Technology and Human Error in Aviation Term Paper

Technology and Human Error in Aviation - Term Paper Example Thus, every sector in the aviation system must find all facets where computers may be leveraged on to their advantage. Use of Computers in Aviation Systems To most, computers are for games, research, online business, sending e-mails, or downloading and uploading files. But in the aviation system, computers hold the life of the crews and passengers. A small hitch on the computer’s program might result to an aerial accident. Computers have various uses in modern aviation. These may be used to design aircrafts with better capacity, performance, and state of the art equipments. It can spot the parts of the aircraft that need maintenance, repairs, and modifications. Computers can read the codes of the system that has malfunctioned. Moreover, it may identify the geographic location of the aircraft and monitors its flight, and process data and communication transmission between ATC (air traffic controller) and pilot, among air traffic controllers, and among flight crews. It may ensur e airport and aircraft safety against accidents, unpleasant incidents, and delays; and give automatic weather reports so as to warn pilots of the coming weather conditions. Technology allows for accurate calculations and computations useful in designing aircraft and saves important data on maintenance and inspection history and some other specifications related to the plane. These data are used to check if the plane is still fit to fly or not (Dhillion, 2007). Analysis of Human Error How tragic is the effect of human error in aviation? About 70 – 75% of aviation accidents are attributed to human-related errors (Hall, 2003). When one diverts from what is accurate, then that may possibly constitute human error (Dhillion, 2007). It is considered human error when one fails to do what is expected from him or her. Structures of error are developed to identify its origin and reasons according to these different perspectives by Weigman and Shappel (2003). The cognitive perspective ta rgets the pilot’s skill on decision-making and choosing strategies, ability to solve problems during flight, and capability to comprehend and respond to stimulus and commands on hand. To reduce the mental workload of the pilot and to avoid accidents, a checklist is advised. This is also a ground for skill-based and decision errors (Weigman and Shappel, 2003). The ergonomic perspective suggests that even if all the reports would identify human-related error as the primary root of accidents, in this systems perspective, it hardly or rarely points to human as the cause. At the start of developing and designing the system and equipment, human factors are already considered. Accidents occur when a mismatch transpires between man, machine, and the environmental components. Problems arise when there are stressors in the part of human like anxiety and hazardous attitudes (Weigman and Shappel, 2003).. Moreover, the behavioral perspective states that rewards, motivations to work safely , the threat of punishment for failures, and past experiences can greatly influence the performance of an individual. According to Reason (1997, 2000), people who violate rules are motivation-driven people. They need to be rewarded when they follow safety rule and the lack of tangible reward for this individual will tend him to twist or break rules. Although this is unacceptable logically,