With all the detailed media coverage of aviation accidents, it is understandable that many people suffer from pteromerhanophobia or more simply known as the fear of flying. According to the transportation safety board of Canada, in 2020, 12 fatal aviation accidents involving a Canadian-registered aircraft have brought the fatal accident rate to 0.4 accidents per 100 000 hours flown. With that being said, the graph for aviation accidents has shown a downward curve since 2010, although the slope is very small. Accordingly, aviation accidents, although very rare, surely occur and are often fatal. Aircraft defects and pilot errors are two of the many reasons that contribute most to the rare but fatal aircraft accidents.
When a perfectly maintained aircraft is piloted by a skillful, prudent, and careful pilot, chances of aviation accidents are almost nil. Whenever a crash occurs a lot of things go wrong. Therefore, whenever the investigators or sub-pilots report an accident they use a chain of errors phrase, instead of a single reason. This means the crash is initiated by a trigger event that was mishandled by the pilot and leads to bigger functional failures within the aircraft.
Even a small four-place Cessna 172 crash is way more complicated and involves more investigation aspects compared to the highest degree car or any roadside accident. Sorting out the reason for these crashes is difficult and takes experienced investigators and expert attorneys to work together to determine the main reason. Often the culprit is a defective airplane part or human error.
Common Reasons Behind Aircraft Crashes
Aircraft defects are not only the cause of airplane crashes but are also the common reason behind near-miss incidents, runway accidents, and in-flight injuries. A plane component may not be safe by design or may not be properly maintained. These can lead to a sudden failure and cause injuries even fatalities to those onboard.
Crash Reasons Due To Aircraft Defects
Defects can occur in a variety of aircraft systems, a few are listed below;
- Controlling heads of the aircraft can become stuck preventing proper control of the aircraft.
- Failure of de-icing equipment
- Failure in the hydraulic system prevented proper movement of the aircraft's control system and gear landing systems.
- Instrument failures can lead the unsuspecting pilot to believe that the aircraft is behaving one way while it is actually performing in another way.
- There can be pressurization failure in the pressurized aircraft.
- A mechanical and electrical failure in the engine can cause the engine to lose power unexpectedly. Turning the single-engine aircraft into a heavy glider creates an unexpected workload for the machinery in a multi-engine aircraft.
- Electrical issues can create navigational issues and other aircraft control problems.
- Fuel leaks can lead to an unexpected decrease in the aircrafts’ range.
- Fuel leaks can also lead to mid-air fires and in worst case scenarios aircraft explosions.
Accidents Owing To Pilot Error
Pilot errors are the results of psychological and physiological limitations of human nature. Causes of these errors include fatigue, poor interpersonal communication skills, workload, cognitive overload, imperfect information processing, fear, and flawed decision-making abilities. Pilot errors resulting in aviation accidents can take many forms, some of them are listed below.
- Improper flight planning
- Wrong go or no go instructions
- Flying into weather that either the aircraft, or the pilot, or both are not qualified to deal with.
- Failing to react and act accordingly to the changes in flight conditions and controls.
- Improper fuel management leading to fuel starvation and decreased aircraft range.
- Failure in perceiving the environment according to time and space can also lead to wrong decisions and fatal accidents.
Special efforts should be made to mitigate aircraft defects and pilot errors to make the aviation industry even safer. Proper maintenance and timely replacement of aircraft components like its exhaust and propeller can save a lot of lives.
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