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Significance of human error in aviation
Explain causes of aircraft accidents
Aviation accidents human error
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Introduction
Being involved in an airplane accident is a nightmare scenario for any air travelers, crew and pilots alike. Statistically air travel is among the safest means of transport, but at the same time it is also associated with sporadic accidents that have proven to be extremely terrifying ordeals for all those involved due to a vast array of reasons. The causes of these accidents are of varying nature and depend on some problems that are originated during some stage of the flight process.
Main Causes of Plane Crashes
1. Decent and Landing Accidents
Airplane decent and landing accidents have been statistically proven to be one of the most common forms of airplane incidents. Ultimately accounting for about 37% airplane accidents, there are several different stages of the decent and landing process and several mechanical issues as well as a lack of focus on the part of the pilot can contribute to a faulty landing, ultimately resulting in a minor or fatal crash (Tullo, 2001).
2. Human Error
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).
3. Mechanical Failure
Mechanical failure accounts for 25% of the airplane ...
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...ff. There are a few accidents that are reported occur during flight at medium or high altitude. There are a host of reasons for a plane crash but the primary reasons of airplane incidents include; human error, mechanical fault, harsh weather and sabotage.
In order to further decrease the number of airplane accidents stricter measures of evaluating an aircrafts operability prior to take off need to be implemented. Additionally, better training of pilots can also lead to a more preferable outcome should a problem arise as the pilot will be better equipped to handle an emergency.
References:
De Almeida, IM (2011). "Contributive factors to aviation accidents". Revista de saúde pública, 45 (2), p.432
Shapiro, D. (2001). "Plane Crash Theory". Ploughshares, 27 (1), p. 162.
Tullo, A. (2001). "Cause of plane crash sought". Chemical & engineering news, 79 (48), p. 8
January 15, 2009 a plane took off from New York’s LaGuardia and on its way to Charlotte, North Carolina. (“Editors,Chesley”) (“Airplane Crash-lands”)Part way through the flight a flock of geese hit the plane, damaging both engines and the thrust no longer worked. Immediately,
According to “A Human Error Approach to Aviation Accident Analysis…”, both authors stated that HFACS was developed based off from the Swiss Cheese model to provide a tool to assist in the investigation process to identify the probable human cause (Wiegmann and Shappell, 2003). Moreover, the HFACS is broken down into four categories to identify the failure occur. In other words, leading up to adverse events the HFACS will identify the type error occur.
After World War II there was an excess of aircraft and trained pilots in the United States, which significantly increase in private and commercial flights. An increase in the use of private aircraft and large passenger planes meant an increase in the possibly of aircraft safety incidents. Even though safety measures had been put in place to tend to large number of aircraft in the skies, in late 1950’s there were two unfortunate accidents that finally led to legislation that would be a major change to the world of aviation that affects us even today. The introduction of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 spurred several changes in aviation that eventually led to the creation of the Federal Aviation Administration.
Air Crash Investigations: Cockpit Failure (S10E01). (2014, March 5). Retrieved May 19, 2014, from Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1FG8gOKMoo
According the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) Aircraft Accident Report, determines that the probable cause of the Flight 811 was sudden opening of the forward lower lobe cargo door in flight and subsequent explosive decompression, (NTSB,1989). In figure 1, depicted the damage of Flight 811 when it landed.
The trials and tribulations of flight have had their ups and downs over the course of history. From the many who failed to the few that conquered; the thought of flight has always astonished us all. The Wright brothers were the first to sustain flight and therefore are credited with the invention of the airplane. John Allen who wrote Aerodynamics: The Science of Air in Motion says, “The Wright Brothers were the supreme example of their time of men gifted with practical skill, theoretical knowledge and insight” (6). As we all know, the airplane has had thousands of designs since then, but for the most part the physics of flight has remained the same. As you can see, the failures that occurred while trying to fly only prove that flight is truly remarkable.
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
Aviation industry deals with more than thousands of people and also spending millions of funds in order to meet the requirements, satisfy the necessities of people and to produce state-of-the-art aircraft. With its objective it is significant to consider the hazards involved and bring out an output with the least extent and under control risks to prevent any loss in terms of life and even profit.
Simmon, David A. (1998). Boeing 757 CFIT Accident at Cali, Columbia, Becomes Focus of Lessons Learned. Flight Safety Digest.
There is an old saying that any landing you can walk away from is a good landing. There is a lot of truth to this statement, especially if you are the one walking away. Here are the stories of two such landings that I am personally familiar with. Since they are both very similar in nature, they will be discussed simultaneously in the pages to follow. N9KF was a Model 1 Kitfox. It was built and flown by my father. The Kitfox is an experimental, homebuilt kit plane. Every plane, like every person, has a story. This is the story of N9KF or at least the story as I know it.
After studying the Aloha aircraft accident in 1933, our group is interested in the investigation in Human performances factors in maintenance and inspection. We have divided the investigation into 5 aspects:
Automobile accidents happen all around us. We see cars in the middle of the road after just rear ending each other. We see cars driving around town with big dents in them. Do you ever stop to wonder how car accidents happen? Physics; that’s how they happen. There are several aspects of physics that apply to automobile accidents.
When I stepped into the large neatly organized white polished plane, I never though something would go wrong. I woke up and found myself on an extremely hot bright sunny desert island filled with shiny soft bright green palm trees containing rough bright yellow hard felt juicy apples. The simple strong plane I was in earlier shattered into little pieces of broken glass and metal when crashing onto the wet slimy coffee colored sand and burning with red orange colored flames. After my realization to this heart throbbing incident I began to run pressing my eight inch footsteps into the wet squishy slimy light brown sand looking in every direction with my wide open eyes filled with confusion in search of other survivors. After finding four other survivors we began moving our small petite weak legs fifty inches from the painful incident. Reaching our destination which was a tiny space filled with dark shade blocking the extreme heat coming from the bright blue sky, I felt my eyelids slowly moving down my light colored hazel eyes and found myself in a dream. I was awakened the next day from a grumbling noise coming from my empty stomach.
As the development of aviation industry grows, more and more aircraft crashes occur. There are many reasons that lead to aircraft crashes, but one of them, is because of improper aircraft maintenance. Why is proper aircraft maintenance so important? Proper aircraft maintenance is critical in order to keep the aircraft can function properly, every aircraft part is in good condition and ensure the safety of pilots and passengers. Proper maintenance has many parts. The most common part is inspections, which pilots do them every day; the main part is overhaul and repair of an aircraft; and maintenance documentation is another important part of aircraft maintenance which improper maintenance documentation has caused many incidents.
This term paper reviews the three most common catagories of aviation accident causes and factors. The causes and factors that will be discussed are human performance, environmental, and the aircraft itself. Although flying is one of the safest means of transportation, accidents do happen. It is the investigators job to determine why the accident happened, and who or what was at fault. In the event of an accident, either one or all of these factors will be determined as the cause of the accident. Also discussed will be one of the most tradgic plane crashes in aviation history and the human factors involved.