Aviation Safety Midterms

Safety in Aviation

“the state in which the possibility of harm to persons or of property damage is reduced to, and maintained at or below, an acceptable level through a continuing process of hazard identification and safety risk management.”

Hazard Identification and Risk Management

Key Elements of the concept of safety

Dynamic

Safety is a _______ characteristic of the aviation system, whereby safety risks must be continuously mitigated.

Technical Factors

In this era of safety, from the early 1900s until the late 1960s, the focuses are:

• Technological factors and failures.

• Technological improvements reduced accident frequency.

• Regulatory compliance and oversight started expanding.

Structural Failures

In the early 1900s, aircraft were constructed from wood and fabric, which were prone to structural failures. As a result, planes would often break apart mid-flight due to weak materials.

Jet Engine Development

The introduction of jet engines in the 1940s revolutionized air travel, but early jet engines were prone to mechanical failures. An example of the incident was The de Havilland Comet

Human Factors

In this era of safety, from the early 1970s until the mid-1990s, the focuses are:

• Focus shifted to human factors (e.g., human-machine interface).

• Safety became more about preventing human errors.

• Initially focused on individuals without considering the complex environment.

Pilot Error

An example of this incident is The 1977 Tenerife Airport Disaster involved two Boeing 747s colliding on the runway due to communication failures and misunderstandings between the pilots and air traffic control. This remains the deadliest aviation accident in history.

Crew Resource Management

CRM means?

Fatigue

Research in the 1970s and 80s identified pilot _______ as a significant risk factor for accidents.

ORGANIZATIONAL FACTORS

This era of safety is from the mid-1990s to the present day. Its focuses are:

• Shift to a systemic view of safety.

• Organizational factors (e.g., culture, policies) became central.

• Introduced the concept of organizational accidents.

• Transitioned from reactive to proactive safety management.

Proactive Data Collection

Today, airlines use data-driven methods to identify and address emerging safety risks before they result in accidents. An example is using Black Boxes.

ACCIDENT CAUSATION IN COMPLEX SYSTEMS

the concept that accidents in aviation result from multiple factors.

Mentions how these factors lead to successive breaches in system defenses.

SWISS-CHEESE MODEL

This model describes that Accidents are caused by successive breaches of system defenses. "Single-point failures rarely cause accidents in well-defended systems like aviation.“

James Reason

He Made THE SWISS-CHEESE MODEL

Active Failures

This type of failure describes Errors or violations with immediate negative consequences. Typically associated with front-line personnel (e.g., pilots, air traffic controllers).

Latent Failures

This type of failure describes system flaws that may remain dormant until triggered by specific events. Often created by organizational or managerial decisions (e.g., poor safety culture, inadequate procedures).

Latent Conditions

These conditions may seem harmless until circumstances align and expose their risk.
can include:

• Poor design choices.

• Conflicting organizational priorities (e.g., safety vs. cost).

• Lack of safety oversight.

Breaches

________ in system defenses can often be traced back to poor decisions at the organizational level.

Organizational Accident

The ______________ ________ occurs when multiple failures align across different levels of an organization, leading to an accident.

It combines both latent conditions (long-standing system weaknesses) and active failures (immediate errors made by front-line personnel).

five

The organizational accident can be understood as having ____ key building blocks.

Resource Allocation

this process asks Are enough resources allocated to safety?

Communication

This process asks Are safety concerns effectively communicated throughout the organization?

Standard Operating Procedures

SOPs mean?

Inadequate Hazard Identification

Risks are not fully identified or addressed, allowing hazards to remain in the system.

Normalization of Deviance

UNDER LATENT CONDITIONS PATHWAY:
Small rule-breaking behaviors (shortcuts) become normalized because they seem to work without consequence.

Workplace conditions

These refer to the immediate environment and factors that affect the efficiency and safety of front-line workers.

Workforce stability

Under Examples of workplace conditions:
High turnover may lead to less experienced staff handling critical tasks.

Morale and management credibility

Under Examples of workplace conditions: Poor management practices lower morale, increasing error likelihood.

Training and qualifications

Under Examples of workplace conditions: Are employees adequately trained for emergency situations?

Ergonomics

Factors like poor lighting, noise, or uncomfortable working conditions impact performance.

Aviation systems

They are equipped with defenses that serve to prevent latent conditions from leading to accidents.

Technology

Under types of defenses: This Ensuring all equipment is up to standard and designed with safety in mind.

Training

Under types of defenses: This means Providing staff with the right knowledge and skills to prevent errors.

Regulations

Under types of defenses: This means Strong regulatory oversight to ensure compliance and proper safety protocols are followed.

Errors

Unintentional mistakes made by workers trying to follow procedures but failing.

Example: A pilot mistakenly enters the wrong coordinates into the navigation system.

Violations

These are Intentional deviations from procedures or rules.

Practical drift

According to Scott A. Snook, this refers refers to how system performance gradually deviates from its original design due to unforeseen circumstances in daily operations

Timely Intervention

UNDER MANAGING AND MITIGATING PRACTICAL DRIFT
Capturing drift information early on allows for hazard prediction and potential system redesign.

Potential for Learning

UNDER MANAGING AND MITIGATING PRACTICAL DRIFT
Analyzing practical drift helps identify successful safety adaptations and enables prediction and control of safety risks.

Unchecked Drift

When adaptations go unchecked, the system may stray too far from baseline performance, leading to increased risk of incidents or accidents.

Shell Model

it is a conceptual tool designed to analyze human interactions with other system components. It is an acronym for four key components.

Liveware

This is at the center of the SHEL model, indicating that humans are central to the aviation system's safety and performance.

Software Hardware Environment Liveware

Meaning of SHELL

LIVEWARE-SOFTWARE INTERFACE

This interface focuses on the interaction between humans and support systems like manuals, checklists, standard operating procedures (SOPs), and software.

Humans

______ are at the core of the aviation system, and their performance can vary widely based on individual skills, adaptability, and experience.

LIVEWARE-HARDWARE INTERFACE

This interface refers to the relationship between humans and physical equipment like aircraft, machines, and facilities.

LIVEWARE-ENVIRONMENT INTERFACE

This interface encompasses both the internal workplace environment (lighting, temperature, noise) and the external environment (weather, terrain).

LIVEWARE-LIVEWARE INTERFACE

This interface deals with the relationships between people in the work environment, such as flight crews, air traffic controllers, and engineers.

Mismatches

According to the SHELL Model, __________ between humans (Liveware) and other components like software, hardware, and environment contribute to human error.

Slips

It is a type of error that are unplanned actions (e.g., using the wrong lever).

Lapses

It is a type of error that involves Memory failures

Mistakes

Failures in planning, even if the execution was correct, the intended outcome would still not be achieved.

Error Reduction Strategies

Under control strategies for errors:
Direct interventions to eliminate factors that contribute to errors.

Error Capturing Strategies

Under control strategies for errors:
Assume errors will happen and aim to capture them before consequences occur.

Error Tolerance Strategies

Under control strategies for errors:
Design systems to tolerate errors without major consequences. Examples: Redundant systems, multiple inspection processes.

Situational Violations

This type of violation is Committed in response to specific contexts, such as time pressure or high workload.

Routine Violations

This type of violation Becomes normalized within work groups as a way to overcome practical difficulties. Referred to as "drift," these deviations may become frequent and lead to severe consequences if not addressed.

Consequences

If not managed carefully, these violations increase risks within the system.

Mitigation

Proper safety assessments should be conducted to evaluate whether the violation can be incorporated into accepted procedures without compromising safety.

Safety culture

______ _______ refers to the collective beliefs, values, biases, and behaviors shared by the members of an organization or group. It influences how members perceive safety, approach risk, and collaborate on hazard reporting and mitigation.

Trust and Respect

Under elements of safety culture
A positive safety culture relies on trust between management and personnel. Both groups must feel secure in openly discussing and addressing safety concerns.

Continuous Vigilance

Under elements of safety culture
The organization must actively seek improvements, remain aware of hazards, and utilize systems for monitoring and investigating safety risks.

Collaboration

Under elements of safety culture
Successful safety cultures are supported by collaboration between management, frontline staff, and regulatory authorities.
Shared commitment to safety and confidence in the safety system is crucial.

ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE

Refers to the values and behaviors that shape how members interact and perform tasks within an organization.

Sets the boundaries for what is considered acceptable behavior, decision-making, and prioritization in areas such as safety vs. efficiency.

National Culture

Refers to how different societies view individual responsibility, authority, and resource allocation, all of which shape safety management practices.

professional groups

Safety cultures differ among ____________ ______, such as pilots, air traffic controllers, and maintenance engineers, each of which has its own value system and behavior patterns.

Organizational safety culture

OSC meaning

organization risk profile

ORP meaning

Anthropometrics

the scientific study of the measurements and proportions of the human body. Also defines physical measures of a person's size, form, and functional capacities.

The Vitruvian Man

one of Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous drawings and can be described as one of the  earliest sources presenting guidelines for anthropometry.

Leonardo da Vinci

He began research in the  area of anthropometrics. He drew The Vitruvian Man. Around the same time, he also began to  study the flight of birds.

Frank and Lillian  Gilbreth

These Industrial engineers were trying to reduce human error in medicine. They developed the concept of using call backs when communicating in the operating  room. That is called the challenge-response system.

challenge-response system

Developed by Frank and Lillian  Gilbreth to reduce human error in medicine. For example, the doctor says “scalpel” and the nurse  repeats “scalpel” and then hands it to the doctor.

Human factors science or technologies

These are multidisciplinary fields incorporating contributions from psychology, engineering, industrial design, statistics, operations research, and anthropometry.

number one enemy

In the aviation industry, human factors is a ______ ___ _____

Human Error

when we’re going to look over to the data consideration, almost 75 to 80 percent of aviation accident or incident are outcome of _____ _____

aviation maintenance human factors research

The overall goal of ________ ___________ _____ _______ ________ is to identify and optimize the factors that affect human performance in maintenance and inspection. he focus initiates on the technician but extends to the entire engineering and technical organization.

Clinical Psychology

This includes the study and application of psychology for the purpose of understanding, preventing, and relieving psychologically-based distress or dysfunction and to promote subjective well-being and personal development. 

Experimental psychology

This field includes the study of a variety of basic behavioral processes, often in a laboratory environment. These processes may include learning, sensation, perception, human performance, motivation, memory, language, thinking, and communication, as well as the physiological processes underlying behaviors, such as eating, reading, and problem solving.

Anthropometry

This is the study of the dimensions and abilities of the human body. This is essential to aviation maintenance due to the environment and spaces that AMTs have to work with. For example, a man who is 6 feet 3 inches and weighs 230 pounds may be required to fit into a small crawl space of an aircraft to conduct a repair.

Computer Science

involves the technical definition for computer science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and of practical techniques for their implementation and application in computer systems.

Cognitive science

This is the interdisciplinary scientific study of minds as information processors. It includes research on how information is processed (in faculties such as perception, language, reasoning, and emotion), represented, and transformed in a nervous system or machine.

Safety engineering

This type of engineering ensures that a life-critical system behaves as needed even when the component fails. Ideally, safety engineers take an early design of a system, analyze it to find what faults can occur, and then propose safety requirements in design specifications up front and changes to existing systems to make the system safer.

Medicine Science

the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness.

Organizational Psychology

Organizational psychologists are concerned with relations between people and work. Their interests include organizational structure and organizational change, workers’ productivity and job satisfaction, consumer behavior, and the selection, placement, training, and development of personnel.

Educational Psychology

Educational psychologists study how people learn and design the methods and materials used to educate people of all ages. Everyone learns differently and at a different pace. Supervisors should design blocks of instruction that relate to a wide variety of learning styles.

Industrial Engineering

This is the organized approach to the study of work. It is important for supervisors to set reasonable work standards that can be met and exceeded. Unrealistic work standards create unnecessary stressors that cause mistakes. It is also beneficial to have an efficient facility layout so that there is room to work.

Hawthorne  Effect

This effect suggested that motivational factors could  significantly influence human performance.

Pilot Mental Health

Mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, or stress, can affect a pilot's performance and decision-making abilities, potentially compromising aviation safety. 

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Some aviation professionals, such as first responders and aircrew, may experience traumatic events during their careers which can lead to conditions like PTSD

Psychological Assessments

Clinical psychologists may conduct assessments as part of the hiring process for aviation professionals, including pilots and air traffic controllers. 

Human Factors Research

Experimental psychologists can conduct research to identify human factors that contribute to aviation accidents. 

Simulator Studies

Experimental psychologists often use flight simulators to conduct controlled experiments. These studies can be used to assess pilot performance under different conditions.

Training Evaluation

Experimental psychology can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of aviation training programs.

Aircraft Design

Anthropometric data is crucial for designing aircraft interiors, including seats, cockpit layouts, and cabin configurations.

Cabin Layout and Evacuation

In the event of an emergency evacuation, passengers must be able to quickly and safely exit the aircraft.

Uniform and Equipment Design

Anthropometry also plays a role in the design of pilot and crew uniforms and personal protective equipment (PPE).

Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)

Computer scientists study how humans interact with computers and other technology systems.

Human Error Mitigation

Computer science can contribute to the development of systems that detect and mitigate human errors in real-time.