Airworthiness, Safety and Reliability of Aircraft

Dear Colleagues,

Modern aircraft are becoming more advanced, with new technologies like lightweight materials, automated systems, and digital tools. While these innovations improve performance, they also raise challenges for keeping aircraft safe, reliable, and compliant with regulations. This Special Issue focuses on solving these challenges to ensure aircraft meet the highest standards of safety throughout their lifespan.

Key topics include system safety (identifying and reducing risks) and system reliability (ensuring systems work correctly over time). Structural integrity—keeping aircraft bodies strong and durable—is also critical, especially with new materials and methods to detect wear and tear. As rules evolve, finding practical means of compliance for airworthiness certification is vital, particularly for emerging technologies like electric engines or AI-based systems.

Validation and verification (V&V) play a big role here. Testing methods, such as simulations, digital models, and real-world trials, help confirm that designs meet safety and performance goals.

This issue brings together research and real-world examples to address questions like the following: How can we better predict system failures? What tools improve structural inspections? How can certification processes keep up with fast-changing technology?

We welcome studies, case examples, and reviews on safety analysis, reliability assessment, risk management, maintenance strategies, regulatory updates, and the use of data-driven tools (like machine learning) in safety checks. By sharing knowledge, this issue aims to support safer, more reliable aviation for the future.

Prof. Dr. Zhong Lu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• system safety
• system reliability
• structure integrity
• means of compliance
• airworthiness certification
• validation and verification