Human error can result in devastating accidents while operating machines used for transportation. A ship can capsize if it hits an iceberg because the crew was not paying attention to what was ahead in the distance. It happens with vehicles on the road every day when texting and phone conversations are distracting. Train derailments have been linked to human error as well as airplane crashes. When it comes to accidents involving the airlines, investigations seek to determine the preventable cause. While several issues have been documented and incorporated into training exercises, the biggest problem seems to be human error. Human error comes in various forms including communication. This is a review of crash events and their causes as well as the categories of errors made by people in the airline industry. Helpful suggestions based on researched information are also included while citing a veteran captain in this field.

The aircraft is a man-made machine, which is used to aid people in transportation services around the globe. It is flown by the pilots and they have a crew who assist them. Airplanes, like any other machine is prone to failures and repairs. It needs to be thoroughly serviced and repaired to ensure it is always safe and secure. There have been various developments in the airline industry in regards to safety standards. These developments are aimed at making sure the aircraft is secure for human use at all times. Such developments include improved training for the airline personnel, the cabin crew and the pilots. New instruments have also been introduced to make sure the aircraft is secure (Dismukes, 2007). The causes of airplane accidents are many. They are broadly categorized into groups such as: mechanical error, sabotage, weather and human error. After explaining the nature of the categories, this paper examines the aspects of human error in accidents in an in-depth manner with the aim of looking at ways it can be prevented.

Mechanical error is the term that refers to parts of the plane failing to function correctly during the flight. In most cases, lack of good service and maintenance is blamed.
An example of a crash due to mechanical error was explained in a New York Times article from 2013. An Asiana jet crashed and the auto-throttles failed and the engine was unable to maintain safe airspeed. The pilots “had set the auto-throttles, devices that can control the engines to maintain safe airspeed, but speed fell to unsafe levels anyway” (Wald, 2013). In some cases, the manufacturer of airplane parts may be blamed and held legally accountable.
Sabotage is another cause for devastating crashes from the skies. In this category, there is a deliberate action taken to bring the plane down and hundreds of passengers are vulnerable to this kind of action. As much as security measures try to prevent this, it still happens nearly every year. Mr. Ephraimson-Abt’s 23-year-old daughter was one of the 286 passengers on board Korean Air Lines Flight 007 when it was shot down by a Soviet fighter plane in 1983 after a crewman’s navigation error (Wald, 2013). Sabotaging a flight could be done by shooting the plane down, interrupting the pilot with violence from inside the plane, deliberate mechanical set ups before take-off or other actions. In another example, the movie entitled, Snakes On A Plane (Ellis, 2006) featured someone spraying hundreds of deadly snakes with a hormone and then shipping them. When they entered to passenger section of the plane, the rest of the movie was a horror story.

Unlike some of the other causes for airline accidents, weather is considered a natural thing that cannot be controlled. There are weather conditions that are not conducive for flying. The pilot is normally advised when such things occur but at times they occur abruptly during the flight and they have to try their best to go through it safely. “A Lao Airlines passenger plane crashed (Flight QV301) and killed 49 people from 11 different countries as it was preparing to land at Pakse Airport. Airline official blamed the crash on wind shear, the sudden, drastic change in wind direction or speed” (Spamer, 2013)

Human error is so painful to accept because it feels like the most preventable. In fact, investigations after crashes resulting from human errors often result in new protocols or regulations to try preventing the same thing from happening again. Human error comes into play because of several reasons. First, they could start with the tech experts who work on the plane before it is approved to fly. While preparing the airplane for flight, it only takes one person to miss life-saving clues about problems, forget to tighten bolts and check for missing pieces. Once the plane is in the air, the actions (or inaction) of the pilot, the crew and the people can cause the plane to crash or malfunction. If the flight attendants notice a problem but doesn’t notify the captain then everyone’s life is in jeopardy.

Another type of example is pilot and ground service errors. This is the most delicate and tricky kind since various people have their own responsibilities and when they do not perform it well, it leads to bad consequences (Dismukes, 2007). Pilot error is something that can come in several forms. Basically, lack of qualifications and experience can play a major role in accidents. Lack of experience could lend to poor time management, sleep deprivation and a tendency to panic and make hasty decisions when a problem arises while flying. Adversity due to weather, mechanical issues or sabotage can terrify an inexperienced pilot and the passengers (along with the crew) suffer the ultimate consequence. Over confidence is another horrible problem. An overconfident pilot might feel fine with having too many drinks or a too many marijuana joints before a flight. He could underestimate the level of impairment that he is facing. This could lead to poor or improper communication with the personnel in the towers or crew members. When a problem occurs there are very swift decisions which must be made. These decisions should be made fast enough (with the aid of the support staff) to ensure that accidents are avoided. There are several examples of accidents that were due to human error.

In 1978 there was a plane crash involving United Airlines flight 173. The plane ran out of fuel while circling in the air before it landed. The culprit in this instance was lack of communication. He should have notified authorities in aviation when the plane first signalled a reduction in fuel. Someone was responsible for notifying the pilot. However, he was not given timely information in order to act fast enough. According to an article about this crash, “contributing to the accident was the failure of the other two flight crewmembers either to fully comprehend the criticality of the fuel state or to successfully communicate their concern to the captain” (Unknown, 2013) A second example is from the year 2012. Sukhoi Superjet 100 crashed into a mountain. The pilot switched off the computerized terrain awareness system which is meant to warn the staff when something was wrong. “Russia and Indonesia agree that pilot error was to blame for the Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100) crash that killed all 45 people on board” (Novosti, 2012). If he had not switched the system off and used all his immediate crew to control the plane it would not have crashed at all. In conclusion, of all the different explanations for pilot errors, they could often be resolved with effective communication.

Communication errors can occur from the crew to external personnel. This includes, missed calls, misinterpretations of instructions, incorrect read-back, wrong clearance, taxiway, gate or runway communicated. There can also be problems with pilot to pilot dialogue (Maurino, 2005), especially between pilots of two different planes or even if they are side by side in the same plane. If a pilot is unable to communicate due to having a stroke or heart attack, he would might to be able to notify his team aboard the flight.

There are four barriers to communication. The first has to do with the flight crew being willing to explain themselves when they do not understand the contents of their training materials. Those people who are highly paid or at executive level must be willing to speak to those who are lower on the pay scale when it comes to important matters. The second type of communication is known as, hoarding barrier. This is where people are unwilling to help and share information. The staff will not feel involved in the collaboration process from the beginning hence they feel their input will have minimum impact on the organization. Information about problems or threats should be shared freely to give them an avenue to reach the people in-charge of collaboration. This is a critical aspect that must always be looked into with intent to improve. If it is given an avenue to flow then success of the airline company and its flights should be inevitable.

The third and fourth communication issues are the search and transfer barriers. Employees should be able to know where to get the information they need to make a flight successful. The source of information should be based on accurate and reliable information. The people must be technology savvy and know where to get the right information within the required amount of time. Transfer barrier refers to the medium of transmitting the information gathered for the collaboration process. This is also proving to be a problem. If the barriers are not in place, safe flights should take place without a hitch. Unfortunately, people often will be the source of their own downfall. The pilots and crew should adhere to the standard operating procedures, all aircrafts should be equipped with terrain awareness and warning systems and crew members should frequently check spatial orientation.

Finally, a lot of the information described here is actually explained in greater detail by Captain Dan Maurino in his document entitled, Threat and Error Management. This is also known a T.E.M. It is “an overarching safety concept regarding aviation operations and human performance” (Maurino, 2005). It addresses communication, various types of threats and categories of human error with various counter measures for safe landing. Over all, the pilots must always communicate with all personnel as needed to ensure that the flow of information explains weather conditions, mechanical difficulties and any attempts at sabotage. It is important to remember that airline pilots are human. They need adequate rest and assistance at times. Their salaries are justified by the immense pressure and regulations to which they are held. Emotions, egos and pride can cloud their judgement and cause the plane to end up as a pile of debris among the souls of passengers lost.