Human Factors Analysis for Aviation Accidents and Incidents in Singapore

Abstract

AbstractThe aviation industry is an important sector in contributing to a nation’s economy and its growth and development. The continuous improvement in the aviation industry with the adoption of new technology has developed trust and confidence amongst people all over the world. However even with such improvement and technological advances embedded in the aviation industry, accidents still cannot be avoided. An aviation accident is characterized as an incident that is directly related to an aircraft’s service. Aviation accidents are often the result of a number of causes and contributory factors, many of which have a human dimension to them. In some cases, human error is a factor in as high as 70% of aircraft accidents (Feggetter 2007). Hence, the challenge for accident investigators is how best to identify and mitigate the causal sequence of events leading up to an accident. The Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) is a general human error framework originally developed and tested within the USA military as a tool for investigating and analysing human causes of aviation accidents (Li et al. 2008). The applicability of HFACS to the analysis of large-scale datasets of incidents and accidents has also been demonstrated in both civil and military aviation environments in Taiwan, India and Australia. Further, this framework has been extended and adapted to analyse the underlying human factors causes in accidents involving remotely piloted aircraft, aviation maintenance and railroad accidents. In Asia, Singapore has a strong and robust economy and operates one of the world’s most successful and recognisable airlines. It is therefore surprising that little is known about human error in the aviation context. Thus, one purpose of the present study is to assess the utility of the HFACS framework as an error analysis and classification tool for accidents/incidents in the aviation industry in Singapore. Specifically, HFACS will be applied to commercial aviation accident and incident records maintained by the Transportation Safety Investigation Bureau (TSIB) of the Ministry of Transport (MOT). The TSIB is the air, marine and rail accidents and incidents investigation authority in Singapore. Its mission is to promote transport safety through the conduct of independent investigations into air, marine and rail accidents and incidents. A comprehensive review of 75 accidents and incidents that occurred between October 2000 and December 2019 in Singapore has just been undertaken. This is currently being analysed within a HFACS context and the findings will be reported here. Thus, the utility of the HFACS framework will be appraised, an overview of the 75 accidents will be given, and more specific detail relating to human error will be reported. At a later stage, these findings will be compared with other countries in Asia where similar data is available. Researchers claim that the HFACS framework bridges the gap between theory and practice by providing safety professionals with a theoretical tool for identifying and classifying human errors in aviation mishaps (Wiegmann and Shappell 2001a, b, c). The system focuses on both latent and active failures and their interrelationships, thereby facilitating the identification of the underlying causes of human error. The findings from this research will allow safety managers, administrators and other aviation professionals working in airlines, airports and aviation regulatory organizations to analyse their safety programmes’ strengths and weaknesses. This will also contribute to the build-up of a comprehensive database in Southeast Asia. Finally, this study is unprecedented in Singapore and will offer new insights into the nature and trends of human factors in aircraft accidents and incidents.KeywordsHuman factorsHFACSAviation safetyAccidents and incidentsAir traffic