The war on error

Article by David Learmount published 10 October 2006 on Flight website

Talks about a course titled 'Safety Stand-down' for experienced pilots run in US. Claims that the course "takes fully trained pilots well above and beyond what an advanced conventional or recurrent flying training programme provides. It challenges preconceptions, stimulates questions, and presents a pilot with a mirror in which his/her latent professional and personal vulnerabilities become fully visible. More than that, it renews a pilot’s respect for the multiple disciplines it takes to be a really good aviator."

Quotes Bob Agostino (Bombardier Business Aircraft director of operations): “Development of the human half of the man-machine equation has not kept pace with the technology developments in either formal training programmes nor in regulatory development.”

Also Dr Tony Kern (senior partner in Convergent Knowledge Solutions): "The challenge of human error will never be remedied by any traditional safety programme. Personal error must be slowly untangled in a private battle within each individual.”

Finally, researcher from University of Manchester: “The study of human error has grown dramatically in the last 20 years. We know why people make errors and how to prevent 90% of them, but no-one seems to care.”

Andy Brazier