American Airlines Flight 1420 - Research Paper Example

, underscore several key human factor failures and investigate how each of them generated some other failures by that creating a chain of errors that finally materialized to the accident. We shall address safety recommendations that would prove useful in the air travel industry. The findings regarding the accident of the McDonnell Douglas DC-9-82 (MD-82), N215AA reveal a situation that featured 2 flight crew members. It involved four flight attendants and 139 passengers (Aircraft accident report, 2001).

The death toll hit 11, a tally that featured the captain and ten passengers. There were serious and minor injuries featuring 105 passengers, the first officer, and flight attendants. 24 passengers sustained no injuries (Aircraft accident report, 2001). The plane suffered destruction from impact forces plus post-crash fire (Aircraft accident report, 2001). Details regarding the crew operating American Airlines flight 1420 affirm that the captain and first officer were certified and qualified under the federal and company requirements.

They were medically fit to conduct the flight with no tangible evidence of pre-existing conditions that would have adversely altered their performance. They were placed in charge of an equipped, certified and well-maintained aircraft with no evidence to suggest pre-existing failures of the engine and the entire system (Aircraft accident report, 2001). All decisions and outcomes were thus dependent on the flight crew soon after the departure. The accident was prompted partly by human mishap.The findings suggest that the initial decision to descend into the terminal area was marred by an approaching thunderstorm.

However, the crew were rational enough to imagine that they would reach that particular area before the thunderstorm (Aircraft accident report, 2001). The weather factor poses a potential threat to the safety of the entire flight. But decisions regarding a last minute change of course of action would only happen when there is