This accident has become a popular favourite as a case study on the main theme of automation, but there are a host of other human factors in including culture, crashworthiness, survivability and emergency response…

What is cultural competency?Just mentioning the word culture seems often to be met with a glazing over of eyes. I learned that discussing ‘cultural capability’ in the military was unfashionable, uncool, and frank…

This seminal study by Dismukes and Berman (2010) from NASA looks at the role of checklists and monitoring as two essential defences against equipment failures and pilot errors. Problems with checklist use and…

This award-winning paper examined details from over 2000 incident reports from commercial airlines. The premise of the paper is that we could be doing more to learn from the incidents we are (and aren’t) reporting…

Zoom! by Istvan Banyai is a wordless picture book which presents a series of images of a scene, each one from progressively farther away, showing, for example, a boat which becomes the image on a magazine, which is…

We link you here to the the ASRS Database Online, the world’s largest repository of voluntary, confidential safety information provided by aviation’s frontline personnel, including pilots, controllers, mechanics,…

This summary of the HFACS from Skybrary introduces the reader to the basic principles of one of the most well-known and widely used human factors tools in aviation and accident investigation.The Human Factors…

Sleep inertia is the period of impaired performance and grogginess experienced after waking. This period of impairment is of concern to workers who are on-call, or nap during work hours, and need to perform…

Having a sterile cockpit rule isn’t just about quieting down the cockpit: It’s about enhancing focus and ensuring safety during critical flight phases. It aims to reduce distractions and maintain clear, rel…

The essence of the perceptual process is that it combines existing knowledge
with incoming stimuli and the current situation, in order to create meaning
from what is being sensed. In other words the brain takes a…

This series of blog posts by Dr Steven Shorrock explains different ‘kinds’ of human factors, as understood both within and outside the discipline and profession of human factors and ergonomics itself. 

Dr Steven Shorrock, a Chartered Ergonomist and Human Factors Specialist with the CIEHF and a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society currently works as a human factors and safety specialist in…

This infographic about Human Factors and Ergonomics from the UK Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors (2018) helps to explore different kinds of Human Factors.

Serious incident report into circumstances behind Transmission of incorrect altimeter setting (QNH) by air traffic service, and near-collision with ground during satellite approach procedure with barometric…

This video case study examines the near CFIT of an A320 (9H-EMU) on approach to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport on 23 May 2022 where the aircraft descended to a height of 6 feet in IMC a mile out from the runway…

An episode of Bruce Webb’s (Airbus) Push to Talk podcast series aviation psychologist Eleonora Avi joins him to discuss how and why she got into the field. Source: Push to Talk with Bruce Webb Eleonora is an a…

This highly recommended guide is a standardisation tool, developed by the UK Flight Crew Human Factors Advisory Panel (FCHF), to help National Aviation Authority Inspectors, Management, Auditors and Examiners and…

Source: Chartered Institute for Ergonomics and Human Factors This white paper from the Chartered Institute of Ergonomics and Human Factors explores human factors in incident prevention and management. Find out how…

Annemarie Landman’s 2019 work on startle and surprise in the cockpit established her as a leading theorist in the field and has helped to forge applied techniques to manage startle effect in the cockpit. The full p…

Source: AirMed&rescue Magazine Alex Pollitt explores the dramatic demand for automation in the cockpit, and how it has both alleviated pilot workload and exposed our limited understanding of the human factor at the…

Are lengthy, outdated flightdeck briefings really contributing to aviation safety? Captain RICH LOUDON*, Alaska Airlines and Captain DAVID MORIARTY, RAeS HF Group (Flight Operations and Training) take a look at cu…

Source: Shadowboxtraining.com Have you ever wondered how to improve decision making in fast-paced, real world situations? John Schmitt from Shadow Box Training introduces some basic principles in decision-making.…

With the topic of automation in aviation under public scrutiny, perhaps it’s time to review some fundamental aspects of aircraft handling using the technology. Source: Verticalmag.com The high profile crashes of t…

Source: YouTube The classic TED talk by Amy Edmondson introducing her early work on the benefits of creating psychological safety in organisations. Edmondson is the Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management…

James Reason, Professor Emeritus, University of Manchester, set out 12 systemic human factors centric principles of error management in his book Managing Maintenance Error: A Practical Guide (co-written with Alan…

Chapter 1 on Information Processing from the Flight Crew HF Handbook gives a brief theoretical foundation on how humans process information for subsequent (more applied) chapters. Source: CAP737 Flight Crew Human…