Aviation safety: the role of human error

Abstract

Almost regardless of which source we use, which article or newspaper we read, our industry seems to have almost unanimously agreed that 70% of all accidents or incidents are down to ‘Human Error', varying from ‘pilot judgment and actions', ‘situation awareness' to ‘unsafe acts and errors.'[1] [[2]] Terms most of us are familiar with or have become accustomed to, even though precise definitions or meaningful explanation what we actually mean by such terms are often absent. Interestingly and at the same time, the term ‘human error' and especially, its use in today's management of safety, is increasingly being criticised. Criticism includes that the term would not sufficiently explain what has happened in cases of accidents or incidents and it would hamper investigators from looking sufficiently at context or other possibilities. In turn, this would mean that we are overlooking important lessons learned and safety could actually be compromised rather than managed in today's complex world.