The majority of aviation accidents are due to human error, which is why it is of such high importance to learn about human factors and crew management. Unfortunately, part of being human is making mistakes, and it would be nearly impossible to eliminate all hazards. However; becoming knowledgeable in recognizing hazards and assessing the risks associated with them is a large influencing factor in mitigating accidents. Throughout this course, we have covered some of the most influential aspects of accidents that people repeatedly fall victim to and how to avoid them. These include identifying links in the error chain, vertigo, the importance of checklists, hypoxia, interacting with crew members, and external stimuli such as alcohol, drugs, and …show more content…
The Colgan 3407 crash is one of the most infamous examples to analyze in the aviation industry. This flight just so happened to be littered with potential hazards that, if recognized at the time could have broken a link in the error chain and resulted in a safe arrival. For one, both of the pilots traveled far distances to get to the airport that they were required to fly out of. Traveling long distances is a large cause of fatigue. Along with that, the First Officer also had a slight cold, so her condition was not one in which she should have been flying. Their physical conditions likely hindered their mental agility, but on top of that, they also disregarded routine safety practices such as the sterile cockpit rule. Instead of focusing on their duties, they continued their personal discussion and let it become a distraction to their flying. The conditions in which they were flying that night …show more content…
In this case, US Airways flight 1549 has become a prime example of a miraculous outcome of an aviation incident. For this flight both of the pilots were in good physical condition, without any external stimuli or lack of sleep taking a toll on them. This allowed them to be fully alert to perform their flying obligations. In addition to having adequate physical capabilities, these pilots were well trained in their art form, and were able to do the single most important aspect when it comes to operating an aircraft: actually flying the airplane. Once the bird strike occurred, they were able to assess the situation and remain calm while working through possible solutions. Thanks to the frequent training in accident recovery, the First Officer was able to flip straight to the engine failure checklist, which the pilots then put into action. While this was crucial, the Captain was knowledgeable and experienced enough to take the liberty of skipping over steps on the checklist which ended up making a significant difference in the end result. Amongst the various other components that went into making this flight a successful recovery, communication was probably one of the most largely influencing factors. Throughout the entire situation the two pilots had professional communication between each other and the rest of the
Give a brief summary of the reading. What event was it describing and how was it analyzing that event?
Handling and operating an airplane comes with great risk, but these risks that are present are handled with very different attitudes and dealt with in different ways depending on the environment the pilots are in.
Wickens, Lee, Liu and Gordon-Becker (2014) defined human error as the “inappropriate human behavior that lowers levels of system effectiveness or safety”. Human error consists of mistake, which is the intended action that turned out to be inappropriate; slip, which is the unintended incorrect act; and lapse, the omission of nonintentional errors (Wickens, Lee, Liu & Gordon-Becker, 2014). There are various instances of human error demonstrated in the case description including, the nurse entering the MRI room with the oxygen tank (mistake), failure to check the level of oxygen in the tank (lapse) and the oxygen tank accidentally flying over to Michael’s head
The Colgan Air Flight 3407 was a very interesting case to look at. On February 12, 2009, at 10:17 pm, flight 3407 crashed at a house in New York after the pilots experience a stall. Flight 3407 was scheduled to fly from Newark, New Jersey to Buffalo, New York. The NTSB reported the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) revealed some discrepancies both pilots were experience. The first officer did not have any experience with icing condition but icing was one of the reasons the plane went into a stall. On the other hand, the captain had some experience flying in icing condition. The captain was experiencing fatigue, which indeed, made him unfit to recover from a stall. With that in mind, the Human Factor Analysis Classification System (HFACS) will give insight of some errors both pilots made.
One of them is the Crew Resource Management (CRM) present in the Aviation field that experts have come up. It is safety training that focuses team management that is very effective. The CRM programs essentially educate the crew members on how human competency may be limited. The operational perceptions emphasized include examination, promotion, seeking information related to operations, communicating projected exploits, decision-making and conflict resolution. The improvements on the safety records, which were observed after the implementation of this new safety training on commercial aviation, were tremendous compared to the previous record where 70 percent of the commercial flight accidents were as a result poor communication among crew members. Secondly, there is the Kaiser Permanente, SABR (Situation, Background, Assessment, and Recommendation) Tool 2002 which reveals that indeed doctors and nurses more often than not have different communication styles partly owing to their training. Physicians are taught to be concise while nurses to be able to vividly describe medical conditions. SABR was created by a physician co-coordinator of the informatics at the Kaiser Permanente, Michael Leonard together with his colleagues and it has been used vastly in the healthcare systems, one of them being the Kaiser Permanente. It provides a framework of communication between medical
In the text, Carr states, “The autopilot disconnected, and the captain took over the controls. He reacted quickly, but he did precisely the wrong thing…The crash, which killed all 49 people on board as well as one person on the ground, should never have happened.” This shows that by depending on technology, pilots run the risk of potentially crashing the plane. Although technology has made it easier to fly planes, many things can go wrong with technology which is why it is dangerous to depend on it the way many pilots do. In addition, Carr also talks about how pilots are unable to react during an emergency due to their lack of knowledge. In the text, Carr states, “Automation has become so sophisticated that on a typical passenger flight, a human pilot holds the controls for a grand total of just three minutes...They’ve become, it’s not much of an exaggeration to say, computer operators.” This shows how pilots are losing their knowledge which is putting the lives of the passengers at risk. Although technology has helped to an extent, it harmful as well since pilots are relying more on the computer than on their
When it comes to safety most people think they are safe, and they have a true understanding on how to work safe. Human nature prevents us from harming ourselves. Our instincts help protect us from harm. Yet everyday there are injuries and deaths across the world due to being unsafe. What causes people to work unsafe is one of the main challenges that face all Safety Managers across the world.
The individuals involved in error should not be punishing but we all must learn from those mistakes by improving the system. In the case above, a root cause analysis was conducted as part of the learning and improvement process. There were a few breakdowns in the system noted that led to this sentinel event. A large part of the issue was related to the utilization of the chain of command by the nurse. Another problem was attributed to the comfort level of the nurse in reaching out to the next person in the chain of command. A final concern was noted regarding why the resident did not come to assess patient after the first time when he received the call from the nurse. Rizzo (2013) writes that we must remain open to anyone who questions the safety of care being provided and we must foster open, honest communication among the multidisciplinary team members. Furthermore, the healthcare systems cannot build a fear of retribution for these mistakes in their employees if they want to build a culture of
Keeping patients safe is essential in today’s health care system, but patient safety events that violate that safety are increasing each year. It was only recently, that the focus on patient safety was reinforced by a report prepared by Institute of medicine (IOM) entitled ” To err is human, building a safer health system”(Wakefield & Iliffe,2002).This report found that approx-imately 44,000 to 98,000 deaths occur each year due to medical errors and that the majority was preventable. Deaths due to medical errors exceed deaths due to many other causes such as like HIV infections, breast cancer and even traffic accidents (Wakefield & Iliffe, 2002). After this IOM reports, President Clinton established quality interagency coordination task force with the help of government agencies. These government agencies are responsible for making health pol-icies regarding patient safety to which every HCO must follow (Schulman & Kim, 2000).
Throughout the history of aviation, accidents have and will continue to occur. With the introduction of larger and more complex aircraft, the number of humans required to operate these complex machines has increased as well as, some say, the probability of human error. There are studies upon studies of aircraft accidents and incidents resulting from breakdowns in crew coordination and, more specifically, crew communication. These topics are the driving force behind crew resource management. This paper will attempt to present the concept of crew resource management (CRM) and its impact on aviation safety in modern commercial and military aviation. The concept is not a new one, but is continually evolving and can even include non-human elements such as computer-controlled limitations on aircraft maneuvers and the conflicts that result in the airline industry.
...ny things a pilot should know, but this is at the top of the list, "The last thing you want to do is panic, then all sorts of things can happen." (Roy Murray, flight instructor, who successfully talked a passenger with no flying experience through a landing over the radio after the pilot collapsed.)
The primary cause is of airplane accidents does at some stage contain an element of a person being unable to discharge his duties correctly and in an accurate manner. More than 53% accidents are the result of ignorance or faults by the pilot during flight. Other staff is responsible for about 8% accidents. The most obvious errors by pilot are made during the take off or landing on the runway. Additionally errors can occur during the maintenance of the airplane outside the plane, whereby a lack of thorough inspection and oversight can lead to complication during mid-flight. Fueling and loading of the plane also sometimes create problems (Shapiro, 2001).
Although workplace accidents are very common, the majority of them can be prevented. As a company, you are obliged by the law to protect your employees, so it is important to take the necessary actions that will minimize the risk of accidents (Intelligent HQ, 2015).
The intent of this research is to provide the reader with insight on how Crew Resource Management (CRM) improves safety in aviation organizations. This research will also present how CRM establishes a set of guidelines, behavioral norms, and standard operational practices that enables an organization to utilize all resources available to conduct safe and efficient flight operations. CRM encompasses a wide range of knowledge, skills and attitudes including communications, situational awareness, problem solving, aeronautical decision-making, information management, and teamwork (Royal Aeronautical Society, 1999). CRM is also a synergistic approach to managing flight operations, and allows crews to dynamically multi-task and prioritize work efforts in order to conduct their operations more efficiently and safely. Over the last three decades, the NTSB, NASA, the FAA, ICAO, the military, and the airline industry have created CRM programs, and extensively researched and tested new and innovative ways to incorporate CRM with cockpit automation.
It’s true what everyone talks about safety – you are the key to your safety, when you do it safely you do it the right way and the best gift you can give to your family is to always stay safe. We have been taught by our parents and teachers to be cautious while doing a number of things. That’s very essential in our daily lives, because one needs to be extra cautious to prevent unavoidable accidents. However, mishaps do happen everywhere in the safest of places, no matter how careful we are in our actions. It is highly unpredictable, what’s going to happen the very next instant. There are numerous incidences we come across like simple trips, falls, cuts due to sharp objects, burns or sudden worsening of a person’s health condition, causing