The Effect of Human Factors in Aviation Maintenance Safety

Even with the increasing rate of technology innovation, the ultimate responsibility for the safety of a flight lies with humans. According to Boeing, human error accounts for 70% of commercial airplane accidents. This research aims to investigate the human factors that exist in aviation maintenance as well as the extent to which these factors affect safety. Utilizing the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) online accident database, the researcher reviewed accidents between 1996 through 2006 caused by maintenancerelated errors. The results indicate the top four maintenance errors with the highest number of fatalities were: a).failure to properly complete tasks, b).improper maintenance, c).improper installations, and d). failure to detect or identify problems. In addition, the human factors most prevalent among the attitudes of both Aviation Maintenance Technicians (AMT’s) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials were demanding deadlines, environmental / personal distractions, and lack of proper use of maintenance manuals or instructions