HAPS Alliance publishes new white paper on acceptable levels of risks

The HAPS Alliance, an international association of cross-industry players working to enable a High-Altitude Platform Station (HAPS) ecosystem, today announced the publication of its white paper entitled, Acceptable Levels of Risk for HAPS.

Written by the HAPS Alliance Aviation Working Group (AWG), the paper highlights how leading experts in the field of HAPS have reimagined the traditional safety metrics used in aviation and introduced new approaches to setting acceptable levels of risk for this emerging technology.

“The white paper delves into the inherent challenges of setting safety metrics for HAPS, highlighting that traditional aviation safety metrics, such as the probability of catastrophic accidents per flight hour or mission, are insufficient for HAPS, said an alliance press release. “Instead, the white paper recommends “third party-centric” metrics, which measure the risk from the perspective of the exposed third parties. This fresh perspective considers individual and collective risk limits for both ground and air risk.”

“Conventional aviation safety measures are not well suited for HAPS. The white paper’s proposed framework is tailored to the distinctive challenges and capabilities of HAPS technology, offering a more encompassing, flexible, and appropriate method for risk management,” said HAPS Alliance AWG Chair Andy Thurling. “The whitepaper’s suggested guidance has the potential to expedite the secure introduction of HAPS across diverse regions, stimulating innovation and economic expansion, all while upholding the highest safety standards.”

The white paper includes the following items: