Human Factors in the Aviation Industry

 

Human factors in aviation are any characteristics of a person that can negatively affect human performance and therefore, the safety of flight. They include things such as stress, improper communication, complacency, lack of sleep, lack of training, and the wrong behaviors and attitudes, among other things. These factors cause human errors in people’s performance but by identifying these factors, we can understand them and apply recommended practices to mitigate the risks (FAA, 2022). It is also important to understand that human factors don’t just apply to pilots but includes everyone involved in the aviation industry, such as maintenance technicians and air traffic controllers.

            Air traffic controllers are required to work under stress where abnormal situations can occur. They are highly trained, but accidents can happen, such as the Tenerife airport disaster. When abnormal situations and emergencies occur, air traffic controllers are required to multitask and exchange a lot of information in a small amount of time and change task priorities (Malakis et al., 2010). The good news is that they work in teams, which can mitigate critical mishaps. They effectively communicate with one another and if an emergency situation arises, the coordinating controller who is the one that establishes the overall plan of the entry and exists of the aircraft, informs the watch supervisor who has the overall responsibilities of the operations (Malakis et al., 2010). The coordinating controller also assists the executive controller who is the one that carries out the overall traffic plan and communicates with the aircraft. During a situation, the executive controller will also inform the coordinating controller so that they can change their priorities. All three of these roles work together to communicate and interact with one another to mitigate emergency situations. Another thing that air traffic controllers do is if the workload is becoming too much for someone, some of it can be delegated to another person which ensures that if a situation does arise, that person isn’t too overwhelmed. By decreasing their workload, stress, having the proper communication, and by being able to effectively work as a team, air traffic controllers are able to resolve stressful situations. 

(word count: 354)

 

References

Federal Aviation Administration. (n.d.). The Role of Human Factors in the FAA. Retrieved August 6, 2022, from https://www.hf.faa.gov/role.aspx

Malakis, S., Kontogiannis, T., & Kirwan, B. (2010). Managing emergencies and abnormal situations in air traffic control (part II): Teamwork strategies. Applied Ergonomics, 41(4), 628–635. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2009.12.018