In ten pages the significance of human factors such as errors in aviation maintenance and inspection and their impact are discussed in a consideration that also discusses the importance of achieving understanding through a knowledge of psychology. Seven sources are cited in the bibliography.
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human performance, performance which often as not is replete with errors. Errors, in fact, occur on an everyday basis in aviation. Some errors are minor but others can
have disastrous consequences. Errors may be either direct or indirect but they can be minimized by the same analyses as that which is applicable to other human factor-sensitive fields
as well. We often look to psychology, rather than solely to aviation, to help us identify the means to improvement in human error.
There are numerous examples of the contention presented above in regard to direct and indirect errors. In the case of the past problems experienced with the Douglas DC-10s, for
example, it was found that there was a problem with cargo doors. This problem revolved around inaccurate maintenance manuals which delineated procedures which in actuality were improper. Even
though maintenance procedures which were delineated were followed it was found that in some cases the locking pins were not engaged.
In the scenario presented above, the responsibility for the error lay not with the maintenance crew but with the maintenance manual. The manual was incomplete in that, when the
locking pins were extended to lock the door, there was no positive check to indicate whether the door was indeed locked. Consequently crashes and the loss of human life
resulted as did numerous less serious in-flight problems. In addition to the types of problems identified above, there are numerous additional
mechanical problems revolving around human factors. In Sioux City Iowa, for example, 112 people died when a DC-10 crashed because of a small stress fracture in the rear engine,