Automation, CRM and Distributed Cognition: an Exploration of the Defense Mechanism in the Cockpit

What is the mechanism that allows aircraft flight crews to achieve such an astounding safety record despite the hazards they encounter? In this paper, we discussed the topics of aviation safety from a broad theoretical framework, which generally relate to these three topics: Automation, Crew Resource Management, and Distributed Cognition. We outline the preliminary results of a study surveying 38 reports from the Aviation Safety Reporting System. In this survey, the reports were given three classifications, the problem-based classification, the optimal-solution-based classification and the actual-solution-based classification. Some interesting findings were shown by studying the correspondences between three classifications. Based on the findings, an integrated defense mechanism with the contributions of automation, CRM, and distributed cognition was explained against the external and internal threats found in an aircraft cockpit