Although providing significant benefits compared with manned aircraft or ground systems, unmanned aircraft also introduce costs and risks. Because of the rapidly increasing number of unmanned aircraft operating in the United States, the air transportation community must develop a framework for maximizing the benefits and minimizing the costs and risks. Public opinion will inevitably shape this framework, but that community’s perception of how the public perceives unmanned aircraft is considerably uncertain. Thus, in this investigation, an opinion survey was administered to assess participants’ knowledge, attitude, and practices about unmanned aircraft. The survey was taken by 400 individuals representing the general public and 135 individuals representing key stakeholder groups. The survey responses illustrate the complexity of stakeholders’ and the general public’s opinions about unmanned aircraft. Most respondents reported that their support or opposition to unmanned aircraft is conditional. Risks, application, environment, and benefits all have a strong impact on support and opposition. A statistical analysis of several questions was completed with a multinomial logit model to determine whether certain demographic or stakeholder groups were more likely to hold a certain position. Some groups with consistent responses to all three questions were identified. In the general public, women were generally less supportive of unmanned aircraft than men, and respondents younger than 36 were more supportive than older respondents. Of the stakeholders, pilots and employees of the airline industry were less supportive. The statistical findings reduce the uncertainty of opinions about unmanned aircraft.
Opinion Survey to Reduce Uncertainty in Public and Stakeholder Perception of Unmanned Aircraft
Transportation Research Record
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board ; 2600 , 1 ; 80-93
2016-01-01
Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)
Elektronische Ressource
Englisch
British Library Conference Proceedings | 2016
|Transportation Research Record | 1997
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