We can work on Safety Research Case Study On Scheduled Commercial Aviation Accidents

Abstract

It should not be surprising that human error has been linked to several workplace aviation accidents, including a high per cent of those in civil and military aircraft (O’Hare et al., 1994). Humans, by their very nature, make mistakes. Although the number of United States aviation accidents related to the failure of machines has significantly dropped, It is projected that the aviation industry will continue to grow steadily. Flying is an affordable and practical method of long-distance transportation, which is why millions of travellers use airlines every year to reach their destinations. The rigorous standards imposed on the aviation sector ensure that the system continues to function in the face of ongoing issues and difficulties and are largely responsible for the success of airline operations around the world. Even though commercial aircraft are normally very safe, many countries have very different safety regulations. Although flying is mostly safe in wealthy nations, areas with much weaker requirements exist. One of the biggest accomplishments of modern business is the level of safety that the major aviation corporations have currently accomplished in industrialized nations.

Despite significant improvements in aviation safety, accidents and The information was specifically used to supplement the National Transportation Safety Board’s accident records for commercial aviation (NTSB). It was established that all incidents associated with the business accidents analyzed that had a human cause occurred between January 2005 and December 2021. In addition, the data classification uncovered several critical safety hazards that demand study and response. These results demonstrate the potential usefulness of the framework as a tool for use in civil aviation.

This case study is centred on a case of an aviation crash and helps to analyze and identify the contributing elements to the accident. It was found that several factors worked together to cause the majority of airline accidents. Uncertainty in the specified protocols, a lack of training, unforeseen operating circumstances, or human judgments can all result in errors. In addition to mechanical flaws, mishaps can also be brought on by a pilot’s lack of situational awareness, environmental dangers, and issues with crew coordination. Lack of crew cooperation or a bad airspace design could result in other errors. Poor crew coordination or improper airspace design may be the cause of errors.

INTRODUCTION

Agribusiness, forestry, fishing, and construction are all examples of general aviation activities that are not part of regularly scheduled air travel. The term “general aviation” refers to various activities, such as flight instruction, research, weather monitoring, emergency rescue, and medical and health care (Xue & Fu, 2018). More than 3 billion passengers travel securely on 38 million flights, according to information by the International Air Transport Association (IATA). The lowest accident rate in history was in 2017 when few accidents were recorded. A hull loss is an accident where the plane sustains significant damage or is destroyed and is not repaired. In 2013, the accident rate was 0.41. There were fewer accidents on eastern and western airplanes worldwide in 2014 than in 2013. When combat broke out in the sky above Ukraine on July 17, 2014, a Malaysia Aircraft company was damaged and shot down, becoming the deadliest aircraft crash in history with 298 fatalities. On the other side, on March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, headed to Beijing, vanished, killing 239 people for no apparent reason.

Technological marvels are modern business aeroplanes. Commercial jets and turboprops have reached a previously unheard-of level of efficiency and safety thanks to big-screen multifunction electronic displays that have replaced dozens of outdated single-purpose mechanical instruments in the cockpit. “Smart” fuel control systems prevent engines from operating above specified temperature or power limits, and advanced airfoil designs achieve both high-speed cruise and slow-speed stability. Today, only a small percentage of aircraft safety events are due to mechanical issues. These advancements are good news for everyone who flies, but if we only pay attention to the mechanics of flying, we’ll miss the most important aspect of safety. The truth is that the security of any commercial jet, no matter how advanced its technology, depends on the skill of its pilots. According to analysts, 70 to 90 per cent of aviation accidents involve pilot mistakes to some extent.

The American flight training system is based on a linear curriculum that first gets you ready for general aviation before getting you ready for teaching, commercial flying, and airline flying. The absence of pilots indicates that this pipeline is no longer in use. The 1500 hours obtained via crop dusting or towing banners in a single-engine prop will not be very helpful when flying in a multi-crew jet aircraft. The 1,500-rule is one of the strictest requirements you’ll find anywhere because other nations require a small number of flying hours for pilots to operate commercial aircraft. However, one may argue that the United States goes above and beyond this responsibility. It is necessary to first think about the origin of this law. However, with the minimum flying time, one can contend that the United States goes above and beyond this need. It’s crucial to consider where this regulation came from initially. In 2013, the minimum flight time needed to become an airline pilot was increased dramatically from 250 to 1,500 hours. In reaction to the 2009 Colgan Air flight 3407 crash, which was mostly caused by pilot error, the necessary action was taken (Schlappig, B., 2022, May 11). The issue is that the first officer and captain of the flight had more than 1,500 hours of experience combined, so that wouldn’t have even been a factor.

The world’s future will likely resemble the EASA’s MPL program, which essentially begins you from zero with a concentration on flying airplanes. A generation of left-seat airline pilots in Europe completed the MPL route. It achieved qualifications on par with individuals who finished the conventional PPL/CPL/fATPL paths, if not better (Sean, M., 2022). These pilots are now employed by European airlines. Those who went through the American system are frequently less prepared (exceptions, of course, exist) for airline flying at 250 hours than those with EASA MPL backgrounds. Simply reducing hours without changing how they are accumulated or what the pilots are taught won’t change anything. According to studies on air travel crises and accidents conducted by the air traffic and travel business, aeroplane company accidents are a major problem in the current airline industry because they significantly affect demand for air travel and the funding of aeroplane companies. Because it does not reveal any additional information regarding air travel safety, people will only pay attention to an aeroplane accident if they believe it to be an unimportant incident. However, if they think it is not a simple mishap, air travellers view it as a risk and switch to a safer aircraft or opt for another mode of transportation. (Ho et al., 2013) discussed the influence of aviation disasters on the stock exchange prices of the crash airlines and their competing airlines, along with how they affected the overall case. As the degree of fatalities and severe injuries rises, the results demonstrate that the crash airlines face deeper negative abnormal returns. In major disasters, the share values of competing airlines are also negatively impacted.

Problem Statement

The development and performance of most organizations, including airline safety, are essential to their existence. The Aviation Crisis may significantly affect the firm’s worth. Risk managers need to pay close attention to risk neutralization and prevention. The impact of significant losses on shareholder value in an efficient stock market was recently proven. Therefore, this case study aims to investigate and pinpoint the contributing elements to an aeroplane disaster. The development and performance of most organizations, including airline safety, are essential to their existence. The Aviation Crisis may significantly affect the firm’s worth. Risk managers need to pay close attention to risk neutralization and prevention. The impact of significant losses on shareholder value in an efficient stock market was recently proven. Therefore, this case study aims to investigate and pinpoint the contributing elements to an aeroplane disaster.

Research Question

The 1500-hour flight rule is significant in explaining the scheduled commercial aviation accidents.

Hypothesis

We are given a real foundation for verifying the facts with hypothesis testing. The ability to assess the issue statement and underlying assumptions before applying them to the gathered data is a significant additional benefit of hypothesis testing.

We then developed the following relevant hypothesis for the study:

H0: The number of scheduled commercial aircraft accidents involving severe property damage in the United States during the eight years before the implementation of the 1500-hour regulation in 2013 compared to the eight years after that was not appreciably higher.

H1: In the years before the implementation of the 1500-hour regulation in 2013 compared to the eight years after, scheduled commercial aircraft accidents with severe damage was much higher in the United States. We then came up with the following corresponding hypothesis for the research:

H0: Part 121 scheduled commercial aviation accidents leading to substantial damage in the United States were not significantly higher in the eight years before the implementation of the 1500-hour rule in 2013 than in the eight years after.

H1: Part 121 scheduled commercial aviation accidents leading to substantial damage in the United States were significantly higher in the eight years before the implementation of the 1500-hour rule in 2013 than in the eight years after.

RESEARCH METHODS

Data

Using database information kept by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) and the FAA, a thorough analysis of all accidents involving Code of Federal Air Regulations (CFR) Part 121 and 135 Scheduled Air Carriers1 between January 2005 and December 2020 was carried out. Those mishaps that could, at least in part, be blamed on the aircrew were particularly relevant to this study. Accidents brought on exclusively by catastrophic failure, maintenance mistakes, and unforeseen meteorological events like turbulence and wind shear were thus excluded. Additionally, this research only included accidents for which the investigation was finished, and the accident’s cause was established.

Variables

The variables we shall utilize in this research include the following: The Year from 2005 to 2020, Total seriously injured persons, Total fatalities, Total accidents for the U.S. registered civil aircraft not operated under 14 CFR 121 or 14 CFR 135, flight hours, rates per 10000 hours for fatalities, seriously injured persons, and accidents.

RESULTS AND ANALYSIS

Descriptive statistics

Table 1 Descriptive Statistics

The table shows that the total fatalities from 2005 to 2020 is 7128 while that for seriously injured persons is 3900.

Table 2 Summary Statistics

Descriptive Statistics NMinimumMaximumMeanStd. DeviationVarianceTotal fatalities16331706445.5093.6428768.800Total seriously injured persons16187328243.7534.3871182.467Total accidentsa,b16108516711376.25179.19232109.800Total accidentsa,b, fatal16203321254.2536.6691344.600Flight hours (thousands)16.000023962.936020176.6273755560.449803230918602.014Seriously injured persons16.00001.30861.037521.2951569.087Fatalities16.00002.94621.926705.6119630.374Valid N (listwise)16

Data on the volume of air traffic is frequently correlated with the number of aircraft accidents. It is especially interesting to examine the distribution of fatalities by year because air traffic intensity has been steadily declining over the previous few decades.

Figure 1 Mean Total Fatalities

The line graph for the mean fatalities from 2005 to 2020 shows a decreasing trend 2005 to 2020. The number of aircraft accidents in the U.S. from 2005 to 2020 fluctuated; we can refer to 2017 as the safest year. The information in Figure 1 raises the question of how the current tendencies will develop over the coming decades. The number of flights is expected to continue to rise. In contrast, the number of accidents per million departures is likely to decline due to continuous globalization and the expansion of the aviation industry.

Since the 1500-hour rule was introduced in 2013, the summary representation for the data from 2005-2012 and 2013-2020 is shown below.

Figure 2 2005-2012 Period

From 2013-2020 is as shown below:

Figure 3 2013-2020 Period

Recommendations

The need for ongoing measures to prevent future recurrences of aircraft accidents

The existence of persistent dangers to air traffic from recurring human errors, omissions, or aircraft faults; and –

There should be uniform collection and archiving data about air traffic safety incidents globally.

CONCLUSION

The steady growth of the aviation sector is anticipated to continue. Millions of passengers utilize airlines every year to go to their destinations because flying is an accessible and viable form of long-distance transportation. Successful airline operations worldwide are largely attributable to the high standards imposed in the aviation industry, which ensure that the system operates despite persistent problems and challenges. Even though commercial aviation is typically highly safe, many countries have widely varying safety requirements. While it is generally safe to fly in developed countries, there are regions with far lower standards. The degree of safety that major aviation companies have currently attained in industrialized countries is one of the greatest achievements of modern business.

Despite the enormous advances in air safety, mishaps and incidents still occur and can potentially result in injuries, deaths, and property damage. Additionally, despite falling accident rates, the overall number of aircraft accidents is most likely to stay the same or rise somewhat due to present growth. As a result, it has been determined that the aircraft accident investigation process needs to be enhanced despite its current advantages to understand accident causes better and stop similar incidents from happening. Regarding this, the research presented in this paper has demonstrated that the expert systems technique is a reliable tool for analyzing the process of an aircraft accident investigation.

References

Ho, J., Qiu, M., & Tang, X. (2013). Do airlines always suffer from crashes? Economics Letters, 118(1), 113-117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2012.09.031

National Transportation Statistics | Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Bts.gov. (2022). Retrieved August 18, 2022, from https://www.bts.gov/product/national-transportation-statistics?keys&field_topic_target_id=All&page=3.

O’HARE, D., WIGGINS, M., BATT, R., & MORRISON, D. (1994). Cognitive failure analysis for aircraft accident investigation. Ergonomics, 37(11), 1855-1869. https://doi.org/10.1080/00140139408964954

Schlappig, B. (2022, May 11). Airlines look to abolish the 1,500-hour rule for pilots. One Mile at a Time. Retrieved June 12, 2022, from https://onemileatatime.com/news/1500-hour-rule-pilots/

Xue, Y., & Fu, G. (2018). A modified accident analysis and investigation model for the general aviation industry: Emphasizing human and organizational factors. Journal Of Safety Research, 67, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2018.09.008

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