After landing safely back at the airport with a fire on board, no exit was opened for 23 minutes and 301 people inside perished. Investigations into the causes of aircraft accidents often focus on what happened and who did it - but very rarely on why, which is the question the author addresses in this book. He propounds that the cause should be sought deeper inside human beings who make simple human errors rather than simply "pilot error". David Beaty analyzes not only human error flying accidents, but also the latest predisposing errors made by management and government. This book was recommended in a House of Lords debate on aircraft safety.
David Beaty - an RAF and airline pilot, historian and psychologist - analyses not only the human error in flying accidents but also the latent pre-disposing errors made by management and government. No other book on the subject speaks with such clarity to both the expert and the layman. Human factors have been called 'the last great frontier of aviation' and the Naked Pilot seeks ways to breach it
This book's title is certainly eye-catching! Its formal subtitle, "The Human Factor in Aircraft Accidents", however, may put off some who would do well to read it. The author is a former Royal Air Force and airline pilot who has spent much time studying the psychological factors contributing to aircraft accidents. Although the main emphasis of the book is on incidents involving aircraft, including several well-known crashes, much of it is relevant to other modes of transport, and to many other activities. Several times I was reminded of things which can all too easily go wrong in my own work in software development. The book will be of most interest to aviation buffs, who will spot a sprinkling of errors which have slipped passed the proof-reader to be caught by the last clause of the acknowledgements: "the views, opinions, and human errors are mine alone." (I like a chap who places a comma after "opinions" like that.) However, I do not believe that the broader psychological issues are unduly obscured for those with no particular interest in aviation, and this is a worthwhile read for anyone with an interest in safety, or simply in getting things right.
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