MARVIN ANTONIO ARCE

Running Head: HOW DO HUMAN FACTORS AFFECT AVIATION MISHAPS? 1Marvin Arce Brandman UniversityProfessor Kelsey27 April 2017HOW HUMAN FACTORS AFFECT AVIATION MISHAPS 2Review of LiteratureAviation has allowed mankind to travel across the world efficiently and safely for decades. The foundation of airliners and major use of aircraft in military applications increased potential for large scale use of aircraft, increased profit and, unfortunately, mishaps on runways, aircraft maintenance hangars and in flight. As the aviation industry has advanced so has the collection of data regarding mishaps and we, as aviation professionals, have been able to benefit by learning from our mistakes. With mishaps ranging in origin from mechanical failure, instrumental failure, hydraulic and fuel related failures, weather and human factors in maintenance and in flight. What is the impact on aviation attributed to human factors and how can we mitigate it. In maintenance, there is a saying that “everything is written in blood.” What this statement is implying is that laws change and procedures are written due to the result of a mishap or injury. Many times it is an unfortunate event that leads to critical changes to be made in processes and policies.Research has proven, not only that human factors consistently play a role in aviation mishaps but that there is a combination of factors that contribute to most aviation mishaps. Factors affecting pilots can range from fatigue, distractions, inexperience, pressure from corporate leadership, complacency and stress. Factors cited for maintenance personnel includes the afore mentioned and lack of training, use of tribal knowledge, inadequate or insufficient tooling and parts and deliberate deviation from instructional maintenance manuals. The disaster at Tenerife on March 27, 1977, involving two 747 aircraft that collided on a runway killing 583 people is unequivocally the perfect example of multiple factors contributing to the accident.HOW DO HUMAN FACTORS AFFECT AVIATION MISHAPS? 3 Human factors was the cause of the majority of the mistakes that were made. Poor decision making is a major factor along with a failure to use standardized communications. The mishap lead to changes in cockpit etiquette training, as the co-pilot had little power to make decisions against the pilot. System failures were also a major factor, as they were not sufficient in preventing communication failures between the tower and operating aircraft. Pressure on pilots and ground crew were mounting due to weather, time restraints and an overcrowded airport. “Pressure leads people to fall back on what they learned first and most fully.” (Weick, 1990). Weather and frustration along with a desire to takeoff and return home for a flight crew that was approaching crew rest time. Miscommunication between the first officer and the controller in the tower created confusion enough for an impatient pilot of a KLM aircraft to attempt takeoff while a PanAm aircraft was taxiing on the same runway. Of the case studies and journal articles that I have reviewed, the common theme is that there is usually a combination of events that occur and lead up to an aviation mishap. Of all of the topics covered there wasn’t one that was given less importance, including human factors. This is something that affects maintainers, pilots and all airport and airline employees as well as passengers. Complacency is a common human factors error as the controllers at Tenerife were listening to a soccer game the day of the fatal accident on the runway. Aviation mishaps are a serious problem and, even with robust systems in place to curtail the probability of mishaps, people will continue to make decisions and inadvertent mistakes at critical moments. The aviation industry has come a long way since 1977 but the presence of stress, fatigue, complacency and other human factors continue to affect aviation. HOW DO HUMAN FACTORS AFFECT AVIATION MISHAPS? 4 ReferencesHooey, B.L., Foyle, D.C., (2006). Pilot navigation errors on the airport surface: Identifying contributing factors and mitigating solutions. The International Journal of Aviation Psychology, 16(1), 51-76Coanda, H. (2015). Human factors contribution to aviation safety. International Conference for Scientific Paper. Retrieved from, A.O., Adekunle, A.K., (2014). Assessment of runway accident hazards in Nigeria aviation sector. International Journal for Traffic and Transport Engineering, 2015, 5(2): 82-92 Retrieved from, G., (2003), Human factors in air traffic control: Problems at the interfaces. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 2003, 97(2): 533-536Weick, K.E., (1990), The vulnerable system: An analysis of the Tenerife air disaster. Journal of Management 1990, Sep, 16(3): 571-593 Retrieved from

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