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Human Factors in Civil Aviation

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Exploring the link between human factors and fatal aviation accidents.

The number of aviation accidents attributable solely to mechanical failure has decreased markedly over the past 40 years. However, those attributable at least in part to human error have declined at a much slower rate.

Given such findings, it would appear that interventions aimed at reducing the occurrence or consequences of human error have not been as effective as those directed at mechanical failures. Clearly, if accidents are to be reduced further, more emphasis must be placed on the genesis of human error as it relates to accident causation.

This lens zooms in on human factors in aviation. What types of human factors are relevant in this industry? How can the impact of human error in aviation be reduced? Past accidents involving human error are presented, including videos, links to interesting websites and recommendations for further reading.

Contents

  1. Wikipedia: Definition of Human Factors
  2. Human Factors in Aviation: A Brief Overview
  3. Human Factors in Aviation: Crew Resource Management
  4. Recommended reading
  5. Maintenance Resource Management
  6. Most common types of human error
  7. Accidents Involving Human Error
  8. Tenerife Disaster Educative Video
  9. Intriguing topic? Read more
  10. Interesting Research Documents on this topic
  11. National Geographic's Air Crash Investigation
  12. Mayday: Air Disasters DVD
  13. Air Disaster DVDs on EBAY
  14. Please give me feedback.

Wikipedia: Definition of Human Factors

Human factors involves the study of all aspects of the way humans relate to the world around them, with the aim of improving operational performance, safety, through life costs and/or adoption through improvement in the experience of the end user.

  • The terms human factors and ergonomics have only been widely used in recent times; the field's origin is in the design and use of aircraft during World War II to improve aviation safety. It was in reference to the psychologists and physiologists working at that time and the work that they were doing that the terms "applied psychology" and "ergonomics" were first coined.

  • Specialisations within this field include cognitive ergonomics, usability, human computer/human machine interaction, and user experience engineering.

  • New terms are being generated all the time. Although the names change, human factors professionals share an underlying vision that through application of an understanding of human factors the design of equipment, systems and working methods will be improved, directly affecting people's lives for the better.

  • Human factors practitioners come from a variety of backgrounds, though predominantly they are psychologists (engineering, cognitive, perceptual, and experimental) and physiologists. Designers (industrial, interaction, and graphic), anthropologists, technical communication scholars and computer scientists also contribute. Though some practitioners enter the field of human factors from other disciplines, both M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Human Factors Engineering are available from several universities worldwide.

Human Factors in Aviation: A Brief Overview

Were Human Factors always important in aviation? Did the meaning of Human Factors in Aviation change over time? A brief history of time.

Prior to WWI the only test of human to machine compatibility was that of trial and error. If the human functioned with the machine he was accepted, if not he was rejected.

  • With the onset of WWI, more sophisticated equipment was developed. The inability of the personnel to use such systems led to an increase in interest in human capability. Earlier the focus of aviation psychology was on the aviator himself. But as the time progressed the focus shifted onto the aircraft in particular, the design of controls and displays, the effects of altitude and environmental factors on the pilot.


  • By the end of WWI, two aeronautical labs were established, one at Brooks Airforce Base, Texas and the other at Wright field outside of Dayton, Ohio. Many tests were conducted to determine which characteristic differentiated the successful pilots from the unsuccessful ones.


  • During the early 1930s, Edwin Link developed the first flight simulator. The trend continued and more sophisticated flight simulators and test equipment were developed. Another significant development was in the civilian sector, where the effects of illumination on worker productivity were examined. This led to the coinage of the 'Hawthorne Effect', which suggested that motivational factors could significantly influence human performance.


  • With the onset of the WW II, it was no longer possible to adopt the Tayloristic principle of matching individuals to preexisting jobs. Now the design of equipment had to take into account human limitations and take advantage of human capabilities. This change took time to come into place, there was a lot research conducted to determine the human capabilities and limitations that had to be accomplished.


  • The beginning of Cold War led to a major expansion of Defense supported research laboratories. Also, a lot of labs established during the war started expanding. The scope of the research broadened from small equipments to entire workstations and systems. Concurrently, a lot of opportunities started opening up in the civilian industry. The focus shifted from research but to participate through advice to engineers in the design of equipments.


  • After 1965, the period saw a maturation of the discipline. The field has expanded with the development of the computer and computer applications.


source: Wikipedia

Human Factors in Aviation: Crew Resource Management

CRM is concerned the cognitive and interpersonal skills needed to manage a flight within an organised aviation system.

CRM training for crew has been introduced and developed by aviation organisations worldwide. CRM training is now a mandated requirement for commercial pilots working under most regulatory bodies, including the FAA (U.S.) and JAA (Europe).

Following the lead of the commercial airline industry, the U.S. Department of Defense began formally training its air crews in CRM in the early 1990s. Presently, the U.S. Air Force requires all air crew members to receive annual CRM training, in an effort to reduce to human-error caused mishaps.

Several commercial aviation firms, as well as international aviation safety agencies, began expanding CRM into air traffic control, aircraft design, and aircraft maintenance in the 1990s.

Topics in CRM training are skills and attitudes including:

  • Communication: Appropriate communication techniques must be taught to supervisors and their subordinates, so that supervisors understand that the questioning of authority need not be threatening, and subordinates understand the correct way to question orders. Other aspects of communication are adressed in CRM, such as communication with cabin crew and third parties, and passengers.

  • Situational awareness: A discrepancy between what is happening and what should be happening is often the first indicator that an error is occurring. Air crew are selected for, among other competencies, their situational awareness. CRM training also focuses on increasing situational awareness.

  • Problem solving

  • Decision making

  • Teamwork. Teamwork is an important topic in Airline CRM. Air crew members operate in small, dynamic teams with a very distinct organizational culture.

Recommended reading

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Maintenance Resource Management

In 2002, the United States Air Force determined that close to 18% of its aircraft mishaps were directly attributable to maintenance human error.

Unlike the more immediate impact of air crew error, maintenance human errors often occurred long before the flight where the problems were discovered. These "latent errors" included such mistakes as failure to follow published aircraft manuals, lack of assertive communication among maintenance technicians, poor supervision, and improper assembly practices.
To specifically address these maintenance human error-induced root causes of aircraft mishaps, Maintenance Resource Management was introduced in 2005.

Most common types of human error

Research indicates the most common human errors leading to incidents and accidents are related to poor judgement and decision making.

  • The term decision errors represents conscious, goal-intended behavior that proceeds as designed; yet, the plan proves inadequate or inappropriate for the situation. Often referred to as "honest mistakes," these unsafe acts typically manifest as poorly executed procedures, improper choices, or simply the misinterpretation or misuse of relevant information.

  • In contrast to decision errors, skill-based errors occur with little or no conscious thought. Just as little thought goes into turning one's steering wheel or shifting gears in an automobile, basic flight skills such as stick and rudder movements and visual scanning often occur without thinking. The difficulty with these highly practiced and seemingly automatic behaviors is that they are particularly susceptible to attention and/or memory failures. As a result, skill-based errors such as the breakdown in visual scan patterns, inadvertent activation/deactivation of switches, forgotten intentions, and omitted items in checklists often appear.

  • Another type of human error, Perceptual errors occur when sensory input is degraded, or "unusual," as is often the case when flying at night, in the weather, or in other visually impoverished environments. Faced with acting on imperfect or less information, air crew run the risk of misjudging distances, altitude, and decent rates, as well as responding incorrectly to a variety of visual illusions.

Other types of human error include rule violations, substandard (physical or mental) condition of crew, crew resource mismanagement, inadequate supervision, and organizational influences such as resource management, organizational climate and operational processes.

Accidents Involving Human Error

Some of the most deadliest aviation accidents can mainly be attributed to human error.

The March 27, 1977, Tenerife disaster remains the accident with the highest number of airliner passenger fatalities. In this disaster, 583 people died when a KLM Boeing 747 attempted take-off and collided with a taxiing Pan Am 747 at Los Rodeos Airport. Pilot error, ATC error, communications problems, fog, and airfield congestion due to a bombing and a second bomb threat at another airport, which diverted air traffic to Los Rodeos, all contributed to this catastrophe. Read more...

The world's deadliest mid-air collision was the 1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision involving Saudia Flight 763 and Air Kazakhstan Flight 1907 over Haryana, India. The crash was mainly the result of the Kazakh pilot flying lower than the altitude for which his aircraft was given clearance. Three hundred and forty-nine passengers and crew died from both aircraft. The Ramesh Chandra Lahoti Commission, empowered to study the causes, also recommended the creation of "air corridors" to prevent planes from flying in opposite directions at the same altitude. Read more...

For an extensive overview of accidents involving human error, visit:

  • Visit aviation-safety.net for an extensive overview of accidents involving human error.

  • See also the Wikipedia list of aviation accidents officially attributed to human error.

Tenerife Disaster Educative Video

View an informative video about the 1977 Pan-Am/KLM disaster in Tenerife, the most deadliest accident involving human factors which has led to many changes in crew hierarchy, communication, and teamwork.

Tenerife disaster.
by Boaz11 | video info

241 ratings | 208,825 views
curated content from YouTube

Intriguing topic? Read more

A selection of both qualitative and affordable books on Amazon.com

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Interesting Research Documents on this topic

Read more about Human Factors and Human Error in Aviation in the following PDF documents.

PDF: A Human Error Analysis of Commercial Aviation Accidents
Humans, by their very nature, make mistakes; therefore, it should come as no surprise that human error has been implicated in a variety of occupational accidents, including 70% to 80% of those in civil and military aviation. More...
PDF: Human Factors in Fatal Aircraft Accidents
This report deals mainly with the human factors which relate to pilots. In recent years however, BASI has recognised that while pilot factors are of great importance, accidents frequently have their origins in the aviation system as a whole. Organisational factors such as training, supervision, regulation, commercial pressures and licensing are involved in a significant proportion of accidents. More...
PDF: The Role of Human Factors in Improving Aviation Safety
A nice full color illustrated article by Boeing on the role of Human Factors in Aviation Safety.

National Geographic's Air Crash Investigation

This great National Geographic Channel show covers all major accidents.

Click to visit the Air Crash Investigation website
Including video's, photo's and information, and broadcast schedule.

Mayday: Air Disasters DVD

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Air Disaster DVDs on EBAY

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  • lawrencewarwick Oct 5, 2011 @ 1:47 pm | delete
    Hi
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  • spirituality Nov 18, 2009 @ 4:28 am | delete
    Great lens, blessed by a squidangel :)
  • kimmanleyort Oct 20, 2009 @ 1:24 pm | delete
    Wow! Very interesting and thorough lens. You have done an amazing job presenting this information. Glad I read it after I flew home yesterday.
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