of the Masters track. The total duration of the internship is set to a minimum of 3 months and is rewarded upon completion with 18 ECTS. The goal of the internship is to put the knowledge gained at the Technical University of Delft into a practical use, being either the aviation or the space field, and to familiarize students with working for a company in preparation of their professional life. There are numerous options available, but working for the Volpe center in the United States of America is an opportunity not to be missed.

The Federal Radionavigation Plan (FRP) is published in accordance with 10 U.S.C. 2281(c) and delineates policies and plans for radionavigation services provided by the U.S. Government to ensure efficient use of resources and full protection of national interests. Developed jointly by the U.S. Departments of Defense and Transportation, the FRP sets forth the Federal interagency approach to the implementation and operation of radionavigation systems.

This report documents work done to enhance terminal area aircraft performance modeling in the Federal Aviation Administration's Aviation Environmental Design Tool. A commercially available aircraft performance software tool was used to develop data in a form usable by the Aviation Environmental Design Tool. These data were compared to actual aircraft performance data measured by flight data recorder systems. The terminal area fuel consumption data was shown to average about 2% different from the measured fuel consumption for departures and about 5% different for arrivals.

Safety events in which Electronic Bags were a factor are reviewed. Relevant reports were obtained from the public aviation Safety Reporting System database and the National Transportation Safety Board accident report database.

This analysis presents a "bottom up" projection of the potential production of alternative aviation (jet) fuels in North America (United States, Canada, and Mexico) and the European Union in the next decade. The analysis is based on available plans from individual companies and considers existing and emerging fuel production technologies. The analysis also forecasts how alternative fuels might contribute to greenhouse gas goals. Based on a review of fuel production companies' stated plans to produce jet fuel, the study incorporated company-specific data into seven scenarios varying alternative jet fuel production and expansion assumptions. This study supports the use of advanced alternative fuels as one important component of achieving emissions and environmental targets, although other additional measures and/or new technologies may also be required. The analysis suggests that the FAA goal of 1 billion gallons of alternative jet fuel use by U.S. aviation in 2018 is achievable.

On May 28, 2008, about 5:51 p.m., eastern daylight time, westbound Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Green Line train 3667, traveling about 38 mph, struck the rear of westbound Green Line train 3681, which had stopped for a red signal. The accident occurred in Newton, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston. Each train consisted of two light rail trolley cars and carried two crewmembers-a train operator at the front of the lead car and a trail operator in the second car. The operator of the striking train was killed; the other three crewmembers sustained minor injuries. An estimated 185 to 200 passengers were on the two trains at the time of the collision. Of these, four sustained minor injuries, and one was seriously injured. Total damage was estimated to be about $8.6 million.

On Friday, November 30, 2007, Amtrak (National Railroad Passenger Corporation) passenger train 371, consisting of one locomotive and three passenger cars, struck the rear of a standing Norfolk Southern Railway Company freight train near Chicago, Illinois. The forward portion of the Amtrak locomotive came to rest on top of a container on the rear car of the freight train. Sixty-six passengers and five crewmembers were transported to hospitals; two passengers and one crewmember were subsequently admitted. The weather was clear, and the temperature was 30 F. Estimated damage was $1,299,000"

On Tuesday, January 9, 2007, at 1:38 p.m., southbound Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority passenger train 322 operated by Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad struck a track maintenance vehicle that was on the track near Woburn, Massachusetts. The track maintenance vehicle was thrown forward about 210 feet; the train did not derail. Of the six maintenance-of-way employees working on or near the track maintenance vehicle, two were killed, and two were seriously injured. Emergency responders treated and released 10 passengers at the accident scene.

In 2000, the Maryland Transit Administration experienced two similar accidents in the same location just 6 months apart. Both accidents involved the failure of a light rail vehicle train to stop at the designated stopping point at the Baltimore-Washington International Airport Light Rail Station (BWI Airport Station).

Motorcoach safety has received increased public attention after several serious accidents during 2011, some of which involved curbside carriers. As a result, the National Transportation Safety Board conducted an investigation of motorcoach safety with a focus on curbside operations. This report (1) describes the characteristics of the curbside business model among interstate motorcoach carriers; (2) describes the safety record of interstate motorcoach carriers, including those that use a curbside business model; and (3) evaluates the adequacy of safety oversight for interstate motorcoach carriers using a curbside business model.

This Performance and Accountability Report (PAR) for fiscal year (FY) 2008 provides the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) financial and performance information, enabling the President, Congress, and the American people to assess the Agency's performance as provided by the requirements of the government Management Reform Act of 1994, government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993, chief Financial Officers Act of 1990, federal Manager's Financial Integrity Act (FMFIA) of 1982 and the office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular A-136.

The National Transportation Safety Board relies on many external databases when performing accident investigations, safety studies, and special investigations. Most of these databases are sponsored and operated by the modal administrations of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The Board's ability to study important safety issues is often affected by poor data quality. The Board studied transportation safety databases to evaluate data quality issues and to encourage improvements in this area. The effort had four specific objectives: (a) highlight the value and potential uses of transportation safety data; (b) describe some accident and incident databases commonly used by the Board; (c) summarize past Board recommendations involving transportation data; and (d) evaluate Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) efforts to establish data quality standards, identify information gaps, and ensure compatibility among the safety data systems maintained by the DOT.

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent agency charged with determining the probable cause of transportation accidents and promoting transportation safety. The Board investigates accidents, conducts safety studies, evaluates the effectiveness of other government agencies' programs for preventing transportation accidents, and reviews the appeals of enforcement actions involving airman and seaman certificates issues by the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard and civil penalty actions taken by the FAA.

The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent agency charged with determining the probable cause of transportation accidents and promoting transportation safety. The Board investigates accidents, conducts safety studies, evaluates the effectiveness of other government agencies' programs for preventing transportation accidents, and reviews the appeals of enforcement actions involving airman and seaman certificates issues by the Federal Aviation Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard and civil penalty actions taken by the FAA.

This lesson will discuss the basic building blocks of the atmosphere, beginning with the lower layers in which most flight activity occurs. These layers have particular temperature characteristics that affect many aspects of weather, and thus are important to the understanding of later chapters. Pressure is another characteristic of the atmosphere which enables meteorologists to track weather phenomena as they move across the surface of the earth. Additionally, pressure is important to the aviation community since one of the most basic flight instruments, the barometric altimeter, operates from the action of atmospheric pressure upon its sensors. In order to gain a complete understanding of the altimeter, the effects of temperature and pressure variations on altimeter readings will also be discussed.

The National Transportation Safety Board's interest in the medical oversight of noncommercial drivers stems from its examination of six noncommercial vehicle accidents in which a driver's medical condition played a role.

This special investigation report describes the results of a National Transportation Safety Board review of 32 accidents that involved parachute jump ("or skydiving") operations and that occurred between 1980 and 2008. The report identifies the following recurring safety issues: inadequate aircraft inspection and maintenance; pilot performance deficiencies in basic airmanship tasks, such as preflight inspections, weight and balance calculations, and emergency and recovery procedures; and inadequate Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) oversight and direct surveillance of parachute operations. Parachute jump operators, many of which transport parachutists for revenue, maintain their aircraft under regulatory provisions that require little FAA oversight. Lack of operation-specific pilot training is also discussed. Safety recommendations to the FAA and to the United States Parachute Association are included. Appendix A details other current and past Safety Board recommendations related to parachute operations.

The international technology scanning program, sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, accesses and evaluates innovative foreign technologies and practices that could significantly benefit U.S. highway transportation systems.

Between 1999 and 2000, the National Transportation Safety Board investigated nine rear-end collisions in which 20 people died and 181 were injured. Common to all nine accidents was the rear following vehicle driver's degraded perception of traffic conditions ahead. As the Safety Board reported in 1995 and further discussed at its 1999 public hearing, existing technology in the form of Intelligent Transportation Systems can prevent rear-end collisions. In the nine accidents investigated by the Safety Board, one (and sometimes more) of the available technologies would have helped alert the drivers to the vehicles ahead, so that they could slow their vehicles, and would have prevented or mitigated the circumstances of the collisions.

Qualification standards published by the U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) describe the minimum experience or education that individuals must have to qualify for specific positions within the federal government (OPM, 2009). These standards are developed and revised in conjunction with the appropriate federal agency. The purpose of the current research project was to evaluate the OPM qualification standard for the Air Traffic Control (ATC) Series 2152 and provide recommendations for renewing the standard for Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) human resources personnel. In addition to general and specialized experience and education requirements, the ATC Series 2152 qualification standard includes seven alternate requirements for use in qualifying applicants for selection by the FAA as air traffic control specialists (ATCSs).

Within a 2-month period in 2001, the Chicago Transit Authority experienced two similar rear-end collisions involving CTA rapid transit trains.

This report focuses on transportation indicators pertinent to key initiatives of the U.S. Department of Transportation and the topics specified in legislative mandate. In addition, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics highlights efforts to improve transportation statistics.

This Geotechnical Technical Guidance Manual (TGM) provides technical guidance for geotechnical work performed by the Federal Lands Highway (FLH). It provides guidance for understanding and applying policies, standards and criteria in recognition of the need to manage financial and public safety risk and accomplish the missions of FHWA, FLH and partner agencies. Specific topics include geotechnical reconnaissance, site and subsurface investigation, analysis and design, reporting, PS&E involvement, construction support, performance monitoring, emergency response and consultant roles. The guidance in this TGM supports the policies, standards and standard practices presented in Chapter 6 of the Project Development and Design Manual (PDDM). Additionally, the TGM provides guidance for activities where standards and standard practices do not exist and it provides access to and guidance for the use of new technologies. Chapter 6 of the PDDM is the source for general direction on "what" should be performed, whereas guidance herein provides recommendations and options for "how" to perform these tasks. Like the PDDM, the TGM is intended to be used primarily as a web-based electronic reference document. Not all guidance is presented directly in the manual. When published sources present guidance that satisfies the requirements of FLH, or does so with only minor modification required, the TGM provides citations and links to those sources. If necessary, commentary on the application of these sources is provided here. This is done to keep the TGM small and more manageable, and also to allow easy and timely incorporation of new guidance as it is developed and published by FLH, FHWA and others. Technical guidance references cited and linked in this manual are classified as either "Primary," or "Secondary." Primary sources either present preferred guidance on how to accomplish a task or, when equal guidance is available through many sources, the Primary source is most widely available. "Secondary" sources are additional documents that are often relied on for FLH work; they present guidance to augment the Primary source. The PDDM presents work requirements through the official statement of policy and standards so it is an essential companion manual to the TGM. The TGM does not stand alone; policies and standards are repeated here only as necessary to offer guidance on their application. If discrepancy in the statement of policy or standards exists, the PDDM has precedence. Division-level documents also exist within FLH to provide guidance on unique technical practices or procedures at FLH Divisions; where these exist they should be followed for work within that Division. Also, although the organization of each of the Divisions is similar, there are differences. For this reason, the project delivery process and how the Geotechnical Discipline works within that process is described largely at the Division level.

(PDDM Part I - Chapters 1-7) Federal Lands Highway (FLH) has developed the Project Development and Design Manual (PDDM) to provide current policies and guidance for the interdisciplinary project development and design related activities performed by FLH Divisions and their consultants. It also serves as a guide for administrators, public officials and others, both within and outside FLH, who are responsible for advancing projects through the project development process. The purpose of the PDDM is to: Provide current policies, standards, criteria and guidance for development and design of FLH projects; Be easily accessed by internal and external participants in the project development process; Be user-friendly with useful navigation and search tools; Provide immediate access to approved external references; and Be frequently updated to maintain credibility. A primary goal of the PDDM is clarifying what is expected for FLH projects and delivering an end product that meets these expectations. The previous edition of the manual has been converted from a policy/procedures hard copy format manual to a policy/best practices, interactive web-based document with electronic links. Most theory-specific procedures or recommended methods, including computer software, are included in the updated PDDM by reference only. This manual is not intended to be a technical "how to" instructional guide. The manual defines FLH policies, standards and standard practices, criteria, guidance and discretionary expectations for project development. The FLH Discipline Champions and their respective teams prepared this edition of the PDDM, with assistance from engineering consultants. The FLH Discipline Champions wish to express their appreciation to all contributors who assisted in the development of this manual, specifically the contributions of the following: FLH Division Engineers and Directors, FLH Branch Chiefs, FLH Staff, Materials furnished by other State and Federal agencies, Research publications and materials furnished by the private sector, Consultants who contributed to the preparation, and Federal land management agency partners and other reviewers.