‘Little wake turbulence, huh?’ Applying a contemporary model of learning and memory to the American Airlines Flight AA587 accident

This paper uses a model of learning and memory to analyze an American Airlines Flight AA587 crash in 2001 and demonstrate that probable cause extends beyond human error. American Airlines Flight AA587 crashed when the vertical stabilizer separated from the airframe. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause was the First Officer's (FO's) unnecessary and excessive rudder pedal inputs. Contributing factors were reported to be the design of the aircraft rudder system and the Officer's training. A model of learning and memory and a case study approach was used to infer state of mind and explore connections between the effects of the American Airlines Advanced Aircraft Maneuvering Program (AAMP) training program and the FO's individual actions. Training transfer, long-term memory, associative learning, and plasticity are discussed. It is suggested that the primary probable cause of the AA587 crash was the FO's use of the rudder which was the result of patterned neural activity learned during AAMP simulator training. This paper contributes to understanding causality in accidents and the effectiveness of training on human performance.

• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1080/1463922X.2016.1236156
• Record URL:
  • https://doi.org/10.1080/1463922X.2016.1236156
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/1463922X
• Authors:
  • Sherwin, L
  • Naweed, A
• Publication Date: 2017-11

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Digital/other
• Features: Figures; Maps; References;
• Pagination: pp 477-500
• Serial:
  • Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science
  • Volume: 18
  • Issue Number: 6
  • Publisher: Taylor & Francis
  • ISSN: 1463-922X
  • EISSN: 1464-536X
  • Serial URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/toc/ttie20/current

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air transportation crashes; Crash causes; Flight simulators; Flight training; Human factors in crashes; Learning; Memory
• Identifier Terms: American Airlines, Inc.
• Subject Areas: Aviation; Education and Training; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01680390
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 17 2018 9:08AM