Aviation safety and human factors - Essay Example

 Aviation safety and Human factorsThe aviation industry is one of the most important industries in today’s times. Aviation safety is the responsibility of not just one person or one group it encompasses everyone from the manufacturers to the pilots and even to fliers. Therefore, one might say that one of the major factors controlling safety in the sky is human factors. Research has shown that 50% of all aviation mishaps are caused by human factors (Billings and Reynard, 1984, p.960).Human factors refer to the application of knowledge to real life situations to reduce errors and lend protection against possible disasters thereby making the entire system more resilient (Civil Aviation Safety Authority, 2014).

One of the most important human factors in aviation is that of decision making and communication.One of the most important controllers of safety is the pilot. Even minor mistakes such missing a problem indication, misreading signs or making judgmental errors made by the pilot could lead to crashes and accidents. Improper decision making on the part of the pilots could be because of improper sleep, lack of concentration and fatigue (Anzalone, 2014). According to a study in China lack of proper aviation safety training in Chinese pilots was a major cause of aviation accidents that took place between 1999-2002 (Luo, 2004, p.318). This lead to crashes owing to reasons such as overrunning, engine strike, ground object impact and mountain collision, all of which were caused by human factors.

NASA Aviation Safety reporting system reported that between 1976 and 1983 35000 aviation accidents were caused by conflicts among aircrafts (Billings and Reynard, 1984). This primarily happens through human factors such as failure to control traffic in the skies and failure to send signals to the pilots in time.On occurrence of aviation accidents, system failure is said to be a major cause however, most accidents are a result of both human factors and system problems. Human error cannot be totally eradicated however they may be controlled with help of enhanced training for all personnel, decision making strategies, proper analytical skill and emergency bypassing training.

REFERENCESAnzalone, B. “Human factors in general aviation”.Aircraft owner and Pilots Association, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.aopa.org/asf/publications/inst_reports2.cfm?article=4875Billing, C.E. and Reynard, W.D.” Human factors in aircraft incidents: results of a 7-year study”. Aviation, Space and Environmental medicine, 1984, 55(10): 960-965.Civial Aviation Safety Authority. “Human Factors”.Australian Government CASA, 2014. Retrived from http://www.casa.gov.

au/scripts/nc.dll?WCMS:STANDARD::pc=PC_100994Luo,X.L. “A classification on human factor accident/incident of China civil aviation in recent twelve years”.Space Medicine and Medical engineering, 2004, 17(5): 318-321.