Alaskan Flight 261: Case Study

There are many aircraft accident factors in which investigators need to pursue in order to come to a good conclusion on what the cause or causes of an aircraft accident were. A portion of what the investigator looks into is the human factors surrounding the accident. This highly diverse and expansive area needs to be systematically looked into to figure out if any human factors were causation of an aircraft accident. One model that investigators utilize in order to sift through the human factors that may be attributable to an accident is the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) Model. This Model breaks down human factors into four different sections, organizational influences, unsafe supervision, preconditions for unsafe acts, and unsafe acts of operators. Throughout this case study, the accident of American Airlines flight 1420 will be dissected utilizing the HFACS Model to uncover human factors issues with the aircraft operator organization, aircraft flight crew, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Flight 4184 could have been avoided had the aircraft been at a higher altitude, the pilots could have recovered. But with no knowledge of the type of ice it was accumulating or the type of weather the ice can be found in the pilots were unaware of the serious danger they were in. Since this accident new regulations have been enforced as well as airline companies who use the ATR 42 and 72 have since moved the operation of these planes to warmer climates where icing is less likely to occur. New training practices for pilots to recognize different types of icing conditions have been implemented.

Days of travel can be tedious. You park your car, grab your bags, and lug them through security only to be harassed by a TSA officer for having a bottle of water. After quarreling for what seems like an eternity, the now agitated TSA officer directs you to the full body x-ray scanners and gives you another pat down. Although you arrived 3 hours early to the airport, you get past security with just 15 minutes to boarding. You look up at the departures screen and right then, the PA sounds with a message no traveler would want to hear. “Attention passengers. United Airlines Flight 478 to New York LaGuardia has been cancelled due to inclement weather. Thank you for your cooperation.” As you are about to cry, you suddenly realize something. This could go 2 ways. You can either complain and get rebooked a hours later or you could game the system and make it all worthwhile.

This review of the inquiry of Air India Flight 182: A Canadian Tragedy will examine the numerous objectives of the inquiry. The review will examine the mandate, methods, and the key

In February, 1991, the US Air flight 1493 (Boeing US Air 737), scheduled from Syracuse Hancock International Airport, NY to San Francisco International Airport, California, accidently collided with SkyWest Flight 569 upon landing in Los Angeles. When the 737 went for its final approach the local controller got distracted with a series of abnormalities including an aircraft that switched off the tower frequency inadvertently and a misplaced flight progress strip that resulted in the SkyWest being informed to take off from the same runway where USAir 737 was landing. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found the probable cause to this accident was flawed procedures used in the control tower that created inadequate redundancy and loss

In the case of US Airways, Inc. v. Barnett, one of the underlying threads of examination to the case is the seniority system within the company. Seniority sets a precedence of position in the workplace benefiting those that have a longer term of service within an organization over those that have less service to a company when a seniority system is in place. Seniority is a common practice within companies that have a union present although these systems are also common within organizations that do not have a union in place (Retrieved from http://humanresources.about.com/od/workplaces-organizations/g/what-is-seniority-in-the-workplace.htm).

Leadership is described in diverse ways. It is known as a complex and contextual social process, formed with the values, knowledge, skills and ways of thinking together of both leaders and followers. (Gallos, 2014) As leaders, they are the decision makers of the company’ culture and have more authority than followers. (Brown & Treviño 2006) Followers can be subordinates or stakeholders. In this case study, we can see much interaction between the leader in Pancontinental Airways- MD, Henry Callahan and his subordinates. Henry can use his power in decision-making process to make goals look attractive and to build up followers’ confidence. Certainly, What the leaders do in the company has considered as the main issues far more significant

Delta Air Lines’ (Delta) history began in 1924 as Huff Daland Dusters located in Mason, Georgia. Starting as an agricultural air company, C.E. Woolman acquired Huff Daland Dusters and changed the name to Delta Air Services. Securing a contract with the United States Postal Service, Delta was now carrying mail and passengers. Eventually the name would be changed to Delta Air Lines. In 2012 Delta Air Lines was the 2nd largest airline to provide air transportation for passengers, cargo, and mail (Wheelen et al., 2015).

The safety department will oversee all aircraft accident investigations. When an accident occurs the safety, branch will contact all the necessary agencies, such as the NTSB and FAA. All members of the organization that have received the specialized training and are members of the on-call 24 hour Go-Team will be notified and sent to the scene as soon as possible. For further information concerning aircraft accident investigations please review Appendix 1 of this safety plan.

Public Law 112-95 – FAA modernization and Reform Act of 2012 charged the Department of Transportation and the FAA to finalize and integrate UASs into the NAS with the intent of allowing commercial operations (Public Law 112-95, 2012). Any aircraft that operates within the NAS needs to be certified, registered, and controlled by a licensed pilot (non-model aircraft). With the passing of Public Law 112-95 UASs pilots could now request an exemption to these requirements under Section 333 (Section 333, 2017). This set the frame work for commercial UASs operations prior to the full implementation of 14 CFR Part 107. In late August 2016 the FAA fully implemented Part 107 of the Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs); setting

The National Transportation Security Board, or NTSB, the US government agency that is in charge of investigating and determining the causes of all accidents involving US civil aviation, is responsible to analyze everything that lead to an accident from examining the wreckage, the aircraft design, and the aircraft’s performance characteristics to evaluating

Market and Industry. The airline industry is highly seasonal, to gain a comprehensive understanding of an effective acquisition, we will need to analyze American Airline’s key performance indicators that contribute to the financial health of the company. Our research has determined American Airline to be a perfect fit for our acquisition strategy. We will briefly illustrate the reasons why American Airlines is an excellent prospect for acquisition. The airline industry is a large industry that not only employs many people, but also prides itself on being an industry that generates revenues that rivals that of any other large industry in the United States. The acquisition of American Airlines will give Delta higher visibility and new opportunities

Are there reasons that the investigation has taken so long and still, nothing has turned up? There were complications that hindered the discovery of the doomed flight. The investigation of MH370 took scientists, (researchers / investigators) to places they had never been before. ¨The tragedy of MH370 took scientists to places that nobody had ever seen before with any clarity¨ (Elder 1). The investigation for MH370 was / is very complicated and the scientists were looking in parts of the ocean that were never studied. Being that they had to explore new seafloors, this may have put a kink in the investigation. The crash was ruled an incident by the Malaysian authorities so that the grieving families could collect compensation for their losses. “Ruled an incident to allow the grieving families to begin claiming compensation for their loses.” (Calder 1). This could have put a very large roadblock in the investigation and attempted discovery of

8.1.2 Strategic risk. The position of the company within its environment is of great importance. Due to the competitive nature of the airline industry, many companies must develop new adaptive and innovative strategies to be progressive in the market. In relation to our internal report, the core strategy of American Airlines is stimulating growth through increased regional and international capacities within the limits of the firm’s contribution target and its consolidated net income. The emergence of low cost carriers has a profound impact on the company and the airline must continue to reshape its strategies and business model to compete with rivals. The company continues to reach customer through new and expanded routes and flight schedule, however to maintain viability American Airlines must ensure that it has adequate facilities in these new markets by obtaining adequate operational areas. Furthermore, operating in Beijing, London, Paris Tokyo and other international airport outside the U.S. has its constraint and are regulated by local authorities pursuant to IATA Worldwide guidelines (American Airlines 10-K, 2017). The company continues to devise more strategic perspectives that are cost effective such as the partnership with codeshare operators. Relying on code share agreement can expose the company to risk and liability, since the airline would bear some responsibility if one of partners through these established alliance and agreement is involved in an accident or

When discussing aviation investigation policies, ICAO Annex 13 of the Chicago Convention states ‘The sole objective of the investigation of an accident or incident shall be the prevention of accidents and incidents. It is not the purpose of this activity to apportion blame or liability’ (ICAO, 2001). The overarching documents or guidelines for accident investigation are deliberately non-prescriptive designed to allow ICAO member states to implement legislation and classification systems they see fit for their industry.