Human Factors in Aviation

 Hi All,

    Since the dawn of aviation, humanity has been a factor in it's development, continued progression, and unfortunately it's setbacks. In fact, according to the AMT Handbook, human factors directly cause or contribute to many aviation accidents and about 80 percent of maintenance errors on aircraft (FAA, Human Factors). The FAA defines the human factor as ergonomics or the discipline concerned with optimizing the relationships between people and their activities through the application of the human science and system engineering (FAA, Human Factors). As a current naval maintainer, I can relate to the importance of the human factor in aviation, because it directly influence everything from the pilot who flies it, to the people who maintain it, and even those who complete the ever important documentation for it all. For this blog, lets narrow it down and focus on human factors with respect to maintenance. 

    The idea of the human factor having such an impact on aviation presents some unique challenges. In the our world, maintaining an aircraft is essential to it's ability to fly and also for the overall safety of everyone involved, yet improper maintenance continues to contribute to a significant portion of aviation accidents and incidents (Hobbs, 2008). Why? Traditionally this is because a small percentage of maintenance evolutions and tasks are performed incorrectly or are omitted entirely due to a variety of reasons. In my experience most of the time it falls under the unique category of human error. So examples might include parts that are removed and reinstalled incorrectly, missing hardware, missed faults such as leaks or corrosion, and the omission of necessary checks.  A very real example of this occurred aboard the USS John C Stennis during its 2018 deployment. A standard procedure that we did as troubleshooters was to check the "nose codes" before the jets took off and flew. This particular flight was as night, and what made it different was that a flashlight was noted missing after the plane had already taken off. As it turns out, the plane had a nose landing gear caution in flight that caused the landing gear to not be able to close correctly.  Thankfully, the pilot had completed his mission and landed safely aboard the ship and the flashlight was recovered as it flew out from under the plane as it landed. Human error was readily apparent because that tool was unintentionally left inside the plane and tool control procedures were not followed. These sorts of human factors have fortunately been acknowledged as a potential problem, and different programs have been established to help identify the causes and propose solutions in both the civilian and military sectors.



References:

FAA. (n.d.). Human Factors. Human Factors in Aviation. https://www.faasafety.gov/files/gslac/courses/content/258/1097/AMT_Handbook_Addendum_Human_Factors.pdf.

Hobbs, A. (2008). An Overview of Human Factors in Aviation Maintenance. Canberra City. https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.215.67&rep=rep1&type=pdf.


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