Sir Charles Haddon-Cave’s view on safety and airworthiness

Airworthiness is a topic that has increasingly come to the limelight owing to the cascade of accidents in the air travel sector. Sir Charles Haddon sighted his sentiment after the Nimrod XV230 aircraft from the royal air forces experienced malfunctions mid-flight, resulting in an accident that claimed 14 lives. He summarized the failure of the royal air force to four key attributes, namely leadership, independence, people and simplicity. Sir Charles Haddon sighted that the organizational flaws contributed in part to the Nimrod crash and thus affected the capacity of the MOD IPT to do its job. The oversight to which the body was subjected and culture within which the organization operated eventually led to the loss of the airworthiness standard. The financial pressures and cuts made led to the cascade of organizational changes that led to the dilution of the airworthiness regime and led to a distraction from serious airworthiness concerns. On April 1^st, 2010, the military aviation authority was formed following the recommendations of Sir Charles Haddon pertaining the military aviation avenue. This organization was tasked with full oversight of air safety across all defense aviation activity, but operated independently via a charter signed by the secretary of state for defense. This may compel one to consider leadership as a primary fault; however, it does leave an underlying concern unattended. Humans are the most versatile aspect of air travel. The aviation industry has the most human-technology interaction. Many of the crashes are attributed to human error; however, it is only a starting point to the issues that may contribute to the causes that cause these issues thus compelling an in-depth investigation in human aspects as a contributor to airworthiness (Gratton, 2018 (pp1-22)), (Kim, 2019, (pp115-121)).

The human factor in flight investigation describes the interaction between the person or person operating a machine and the machine itself. In aviation, person-machine communication is more complicated than in any other profession. The crew members of a flight include the Captain, the first officer, and two other officers if needed on a long trip. The Captain commands the cockpit, and the first officer is his or her runner’s up. This ensures coherence, and the chain of leadership is based on flight hours. Experience is the determining factor in this profession. This doesn’t only refer to airline operators, but also relates to maintenance staff, air traffic operators, aeroplane attendants, and air travel management (Wilson et al., 2019), (Kelly and Efthymiou, 2019 (pp 155-165)).  This may also stem out of the operational scene into the issues that steer operational management. Private airlines seek to make a profit in air travel, and thus profit margins seem an obvious motivation in favor of meeting airworthiness standards. Air travel is also a competitive space, and therefore airlines seek to reduce cost just to stay competitive. This can take a toll on personnel and equipment quality. Overworking staff has detrimental consequences in the face of fatigue and proper judgement (Wilson et al., 2019), (Gratton, 2018 (pp361-375)), (Cardosi and Lennertz, 2017).

Four new principles for a new airworthiness system

The Asiana flight that flew in July 2013 from South Korea on its way to San Francisco had an accident when the pilot misjudged the distance, clipped a wall and crushed before bursting into flames. There were three fatalities and over 200 injuries. The accident was mainly attributed to pilot fatigue. This may indicate the risk of over-reliance on automation and a lack of flying experience. The Tenerife airport disaster claimed 583 casualties on two planes (Madsen, Dilon, and Tinsley, 2016(pp1054-1066)). This was attributed to limited visibility due to foggy conditions. There was also poor communication between air traffic control and the two pilot involved. The miscommunication and limited visibility led to a lack of situational awareness, and a collision ensued. One of the planes thought they were cleared for take-off while the second plane was still on the runway (Trew, 2018). By the time they saw the plane, it was too late. The intricate relationship between air traffic and aviation personnel can lead to miscommunication. Such flaws are often devastating. The man-machine interface is sometimes so complex on planes that a simple lapse of judgment could prove fatal. As aeroplanes get more automated, they improve air-safety. However, when the pilot makes a lapse of judgement, this could prove fatal. Automation has caused overreliance, dependency, and complacency of pilots.   The technology could be misunderstood, and the cockpit could be poorly designed. Under such conditions, mistakes are likely to happen. For instance, China Eastern Airlines flight 583 accident was caused primarily by human error. A crew member bumped into one of the controls, and the plane took a dive from 5000 feet. The aircraft was on route from shanghai to Los Angeles (Wilson et al., 2019), (Oster, strong and Zorn, 2017).

When a crisis occurs aboard a plane, it steals attention from other things happening. In 1978, a United States airline flight 173 flying from Portland to Oregon crashed as a result of diverted attention. The plane crew was so distracted while dealing with the landing gear that the completely were oblivious of the plane running out of fuel. This also happened in 1995 when an American Airlines flight plane crashed into a mountain in Columbia. The diverted attention of a pilot and the crew makes other essential variables. The occurrence of multiple issues in the flight can distract the senses of the crew members and lead to another looming catastrophe. The human-technology interaction in air travel is so intricate that confounding issues can easily be overlooked (Holbrook et al. 2019 (p109)).

The impact of organizational flaws on airworthiness

On July 6^th, 2013, and Ariana airlines airplane 214 crashed at SFO (San Francisco Airport). The pilot failed to monitor the landing approach as he was fixated on the instruments. The pilot also didn’t understand how the auto- throttle worked due to its poor design, and as a result, the throttle maintained a low airspeed, and the plane crashed on the runway—focusing on the instruments too much, coupled with the airplane’s poor design, led to the crash. Sometimes the flight only malfunctions while in mid-flight. On May 2009, Air France flight 447 took off from Rio de Janeiro in Brazil to Paris with 228 people on board. Officially the cause of the accident was the freezing of the pilot tubes that caused the autopilot to disconnect. The aircraft thus switched from reasonable law to alternative law with stall protection on control inputs. The misdiagnosis caused the pilot to demand a full nose up; therefore the airplane couldn’t take off and crash (Trew, 2018), (Koo, Caponecchia and Williamson, 2018(pp 159-175)).

Human factors are primal culprit in the aviation industry and are held accountable for many of the errors in the sector (Moe, 2019). They can be identified as the dirty dozen. Poor communication is a primal human attribute in the aviation sector. There is usually a discord in transmitter and receiver communication. The method of transmission is often unclear and inaccessible. There is a persistent assumption that information has been understood and the receiver may make an assumption of the meaning while only 30% of a message is received and understood (Oster, Strong and Zorn, 2017), (Santos and Melicio, 2019). Complacency is a combined feeling of self-satisfaction and a loss of awareness of potential dangers that are in the workspace. This can occur in the engineering maintenance hangars or even in flight. A relaxation of vigilance is experienced, and one ends up mixing necessary signals (Chatzi et al. 2019(p66)). This causes the respondent to see what they want to see. This can also occur after a significant accident. The reduced vigilance and attentiveness after a catastrophic event are known as launa. This is denoted by a reduced alertness, and one ends up mixing essential signals. Too much demand can cause stress and reduce human performance. To mitigate this, following written procedures such as inspection routines can create an increased vigilance. Working from memory is highly discouraged (Jaiswal et al. 2019(pp1-10)), (Poller et al., 2020).

The importance of human-technology interaction

Lack of proper job experience and specific knowledge is an impediment in the human aspect. This can lead to a misjudgment of situations and results in making unsafe situations. Aircraft systems are so integrated that it is nearly impossible to perform any task without some form of training. Policies can change suddenly, and an employee’s knowledge can quickly get outdated. Distractions are a persistent factor in the aviation sector. This is anything that diverts a person’s attention away from what they are employed to do. Unavoidable distractions include loud noises, a request for some assistance and some daily safety problems that may need solving (Poller et al. 2020). Avoidable distractions can consist of messages from home, management decisions that don’t pertain non-immediate work and social conversations. These distractions can be postponed and set aside for another time. Distraction is the primal culprit for forgetting things. Humans tend to think ahead, and when retracing our steps, we may miss a step behind. Management can reduce stress on their employees by ensuring a good workspace design, control of the environment and making procedures that create safe zones or do-not-disturb areas for secure working (Munna et al. 2018).

A lack of teamwork can inhibit work operations. Tasks in the aviation sector are grouped, never individual. If one person does not contribute to a mission, it will prove detrimental (Trew, 2018). Such teamwork skills include effective communication, leadership, cultivation of trust, giving praise and effective communication. Team effort helps in proof checking work, seeing faults and solving underlying issues. Fatigue is a natural, physiological response to prolonged physical and mental stress. Fatigue can occur over long periods of time, resulting in chronic medical conditions. Self-medication should be avoided. Fatigue can affect a person’s mood and make them more withdrawn; however, it can make an individual angry and irritable. There is a three-phase system that can help mitigate stress. It includes regular sleep, a healthy diet and regular exercise (Wison et al. 2019), (Samad, Johari and Omar, 2018(pp71-73)).

A lack of resources can affect the outcome of the work done. In the absence of new parts to complete a task, there may be pressure on the maintenance team to use old and inappropriate parts. The resources include but not limited to time, data, experience, personnel, skills, tools, knowledge and time. Lack of one of these resources, especially time can lead to an effect on the completion of a task. The pressure is a factor on its own that can contribute to the reduced quality of work (Santos and Melico, 2019). This can be expected when working in a dynamic environment; however, if it interferes with finishing a task on time, it becomes a problem. Detrimental results can be experienced. This can be summarized as a quantity-quality issue. In aviation, one shouldn’t knowingly reduce the quality of work and as such, keep a high-performance standard. The most common source of pressure is the adoption of more work than possible to save a reputation and show an overly ambitious ability to perform. A lack of assertiveness is also a vital issue. This is one’s own inability to express concern and not allow others to represent their own interests. This can damage teamwork. Unassertive behaviour can force docile team members to go with the crowd (Seedhouse et al. 2019), (Yazgan, 2018).    

Human factors in aviation accidents and incidents

Stress is a serious factor that can affect performance in the aviation space. There are two types of anxiety, namely acute and chronic stress. Severe stress is brought about by real time demands placed upon our senses, mental and physical systems. They include dealing with emergencies and working under pressure. Chronic stress includes long term accumulation of stress on the person. This often damages the physiology of the person (Yiannakides and Sergiou, 2019). Causes include some of life’s demands such as family relations, finances, disease or illness, divorce or bereavement. In the military, such stress factors can affect performance over and above the threat to life by the nature of war. A lack of awareness on the flight or during maintenance can affect performance. This is primarily caused by distractions and an increased amount of pressure to perform. Norms are a persistent human factor in the aviation sector. This can come from a persistent bad culture and working from memory. Having a documented procedure and following it can create a culture of assurance throughout the aviation industry. Cutting costs can cause a dilution of these practices and lead to the normalcy of standard methods (Seedhouse et al. 2020(pp1-22)), (Marquardt, 2019(pp327-339)).  

Conclusion

Aviation travel has often been a premium service which has offered the safest mode of transportation thus far. A drop in standards has raised concerns pertaining to the safety of air travel. In military operations, compromises have led to the death of military personnel and the loss of valuable equipment. Commercial airlines have a strong incentive to compromise quality over cost. Staff in the air transport industry are often overworked and are thus subject to fatigue, the lapse of judgement and increased error. The leadership of both government and private entities has been put to question, being blamed for the budget cuts and reduced costs that often lead to a reduced quality of output and thus increased probability of failure. It is imperative that we consider the implications of the human aspect of air travel as it has many versatile sections that are all contributors to the quality and safety of air travel.

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