Welcome — Page 1, Lesson 10

Welcome. Let’s begin. We’re starting a new topic: why, despite all the technological progress in aviation, accidents still happen — and why the root cause almost always comes back to the human being. First, let’s look at the equipment side. Airframes have become more reliable. Modern engines and their associated equipment seldom fail. Navigational equipment — both in the aircraft and on the ground — has improved in leaps and bounds, giving a degree of accuracy that the early pioneers of flying could never have dreamed of. Add to that the advances in meteorological forecasting, and you might think that aviation accidents should have been virtually eliminated, except for the most freak conditions. But here’s the key point: accidents have not reduced at the rate you would expect from the advances of technology. The factor that has not changed is the human being. When you read aircraft accident reports, you often see the cause listed as ‘Pilot Error’. But a more correct reason would be ‘Human Error’. That’s an important distinction — it’s not just the pilot at the controls; errors can happen at every stage of an aircraft’s life. Let me walk you through those stages. Designers may make small arithmetical slips that are not picked up. Servicing personnel can put the wrong fuel and lubricants into engines, or fit components incorrectly. Operations and loading staff do get the weights wrong. So errors can occur long before the flight even begins. But the major contribution to flight safety can be achieved by educating the operating crew — that’s you, the future pilot. This publication is written to help you appreciate the limitations of the human being in the aviation environment. Our bodies are designed to exist on the surface of the earth, under a stable gravitational force. In aviation, the body is subject to new factors. Among those factors are altitude, large changes in pressure, changes of gravitational forces, radiation, and shortage of oxygen. In the purely physical sense, you will need to learn how to recognize the symptoms of oxygen deficiency — that’s hypoxia. You’ll also need to understand the effects of high g-forces, and large changes of temperature. And beyond the purely physical, you should gain an appreciation of the problems brought about by stress and time zone changes — that’s circadian rhythm disruption, or jet lag. So the core idea here is simple but profound: the hardware has become incredibly reliable, but the human remains the variable that hasn’t changed. Understanding your own limitations — physiological, psychological, and environmental — is what will make you a safer pilot.