Human Factors and Aviation Safety

Patient safety is of utmost importance to prevent errors and adverse effects associated with patients in health care. Yet, 44,000 to 90,000 people die each year from preventable medical errors (Potter & Peter) caused by human factors. According to World Health Organization (2009) human factors is defined as:

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).

As a collaborative case study, we analyzed the American Airlines Flight 1420 accident using the SHELL Model. The SHEL Model was developed by a Professor Elwyn Edwards in 1972 and it was later modified to the SHELL Model by a human factors consultant named Frank Hawkins. We can see all the human factors that were involved in the accident utilizing following aspects software, hardware, environment, liveware and liveware. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) conducted a thorough investigation and determine that the American Airlines Flight 1420 was a runway overrun accident caused by human factors.

To be an airline pilot is most of the time described in terms of duties, job requirements, proficiency, training, employment opportunity, and good salary. These features picture a plain profile that fit into the specification of just an ordinary career. However, an aviation career comes with many challenges than expected. When focusing on statistics about being a pilot, it indicates a lifestyle that many inspire to work despite the many challenges that face this career. The challenges that pilot face revolve around being rested during long flights, performing unexpected, simultaneous tasks, and passing the medical examination in order to remain qualified. When combined with fatigue due to long flight hours, these different aspects can

The human factor approach of Reason defines errors according to two types of failure: active and latent failure, with adverse events at times involving a combination of the two. Active failures are defines as “unsafe acts (i.e. errors and violations) committed by those at the human system interface”.20-22 Active errors occur at the level of the operator, and their effects are felt almost immediately. This is sometimes called the sharp end.20-22 Staff actions at the (sharp end) of patient care may involve slips (e.g. picking up the wrong syringe), cognitive failure (e.g. memory lapses or misreading of information), and violation (deviation from standard procedures or processes). Latent failures stem from decisions, essentially made by management and more senior clinicians within the healthcare setting, which provide conditions in which unsafe acts occur (e.g. inadequate system of communication; poor rostering of staff; inadequate supervision; understaffing) and also weakness in defenses (e.g.

Fatigue is a growing concern and issue in the aviation industry. Although it has been for some time, recently mounting workloads and stress have factored into creating an escalating problem with real casualties and repercussions. “Pilot fatigue, heavy workloads… may have contributed to an air ambulance crashing into the sea at night during a medical mission…” (Crash Blamed 2006 p.31). Fatigue is an “insidious” condition that affects a pilot in a way that might make him feel justified in his decisions. (Wald 2008 C3). Without realizing the effects of sleepiness and stress, pilots often times make the wrong decision, believing it to be the right one, and suffering severe consequences, such as: passenger injures, crew injuries or even

Human error theory in healthcare has different aims and roles. One of these is the provision of meaningful structure for explaining, describing, and understanding events and analyzing incidents and near misses (Armitage, 2009a). Human error theory explores human factors and ergonomics, which contribute to the implementation and design of health and safety measures in healthcare. It also provides design of useful and usable health information technologies in healthcare. Human error theory is used in healthcare management following an increase in focus on patient safety especially

The movement of millions of passengers over distances thought impossible decades ago is symbolic of the modern air transportation era that is characterized by speed, comfort and personal convenience. The commerce of aviation, both the operation of commercial aircraft for profit and the development of aeronautical systems, is also an important symbol of national prestige and a powerful economic force. Safety in air transportation is therefore a matter of significant national importance.

This model will then be applied to a case study and a related intervention plan, where it will be evaluated through the Quality of Flight model and the model will be evaluated through the intervention plan. These applications truly show that it is beyond the plane, or an individual’s biological capacities, that determines the quality of a flight, or the quality of an individual’s

‘A general view of accident causation in complex systems’, in Human Error, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

The purpose of this study is to examine the performance of pilots flying multiple types of aircraft in an experimental setting. Pilot performance will be assessed by written tests and simulator sessions. This study will build on a previous field study, Pilots Flying Multiple Aircraft Types or Multiple Flightdeck Layouts, which was conducted for AVS 4504 Aviation Safety Analysis. The results of that study showed a need for a simulator study to further identify if pilots have issues maintaining currency in multiple types of aircraft.

Long after Leonardo da Vinci, human factors research originated with aviation (Salas et al., 2010). Once the pioneers of aviation began taking to the air, the quest for safety and efficiency began with an ever-increasing fervor. Aviation accidents have long been viewed as spectacular and with the spectacle of an accident comes the public outcry over safety. While not all human factors research deals with accidents, the majority of money put into the

In this section I will discuss about the causes of stress in a pilots life and this are as follows: unusual tasks and challenges faced by pilots, passing the medical examinations, problems with family, illness, time schedules, temperature and humidity etc. Stress, a state of highly unpleasant emotional arousal associated variously with overload, fear, anxiety anger and hostility – can threaten both individual performance and teamwork. It can undermine the

Stress is an everyday reality in the aviation industry, especially to pilots. Pilots face different kinds of stress on the job. Overload and underload on pilots is common and has always been overlooked. As a result, poses a threat to aviation safety. The society should pay a considerable attention to this issue. This essay will discuss the effect of stress on pilot performance and ways to relief stress. It begins with definitions of stress, then it will mention the causes of stress. The essay then explores on the relevance to aviation industry. Finally, the essay will give suggestions on how to cope with stress. As a future commercial airline pilot, this topic has great relevance as stress could not be avoided in the aviation industry. It

According to Rodrigues and Cusick (2012) humans are accountable for approximately 70-80% of aviation accidents (p.156). A majority of these are caused by the different variables associated with human performance. Psychological factors have a key role in a pilot’s everyday responsibility. Some of these traits include: perception, memory, attitude, judgment and decision making, as well as ego (Rodrigues & Cusick, 2012, p. 158-160). These qualities can have drastic effects in commercial aviation if they are not recognized and adjusted accordingly. In this paper I will respond to some questions that are raised in aviation safety: