Automated extraction of 4D aircraft trajectories from video recordings

TL;DR

This paper presents a method to automatically extract 4D aircraft trajectories from accident videos using photogrammetry, aiming to replace traditional flight data recorders and improve analysis efficiency.

Contribution

It develops and tests photogrammetric algorithms based on MicMac software to automate 4D trajectory extraction from various aircraft videos.

Findings

Automated process successfully extracts 4D trajectories from videos.

Method covers all potential flight configurations.

Potential to replace missing flight data recorders.

Abstract

The Bureau d'Enqu{\^e}tes et d'Analyses pour la S{\'e}curit{\'e} de l'Aviation Civile (BEA) has to analyze accident videos from on-board or ground cameras involving all types of aircraft. Until now, this analysis has been manual and time-consuming. The aim of this study is to identify the applications of photogrammetry and to automate the extraction of 4D trajectories from these videos. Taking into account all potential flight configurations, photogrammetric algorithms are being developed on the basis of IGN's MicMac software and tested in the field. The results of these automated processes are intended to replace flight data from recorders such as FDRs or CVRs, which are sometimes missing. The information of interest to the BEA includes: three-dimensional position with the associated time component, the orientations of the aircraft's three axes (pitch, roll and yaw navigation angles) and average speeds (including rate of climb).