Is this project an undergraduate, graduate, or faculty project?

Undergraduate

Project Type

group

Campus

Daytona Beach

Authors' Class Standing

Jaxon Daniels, Senior Ryan Lutwin, Jacob Patterson, Elizabeth Bosan, Ronyn Orrell

Lead Presenter's Name

Jaxon Daniels

Lead Presenter's College

DB College of Aviation

Faculty Mentor Name

Dr. Flavio Antonio Coimbra Mendonca

Abstract

On February 19, 1985, China Airlines Flight 006, a regularly scheduled flight from Taipei, Taiwan, to Los Angeles, California, experienced a serious in-flight upset while cruising at high altitude. The aircraft subsequently entered a steep, uncontrolled spiral dive, during which it experienced extreme G-forces and sustained structural damage. After regaining control, the crew diverted the aircraft to San Francisco International Airport, where it landed safely (National Transportation Safety Board, 1986). The Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) framework helps to identify and analyse the organizational elements and conditions that lead to aviation accidents (Small, 2020). Aviation accidents are not attributed to one singular cause or individual, rather a multitude of events and human factors errors. In order to make sense and track the series of events leading up to the accident, safety investigators use the HFACS framework to investigate both latent conditions and active failures. HFACS outlines hidden violations at 4 different levels; unsafe acts, preconditions for unsafe acts, unsafe supervision, and organizational influence (Shappell & Wiegmann, 2000). The purpose of HFACS is for Safety investigators to build and implement new safety plans to prevent incidents from reoccurring by understanding the events and conditions that led up to the accident (Small, 2020). It is with the help of this model, that we can locate and understand the underlying causes towards the event and determine key factors leading to the outcome as it occurred.

Did this research project receive funding support (Spark, SURF, Research Abroad, Student Internal Grants, Collaborative, Climbing, or Ignite Grants) from the Office of Undergraduate Research?

No

Share

COinS
 

Case Study - China Airlines Flight 006

On February 19, 1985, China Airlines Flight 006, a regularly scheduled flight from Taipei, Taiwan, to Los Angeles, California, experienced a serious in-flight upset while cruising at high altitude. The aircraft subsequently entered a steep, uncontrolled spiral dive, during which it experienced extreme G-forces and sustained structural damage. After regaining control, the crew diverted the aircraft to San Francisco International Airport, where it landed safely (National Transportation Safety Board, 1986). The Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) framework helps to identify and analyse the organizational elements and conditions that lead to aviation accidents (Small, 2020). Aviation accidents are not attributed to one singular cause or individual, rather a multitude of events and human factors errors. In order to make sense and track the series of events leading up to the accident, safety investigators use the HFACS framework to investigate both latent conditions and active failures. HFACS outlines hidden violations at 4 different levels; unsafe acts, preconditions for unsafe acts, unsafe supervision, and organizational influence (Shappell & Wiegmann, 2000). The purpose of HFACS is for Safety investigators to build and implement new safety plans to prevent incidents from reoccurring by understanding the events and conditions that led up to the accident (Small, 2020). It is with the help of this model, that we can locate and understand the underlying causes towards the event and determine key factors leading to the outcome as it occurred.

 

To view the content in your browser, please download Adobe Reader or, alternately,
you may Download the file to your hard drive.

NOTE: The latest versions of Adobe Reader do not support viewing PDF files within Firefox on Mac OS and if you are using a modern (Intel) Mac, there is no official plugin for viewing PDF files within the browser window.