Is Engineering Ethics Important for Aerospace Engineers?

Sakineh Haghighattalab,An Chen,Mohammadreza Saghamanesh,Dan Zhang

doi:10.1051/matecconf/201817903009

Sakineh Haghighattalab, An Chen + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201817903009

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Abstract

Engineering as a profession has a direct effect on society and the environment. Engineering ethics is a part of the essence of engineering. One of the important branches of engineering profession is aerospace engineering. Furthermore, aerospace industry achievements play an undeniable role in our lives. Research and development in the aerospace domain have contributed to the progress of some new technologies in the last decades. The purpose of this study is to emphasize the importance of engineering ethics as an essential part of aerospace engineering. Engineering ethics examines professional responsibilities and ethical decision making of engineers. Moreover, codes of ethics help the engineers to apply ethical principles in critical conditions. The poor ethical decision-making of engineers leads to engineering failures which jeopardized human life and the environment. This paper by examining two case studies related to the field of aerospace engineering (Challenger and Columbia disasters) describes the role of the negligence of engineering ethics on the occurrence of engineering disasters.

Highlights

IntroductionCarl Mitcham notes “when science takes the world into its laboratory, engineering takes the world for a laboratory” [2]
The aerospace as a significant and effective branch of the engineering profession has contributed to the development of many new technologies
The aerospace engineering has a serious role in the defense and economics for many countries in the last decades

Summary

Introduction

Carl Mitcham notes “when science takes the world into its laboratory, engineering takes the world for a laboratory” [2]. The role of the engineering profession in creating advanced technologies has caused that the engineers pay more attention to the consequences of their designs and decisions. One of the important branches of engineering is aerospace engineering. The goal of this study is to emphasize the importance of engineering ethics as an essential part of the engineering activities especially in the field of aerospace engineering. By exploring two space shuttle case studies (Challenger and Columbia), we will illustrate the role of disregarding to ethics on the occurrence of disasters. The studies in Challenger accident have revealed a violation of engineering ethics by managers and engineers as a significant cause of the disaster [10, 11].

Ethics

Engineering ethics

Conclusion