Izabella Hoskins

Dr. C

English Comp II

26 October 2021

Aviation Accidents

More than 80% of the population is afraid of flying, but is it really necessary for

the number to be that high? Flying is a common way of transportation for both people

and cargo, but there is no way to guarantee the safety of either of those things. There

are so many factors that go into aviation accidents, but how can they be prevented? For

starters, human error is a big portion of the cause of aviation accidents. It is obvious that

there is no way to completely avoid aviation accidents, but there are ways to reduce the

numbers. Especially the accidents caused by human error.

There are so many factors that go into human error in aviation. These factors

include pilot error, maintenance staff error, and flight crew error. Each of these factors

pretty much sums up the whole cause. Human error is typically a cognitive thing. There

are a few exceptions to it being physical. For example, if a mechanic messes up on

screwing in a bolt, or if they misplace something and the error doesn’t get caught before

the plane gets sent off for a test flight. Although, for the most part, human error in

aviation is cognitive and mental. It could be fatal if any person who has a part to play in

the plane taking off, flying, or landing, has any kind of fatigue, is under the influence, or

gets confused and has uncertainty about what they are doing.
 Starting, pilot error is a huge factor of human error. “According to the Federal

Aviation Administration (FAA), human error is the leading cause of both commercial

airline crashes and general aircraft accidents. More than 88% of all general aviation

accidents are attributed to human error, especially due to loss of control by the pilot

during flight” (Wilson Kehoe Winingham, 2019). Pilots have such a large responsibility in

flying, that it seems like it is almost a given that they will be most responsible for some

form of human error in aviation. Several factors can be incorporated under pilot failure.

For example, Winingham mentioned that pilots can experience fatigue, pilots can be

under the influence of drugs or alcohol, pilots can have confusion when operating

automated flight systems, or insufficient communication between flight crew and pilots.

Another big factor would be stress. If a pilot is experiencing a large amount of stress, it

could lead to them overthinking and messing up. Inevitably, a pilot will feel some sort of

stress, but it is significant to find a pilot who knows how to manage their stress.

The flight crew is another big factor in human error in aviation. Flight crews' main

responsibility is keeping passengers safe and trying to keep a comfortable environment.

They could go wrong when they have lack of proper training, they could skim pre-flight

or pre-landing checklists, they could have insufficient communication or negligence.

Griffith Law mentions that in the majority of cases, mistakes and miscommunications

among crew members are entirely preventable. Small errors like lack of adequate staff,

disagreements, and intimidation are all factors that can play into mistakes that involve

aviation accidents.

Next, the Air Traffic Controllers play such a significant role in reducing errors

during flights. Air traffic controllers manage the flow of aircraft into and out of the airport
airspace, they guide pilots during takeoff and landing and monitor aircraft as they travel

through the skies. Air Traffic Controllers usually manage multiple aircraft at the same

time. Although they are trained to manage multiple aircraft at the same time, that just

increases the risk for accidents. Errors from the Air Traffic Controllers part could include

understaffing, receiving inadequate training, failure to issue safety alerts or warnings,

when they incorrectly guide pilots and poor coordination between air traffic controllers.

The Air Traffic Controllers are based on the ground and they speak through radios and

frequencies to keep track of a plane. They do this to make sure that planes do not land

at the same time as another plane, or to prevent some form of aircraft from flying at the

same exact altitude as another aircraft that is passing by, because that would most

likely lead to a fatal collision. Air Traffic Controllers play a crucial role in the safety of

pilots and their transportation.

The last main factor incorporated into human error in aviation is maintenance

staff error. The AERO-Meda investigation process has found that in the early days of

flight, approximately 80 percent of accidents are caused by machines and 20 percent

were caused by human error. Today that statistic has reversed. Approximately 80

percent of airplane accidents are due to human error, and 20 percent caused by the

machines. There are several ways for the maintenance staff to cause human error. For

example, if the parts are installed incorrectly, and then the error is not caught, that

would lead to issues when flying. Also, if there are missing parts or the parts have

previous issues before installation. Those few examples would fall back on the fault of

maintenance staff.
 The typical image that a person might get when they think of aviation aircraft

would be a large, commercial airline airplane with hundreds of passengers. That is not

always the case. An aircraft is defined as an airplane, helicopter, or other machines

capable of flight. Some other examples of aircraft include hot air balloons and jets.

Those are all the typical, more common ones. The ones that a lot of people don’t talk

about are light aircraft like Cessnas, Cirruses, Tecnams, Mooneys, and all the other

smaller aircraft. These types of planes are usually owned by private pilots so they can

have a smaller plane to fly around. The smaller aircraft could be used for things like

personal use, flight school airplanes, or even flying skydivers up for their jump. Some of

the light aircraft hold one or two people, sometimes four, but usually no more than six or

eight.

The big airline airplanes can hold hundreds of passengers. The Boeing 737-800

is the most commonly used aircraft by airlines in the United States. Planes like a Boeing

777-9 can hold over 400 passengers, and the Airbus A380 can even hold between 800

and 900 passengers. Although, there is not enough use for the A380 so Airbus

announced that they would be permanently discontinued.

The type of aircraft that does not

get talked about enough is military

aircraft. Britannica defines military

aircraft as any type of aircraft that

has been adapted for military use.

Military aircraft usually fall under

one of three categories, fighters,

bombers, or attack aircraft. The statistics of human error are a little different for military

aircraft. “A review of 545 aircraft accidents revealed that over 50% were caused by

human error. These errors involved supervision, limited experience, and errors in

judgment” (Lewis, n.d.). Military aircraft are super intense and can reach speeds higher

than regular airline airplanes. The military F-15 has been flying for over 30 years. The F-

15 can fly at a top speed of 3,017 miles per hour, then stop, hit ground targets, and fade

away. The F-15 is just one example of an impressive aircraft.

No matter how many passengers are on a form of aircraft, the accidents are

always tragic. Whether it is one life lost or hundreds, it is something that the numbers

should be reduced on. It is a given that there will always be some form of error, but if

the number could decrease, that would be beneficial for all pilots, workers, and

passengers.

Leslie Veliz (author of ``This is What Really Happens to Your Body if You Die in

a Plane Crash) says, “Per Ranker, 95% of people who crash while on a plane survive”.

It may not be one hundred percent, but it is rare enough to get in a plane crash, let

alone have a ninety-five percent chance of surviving on top of that. There are super

rough accidents that could have been prevented, but more times than not, plane

crashes are not fatal for everyone. Those are a lot rarer than what a person would think.

Just recently, in 2020, there was a rise in plane crash deaths. There are several

reasons why this issue occurred. “More people died in commercial plane crashes in

2020, an industry group has said, despite the number of flights plummeting due to the

pandemic” (BBC, 2022). It is confusing to grasp the idea of why the number of deaths
due to commercial plane crashes increased this year if the number of planes taking off

and landing has decreased. There are a few factors that could contribute to this issue.

For example, the pilots and crew leaders could have a significant impact on their

performance after not being able to do what they usually do. When the flights are

limited, they are not doing their job as regularly as they used to. Errors like this could fall

under fatigue or inexperience. Just another example of human error in aviation. When it

comes time for the airline workers to pick their routine back up, their performance

wouldn't be the same and that leaves tons of room for error.

There are so many factors that go into human error in aviation, but there are so

many ways to reduce the numbers. The next 5 paragraphs are summed up

explanations from a website, AVIATION PROS, that give examples of ways to

drastically reduce human error in aviation.

A huge way to reduce the numbers is to have all workers who have a part to play

in a flight have good fitness. A big way for the workers to have good performance and

fitness is their sleep. Sleep plays an important role in a person's physical health. Some

habits or actions that would significantly improve a workers fitness on the job include the

workers sleeping for seven to nine hours, and limiting excessive food and alcohol before

sleep. Shift workers should aim to sleep before work rather than after work, workers

should find a sleep routine that works for them, and workers should be careful of

extended days of work without a day off.

Workers to be super disciplined on their procedures. They could put this into

practice by being able to get familiar with things they aren’t certain about. The workers

should practice as much as needed, fix the procedures that aren't perfected, always
follow checklists, and lastly, do not let time pressure or distractions interfere with their

performance.

Another big issue of human error that can be prevented is forgetfulness. In some

ways, it can fall hand in hand with procedural errors. All workers have to be organized

and aware of what is going on. There are some methods to avoid forgetfulness. For

example, the workers should study more, get good rest, and do the important actions

repeatedly so the actions almost turn into muscle memory. Overall, they just have to be

sure of what they are doing.

Miscommunication is a very preventable issue, where if a person takes a few

extra minutes, it can save tons of lives. Ways to improve communication are to discuss

the task before it even begins, be very clear about responsibilities and directions, and

recognize other challenges

Dying in a plane accident is very unlikely, however, it does happen. No one gets

on a plane expecting to get in a plane crash. The pilots are typically trained super well

to be able to save the passengers and the plane in an accident. For example, if an

engine fails, a pilot will be able to do an emergency landing. In a multi-engine plane, it is

not as dangerous and significant, because the pilot will have time to react. If it is a small

airplane with one engine, they will be able to glide until they land safely. Another

example, if a plane goes into a stall, the pilot would typically be able to recover. With

training for a person's instrument or private training, some pilots will be told to put the

plane in a stall and have to recover from it. During training, the pilots typically get put in

very bad situations so they know what the worst-case scenario is. This is effective

because when a pilot is trained in bad conditions and situations, it helps prepare them
for when that situation does happen in real life. It overall offers the opportunity to expect

the worst so the pilot is prepared, and an easy flight will go by like a breeze.

Either way, aviation accidents are already super rare. There’s a saying that a

person is more likely to die in a car accident on the way to an airport than they are on

the flight. It is true. “The annual risk of being killed in a plane crash for the average

American is about 1 in 11 million. On that basis, the risk looks pretty small. Compare

that, for example, to the annual risk of being killed in a motor vehicle crash for the

average American, which is about 1 in 5,000” (Ropeik, 2006). For commercial airlines, a

pilot typically has hundreds of lives in his or her hands. The airline would not hire

someone that they do not think is fit for the job. Pilots go through a significant amount of

training. They know how to handle situations that most people fear. The FAA requires

an airline pilot to have 1,500 hours of flying time.

Flying is not the type of thing a person can cheat their way through. There are so

many requirements for each step up in the license a pilot holds. The pilot has to take a

class, fly to rack up their hours, do training with a CFI, take a written exam, and also

complete an oral exam and check ride. It can be a bit of a process, but it helps make

sure that no one can fly who doesn’t deserve to. Pilots are trusted, and usually don’t

mess up. Although some pilots go to work under the influence, or selfishly get 3 hours of

sleep the night before a big flight. Those are the types of pilots who intentionally cause

an error. Outside of a few exceptions, the error caused by humans is unintentional and

very unfortunate. It does not mean that the pilots and other human error are responsible

for all accidents, just pilot error is the most common form. However, some of it is a
mechanical error. For example, failure to appropriately inspect aircraft, failure to

properly maintain aircraft, failure to timely replace parts, and mental fatigue.

In general, flying is not something that people should fear. The workers are

trained, and the machines are reliable. Although human error is the biggest factor in

aviation accidents, it does not mean that there are zero accidents due to machine

failures. There can easily be engine failures, landing gear failures, or even instrument

failures with no way to prevent them from happening, but typically the pilot is trained

well enough to recover from whatever the mechanical failure is. Pilots get a lot of hate

for being responsible for aviation accidents. Not all aviation accidents result in death. If

a plane were to go down, the pilot would do what he or she could to save all of the

passengers. If it was a rough landing, the pilot would get shamed for the accident, but

not receive praise for saving all of the lives on that plane. When a pilot is at fault for

anything, they get severely shamed, but when a machine is at fault, people only call it

an accident.

All in all, planes are a super effective, safe way of transportation as long as

humans can reduce their errors. To get a job through an airline, the military, or flight

school, the worker has to be qualified and meet the place of hirings standards. No

matter how much a person is trained and thinks they have a task perfected, there is

always room for error. The majority of that error falls back on the human aspect, and

more specifically, the pilot. As long as the workers maintain a good sleep schedule,

double-check their requirements for a task, only do the things they are qualified to do

and have good communication, then there would be a way smaller percentage of

human error in aviation. There is no way to guarantee that there will be absolutely no
human error in aviation, but there are things that

companies and workplaces can do to drastically

reduce the numbers.

 Works Cited

BBC. “Plane Crash Deaths Rise in 2020 despite Covid Pandemic.” BBC News, BBC, 2 Jan.

2021, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-55515525.

Frew, Shannon. “MEDA Investigation Process.” Aero - Meda Investigation Process, The

Boeing Company, 2008,

https://www.boeing.com/commercial/aeromagazine/articles/qtr_2_07/article_03_2.html.

Johnson, Bill. “Please Enable Cookies.” StackPath, AviationPros, 2019,

https://www.aviationpros.com/education-training/article/12439968/recommit-to-

addressing-your-human-error.

Law, Griffith. “Lack of Crew Coordination May Have Caused Your Commercial Airline

Accident.” GriffithLaw, 2021, https://www.griffithinjurylaw.com/library/plane-accidents-

caused-by-lack-of-crew-coordination.cfm.

Leone, Dario. “Why Russia Still Hates the Air Force's F-15 Eagle.” The National Interest,

The Center for the National Interest, 17 Aug. 2019,

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/why-russia-still-hates-air-forces-f-15-eagle-74296.

Lewis, S T. “Human factors in air force aircraft accidents.” Aviation, space, and

environmental medicine vol. 46,3 (1975): 316-8.

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/planecrash/risky.html#:~:text=The%20annual%20risk

%20of%20being,is%20about%201%20in%205%2C000.

Oestergaard, J. “An Overview of the U.S. Commercial Aircraft Fleet.” Defense Security

Monitor, 1 Oct. 2019, https://dsm.forecastinternational.com/wordpress/2019/10/01/an-

overview-of-the-u-s-commercial-aircraft-fleet-2/.
 Pizzuto, Russell. “Introduction to Human Factors.” Atlanta Pilot Training - NSPIRE

Aviation, 2020, https://www.nspireaviation.com/introduction-to-human-factors.

Ropeik, David. “Nova | the Deadliest Plane Crash | How Risky Is Flying?” PBS, Public

Broadcasting Service, 2006, https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/planecrash/risky.html

Taylor, John W.R. and Guilmartin, John F.. "military aircraft". Encyclopedia Britannica,

31 Oct. 2018, https://www.britannica.com/technology/military-aircraft. Accessed 5

November 2021.

Veliz, Leslie. “This Is What Really Happens to Your Body If You Die in a Plane Crash.”

Grunge.com, Grunge, 28 Sept. 2021, https://www.grunge.com/615518/this-is-what-really-

happens-to-your-body-if-you-die-in-a-plane-crash/.

Winingham, Wilson Kehoe. “Aviation Accidents Caused by Human Error.” WKW, 6 Sept.

2019, https://www.wkw.com/aviation-accidents/blog/aviation-accidents-human-

error/#:~:text=Lack%20of%20 proper%20training%20for,Negligence%20of%20flight

%20crew%20members.