Human Factors
Human Factors in Aviation
Human factors play a huge role in the safe operation of aircraft outside of mechanical means. One way of defining human factors is the study of the interrelationship between humans, the tools and equipment they use in the workplace, and the environment in which they work (Kohn, 1999). One of the most important aspects of aviation is crew resource management (CRM). This can range from personality conflicts to physiological issues within the human body. Using effective CRM can literally save the lives of the crew and everyone on that aircraft. One example I would like to use is the C-130J crash in 2016 in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. Please see C-130J crash that killed 14 caused by forgotten night-vision goggle case (airforcetimes.com) In this case, the pilot not only lost situational awareness but also used poor judgment when he decided to do something non-standard by using an NVG case to wedge the yolk back to raise the elevators to facilitate offloading (Swarts, 2017). Had this crew used effective CRM by performing standard operating procedures, they would still be alive today. Some of the challenges we have as crewmembers are holding each other accountable and/or assuming someone else on the crew "knows what they are doing". In my opinion complacency and high experienced crewmembers is probably the worse combination to have. One way that we combat a lot of these human factors dealing with CRM is to brief a CRM Topic of the Day before each flight to keep a reminder of how important it can be.
Kohn LT, (1999) eds. To err is human - building a safer health system. Washington, DC, Committee on Quality of Health Care in America, Institute of Medicine, National Academy Press.
https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2016/04/18/c-130j-crash-that-killed-14-caused-by-forgotten-night-vision-goggle-case/
Comments
Post a Comment