Human Factors in Aviation

Human factors in aviation have a profound effect on everyday life as a pilot. A working definition of human factors are the general things that affect your ability to do your job at 100% effectiveness. the lack, or inability to complete your task can be attributed to exogenous factors such as fatigue, hazardous attitudes, and complacency. All of these factors affect your performance at work, whatever job that may be. This blog will discuss what I see mostly as a pilot, which is complacency.  

Sometimes you fly the same routes so many times that you get to know which ATC personnel you will talk to. You learn shifts, voices, the way aircraft are moved on the ramp, it's almost like it's groundhog day, and you are Bill Murray. Sometimes, this is great. Sometimes, you can go through a day on "autopilot", and the day is over before you even feel like it started.  The biggest issue with this is when you fall into a routine, and you constantly do something the same way, you can really get thrown for a loop when something comes up that is non-standard.  Non-standard occurrences can throw off your routine so much that you forget things, the normal things that you wouldn't ever even have to think about. I have noticed that these occurrences happen a lot more when those exogenous factors play a part, like fatigue, stress, impending life issues, etc. 



I think it's important as a pilot to know your limits, as in know what you can handle, and not do more than you think you can do.  If you're fatigued, don't fly.  Call out fatigued. If you have medical issues, use FMLA or just call off.  Complacency or the Macho attitude that it "can't happen to you" is one of the biggest issues with accidents (PHAK) Those attitudes get the most experienced of pilots killed, along with their passengers.  Always stay on your toes, and always have an attitude where you have something more to learn no matter how much you think you know, or how long you have been in your profession. 



References:

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). (2016). Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (PHAK). Chapter 2. Retrieved (20 May, 2021). https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Air Mail Act of 1925, then Air Commerce Act of 1926

Image
When you think about commercial flight today, it's easy to look past the fact that most of the airlines really began because of the need to send mail over long distances. The Airmail Act of 1925 made this possible by authorizing the Postmaster General to contract out the work to the private sector. Due to this act, by mid - 1927, an effective commercial airline system was providing reliable mail service by air (Smithsonian, 2007). This act added some efficiency to the lack-luster air transportation system (Smithsonian, 2007).   Then, later the Air Commerce Act of 1926 was developed, which started the Aeronautics branch of the Commerce Department.  Today, the Aeronautics Branch is now referred to as the Federal Aviation Administration, and somewhere in the middle it was known as the Federal Aviation Agency.  Either way, without these acts aviation as a whole, today, would be vastly different.  The Air Commerce Act also regulated the licensing and certification of...
Read more

Cyber Security and the Growing Threat to Our Airliners

Image
       The threat that I have chosen this week that has really only become an issue in the past 10 years or so is definitely Cyber Security. In the past 10 years the advancements to technology have been profound. Artificial Intelligence and hacking are two threats that have been plaguing the best minds in the world to come up with an idea on how to mitigate the possibility of an airliner and its automated systems being hacked and weaponised, as well as TSA being hacked to allow passengers that could potentially be a threat.  In fact, this has become so profound that there has been House Hearings and hearings to Congress to address the issue and come up with resolutions through TSA and other entities to mitigate this threat. "As devices, aircraft, and systems become more interconnected, cybersecurity will increasingly play a larger role in aviation security (Ratcliffe, 2018)."       There are many ways to use our our technology against us....
Read more