Factors Affecting Unmanned Aerial Vehicles’ Unsafe Behaviors and Influence Mechanism Based on Social Network Theory

Abstract

With the widespread application of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), flight safety issues have gradually become prominent. To improve the safety level of UAV flight, a conceptual model was constructed through groups of unsafe behaviors of UAV flight based on the Swiss cheese model (reason model). The relationship network model of unsafe behaviors of UAV flight was built after using the two-mode and one-mode social network analysis, and the unsafe behaviors of UAV flight influence mechanism were studied by basic characteristics of network analysis, centrality analysis, core-periphery structure analysis, in/out-degree analysis, and structural hole analysis. The results showed that the two-mode network is closely related: unreasonable safety management structure of the organization and weak supervision of UAV flight operation were those unsafe behaviors of UAV supervision that had great influence. The unsafe behaviors of UAV supervision, such as the organization’s illegal deployment of unqualified personnel for tasks and lack of ground commander for the mission plan, were in the core position of the network. The proposed model can effectively reduce the unsafe behaviors of UAV operations by eliminating critical unsafe behaviors of UAV supervision in the network and reducing UAV flight accidents.