Flying fatigued, from 1890

On 12 July 1890, in Eastleigh, England, the London & South Western Railway had a collision that resulted in one fatality. A light engine ran some stop signals at North Junction and then crashed into the rear of a freight train. The accident report cited the cause as the engine driver and stoker failing to “keep a proper look-out”. Pilot error you might say. However, it was speculated in the report that both men were “asleep, or nearly so”, having been on duty for over sixteen hours. So while the driver was the immediate cause of the crash, the deeper, … Continue reading Flying fatigued, from 1890

Reasonable rational individuals

“Most accidents originate in actions committed by reasonable, rational individuals who were acting to achieve an assigned task in what they perceived to be a responsible and professional manner. They have probably committed these same unsafe acts before without negative consequences because the existing conditions at the time did not favour an interaction of the flawed decisions or deficiences present in the system.” Peter Harle, Director of Accident Prevention, Transportation Safety Board of Canada and former RCAF pilot, ‘Investigation of human factors: The link to accident prevention.’ In Johnston, N., McDonald, N., & Fuller, R. (Eds.), Aviation Psychology in Practice, … Continue reading Reasonable rational individuals

Why would a ship sail into a hurricane?

This time last year the American ship SS El Faro went down in a hurricane with the loss of all thirty-three crew (Wikipedia page). It seems impossible ‘in this day and age’ that such a thing could happen. It wasn’t a mechanical issue, or a rogue crew, or pirates, or a freak storm. The Washington Post reported one of the deck officers voiced concern prior to sailing, emailing friends and family, “there is a hurricane out here and we are heading straight into it.” Yankee magazine has published a deep read that is worth the time for any pilot to … Continue reading Why would a ship sail into a hurricane?