Eastern Minds in Western Cockpits: Meta-Analysis of Human Factors in Mishaps from Three Nations

Europe and America have lower aviation accident rates than Asia and Africa. Culture's role in aviation mishaps has been discussed a great deal; however, in contributory factors in accidents, culture is rarely mentioned. There is a hypothesis that in aircraft accident underlying causal factors, there will be different patterns among different cultures. The authors used a previously published research result meta-analysis to examine statistical differences across accidents in the United States, India, and the Republic of China (Taiwan) in the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System's (HFACS's) 18 categories. Between these three regions, significant differences were exhibited in 7 HFACS categories, concerned mostly with, at the higher organizational levels, contributory factors. Differences related to decision errors, adverse mental states, physical/mental limitations, inadequate supervision, resource management, organizational climate, and organization processes. Research evidence supports, overall, the observation that aviation safety is impacted by national cultures, and, in regard to why this should be so, adds further explanatory power. Management style of organizations, rather than aircraft operation per se, is associated with the majority of cultural issues identified.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00956562
• Authors:
  • Li, Wen-Chin
  • Harris, Don
  • Chen, Aurora
• Publication Date: 2007-4

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References;
• Pagination: pp 420-425
• Serial:
  • Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine
  • Volume: 78
  • Issue Number: 4
  • Publisher: Aerospace Medical Association
  • ISSN: 0095-6562
  • Serial URL: http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/asma/asem

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Air transportation crashes; Aircraft operations; Countries; Human factors; Management; Meta-analysis; Statistics
• Identifier Terms: Human Factors Analysis and Classification System
• Uncontrolled Terms: Causal factors; Cultural influences; Patterns
• Geographic Terms: Africa; Europe; United States
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Aviation; Data and Information Technology; Safety and Human Factors;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01055453
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Aug 23 2007 1:00PM