Abstract
Modern aviation maintenance operates within increasingly data-intensive technological environments, yet the operational integration of predictive maintenance into routine decision-making remains inconsistent across sectors. Contemporary aircraft incorporate centralized maintenance computers and condition monitoring architectures capable of fault aggregation, exceedance capture, and trend-based data collection. Although prognostics and health management research continues to advance detection and prediction methods, implementation outcomes often depend on factors beyond analytical performance alone.
This paper examines predictive maintenance adoption in distributed-authority aviation environments and argues that constraints emerge less from sensing capability than from organizational structure, decision authority dispersion, and institutional trust dynamics. For purposes of analysis, distributed-authority environments are defined as those in which ownership, maintenance execution, engineering oversight, and financial decision-making are not institutionally unified. In such contexts, preemptive maintenance decisions frequently require mediation among multiple stakeholders, introducing complexity into the translation of predictive insight into action.
To address this gap, the paper proposes a conceptual hybrid trust-mediated adoption framework consisting of five stages: procedural institutionalization of data review, centralized interpretive oversight, mediated authority negotiation, operational validation through performance outcomes, and cultural normalization with distributed competency. The framework links predictive maintenance integration to staged processes of trust formation, authority alignment, and institutional embedding, and is intended as an analytical lens to guide future empirical research rather than a prescriptive implementation sequence.
Predictive maintenance is further situated within Safety Management System (SMS) processes, where it may function as a leading indicator within safety assurance and performance monitoring activities. Potential accelerants of adoption include demonstrated reductions in unscheduled maintenance events, regulatory recognition, and financial incentives that align safety outcomes with economic decision-making. The paper concludes by outlining a research agenda for examining measurable indicators of stage progression, trust formation, and operational impact within maintenance decision systems.
Acknowledgements
The author would like to acknowledge the contributions of Sang-A Lee, whose research and academic perspectives on aviation safety provided valuable insight into the development of this work.
The author also acknowledges the valuable perspectives of aviation maintenance and safety professionals whose insights informed the conceptual development of this research.
Scholarly Commons Citation
Foote, D. J.
(2026).
From Reactive to Predictive: A hybrid Trust-Mediated Adoption Framework for Data-Driven Maintenance in Distributed-Authority Aviation Environments.
International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace,
13(1).
DOI: https://doi.org/10.58940/2374-6793.2090
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