Re: Effect of the term 'Pilot Error' by media & investigators on future fligh...
CRMDEEN_at_aol.com
Sat, 17 May 1997 11:08:23 -0400 (EDT)
Hello Gary, Welcome to the circle.
In your quest of studies, you'll soon notice that the term "pilot error"
was a closure statement to an investigation. Why did the airplane crash? It
got to low and hit a rock, or it got slow and fell. If the "pilot" had
maintained aircraft control, this would not have happened. Pilots are very
skilled people, and when one does not understand the nature of the job, it
becomes "magic". The non-pilots were, and sometimes still are, mystified
and amazed at the magic a pilot could do. When the pilot made the fatal
error, we, the public, wondered what happened. If the magic failed, we
closed the book by saying "pilots are humans, humans are imperfect, and
mistakes will happen". Case closed.
When aviation began to include more than one person on the airplane, the
term teamwork and crew began to emerge, hence the term "crew error". New
research and education now acknowledges that the operation of an aircraft
involves more than just the pilot--there is a system in operation, hence
resource management. Todays investigations reveal how that system
occassionally fails, but the aircraft is still damaged the same old way; it
got too low and hit a rock, it got too slow and fell.
So where's the magic today? You'll notice that pilot error is still a
viable term, but is it the cause of the crash, or the symptom?
Good luck on the research, and keep in touch.
Greg Deen
HTI-C-130 ATS