Human Factor and Aviation Safety Problems

Safety, aviation and human factors are closely related. Hundreds of the most diverse examples and incidents which take place in the planet's airspace, in all their variety, are united by one single component: the human factor.

This combination of words, sometime successfully discovered, was initially used only by the most advanced specialists. Then by everybody: from the minister to the airport security man. From frequent repetition the true meaning of the expression has been rubbed away like the pollen on the wings of butterflies which are pulled about by unthinking lovers of natural flight.

Meanwhile, the human factor - that is, to put it bluntly, man and his psyche, his inner world - was, is and will be the fundamental driving force and guide in any technological and related processes in life.

Many of the cases are related directly to human factors in aviation. Some say human error is the primary factor in up to 80 to 90 percent of the cases. Historically, 70 percent of commercial jet accidents involved humans in one form or another. In the early years of aviation, technical defects were the main cause of accidents. But as reliability improved, the human factor became the main factor.

However, aviation accidents often involve more than one cause, such as system complexity, poor human-machine interface, inappropriate work organization, awkward work procedures, altered communication between pilot and controllers, or loss of situational awareness. We should not place blame on the human operator alone, but rather to a combination of factors in a highly complex context. And yet the main linking element in this list is the man.

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