MTX Global

08/12/2021

MTX - My Thoughts eXactly - National Transportation Safety Board - NTSB
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is the agency tasked with investigating accidents within the transportation system of the United States of America. The NTSB not only investigates accidents but the agency also makes safety recommendations based on their findings. The agency is an independent body and also participates in studies with the view to improve the transportation industry as a whole. The main objective for any accident investigation is finding the root cause to prevent future accidents. The NTSB is an investigative agency and has a process in place that guides the agency as it conducts investigations. Within this process is a system that allows for the use of third-party sources to assist the agency. The NTSB designates other organizations or corporations as parties to the investigation (The National Transportation Safety Board, 2019).

The volume of accidents and incidents within the U.S. can overwhelm the resources of the NTSB. To leverage its limited resources, the NTSB designates other organizations and external parties to participate in its investigations, creating a much more nimble, intelligent, and dynamic organization (Fielding, Lo, & Yang, 2010). This seems like a conflict of interest as it may allow a manufacturer to present only the data that shows the aircraft or component under investigation in a more favorable light. There seems to be an advantage in the level of expertise offered which may lead to the root cause of the accident quicker. Only those organizations or corporations that can provide expertise to the investigation are granted party status and only those persons who can provide the Board with needed technical or specialized expertise are permitted to serve on the investigation; persons in legal or litigation positions are not allowed to be assigned to the investigation (The National Transportation Safety Board, 2019). Any government entity involved in oversight or regulation of an industry can be mislead in investigation proceedings by an organization seeking to protect their proprietary intellectual property. In almost every case, it turns to the manufacturer of the aircraft component that failed or malfunctioned (Danko, 2009). This may be great for gathering engineering data or additional insight but there are many experts and analyst within the aviation community that can provide the same or even higher levels of expertise. The NTSB has recognized the conflict of interest inherent in its "party system" but, unfortunately for victims and their families, continues the practice in just about all of its investigations (Danko, 2009).

The party system, while from a high-level view, seems to be a system that can be beneficial to an accident investigation and may lead to greater more efficient root cause analysis. In a more detailed view point this system seems vulnerable and open to corruption. The Securities and Exchange Commission, another government oversight agency, has suffered from embarrassing events from its investigation into Wall Street incidents, more recently its failure in the Bernie Madoff scandal. This agency also works closely with the very banks and firms that it has charge over. If this agency has suffered from its partnering policies then the NTSB can also be susceptible to inefficiencies within its party system.

References
Danko, M. (2009, May 5). AVIATION Law Monitor. Retrieved from AVIATION Law Monitor Web site: https://www.aviationlawmonitor.com/2009/05/articles/ntsb/the-conflict-of-interest-builtin-to-the-ntsbs-party-system/

Fielding, E., Lo, A. W., & Yang, J. H. (2010). The National Transportation Safety Board: A Model for Systemic Risk Management. Boston: MIT SLOAN.

The National Transportation Safety Board. (2019, March 28). The National Transportation Safety Board. Retrieved from The National Transportation Safety Board Web site: https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/process/pages/default.aspx

08/12/2021

MTX - My Thoughts eXactly - OSHA and the EPA
The aviation industry is a heavily regulated industry and rightly so as the public safety is of the greatest concern and the main purpose for that regulation. Within the framework of the many agencies tasked with regulating the aviation industry there resides two agencies that have various roles that tie in with various areas of regulation.

While the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) exercises statutory authority pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 44701 et seq., governing aviation safety and may issue regulations that are related to flight safety (U.S. Department of Labor, 2019). The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) exercises statutory authority pursuant to 29 U.S.C. § 651 et seq., governing the occupational safety and health of employees (U.S. Department of Labor, 2019). This means that OSHA is tasked with ensuring that the employees that work within the aviation industry. OSHA is concerned with the working conditions in which employees work concerning regulations affecting occupational safety or health. This means that both agencies have a duty to work together for the benefit of not only the general public’s safety but also for the safety of the workers within the aviation industry. A memorandum of Understanding established in the year 2000, between The Federal Aviation Administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation and The Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the U.S. Department of Labor establishes a working relationship to enhance safety and health in the aviation industry (U.S. Department of Labor, 2019). This ensures a level of cooperation which will place a priority on employee safety going forward.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is tasked with ensuring the protection of human health and the environment within the United States of America. Within the realm of aviation, the EPA is concerned with the emissions that airplanes produce. Some of the areas that the EPA is concerned about include the following: regulations for greenhouse gas emissions from aircraft, regulations for nitrogen oxide emissions from aircraft, regulations for lead emissions from aircraft and information on contrails from aircraft (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2019). The EPA is also tasked with ensuring that areas where aircraft are produced, maintained or operated do not severely impact the environment in which they operate.

Together these agencies and many others both domestic and international ensure that the employees and environment are protected and the operations within aviation are in compliance with regulations that also safeguard the general public.

References
U.S. Department of Labor. (2019, March 24). U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved from U.S. Department of Labor Web site: https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/mou/2000-08-09

United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2019, March 24). United States Environmental Protection Agency. Retrieved from United States Environmental Protection Agency Web site: https://www.epa.gov/regulations-emissions-vehicles-and-engines/regulations-emissions-aircraft

This page provides links to regulations and other information for aircraft emissions.

08/12/2021

MTX - My Thoughts eXactly - Human Factors Analysis and Classification System
Since the beginning of the aviation industry the dynamic interface of man and the aircraft that carries him aloft has been fraught with challenges. The environment that the aircraft operates in, the machine and the operator form a bond that is balanced and coordinated. When there is a unbalance or break in the chain it usually results in an incident or an accident. In those days, with the technology of the aircraft and the environment in which it operates in its infancy, many of the aviation accidents was caused by the machine’s failure or the environment. Today the technology of the machine has increased to the point that systems have built in redundancies and the interface has become more user friendly. The man/machine interface with the environment has improved and become very manageable. The one factor in the equation that remains as a constant area of contention is the human element.

Human error in aviation is one of the most important areas of the aviation industry that contributes disproportionately to the accident rate. Small lapses in judgement, distraction or cognitive reasoning beyond capacity are the human errors that when no controlled or addressed lead to human errors that cause accidents. Reporting, charting, studying, analyzing and investigating these human factors within the man, machine and environment equation can yield significant continuous improvement efforts. Clearly, if accidents are to be reduced further, more emphasis must be placed on the genesis of human error as it relates to accident causation (Wiegmann & Shappell, 2001).

Analyzing the data of human factors within aviation accidents requires the use of visual conceptual tools in the form of modeling to show the interaction between the data and to make the complex nature of aviation accidents more simplified. The Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) is a general human error framework originally developed and tested within the U.S. military as a tool for investigating and analyzing the human causes of aviation accidents (Wiegmann & Shappell, 2001). HFACS looks at the data of the human factor errors of an accident to see how it applies within the organizational structure. Accident causation theories refer to accident mechanism and model extracted from the analysis of large members of factors contributing to typical accidents (Wu, Duan Mu, Xu, & Ren, 2014). HFACS can be reactive in that the model is used after an accident to identify the human factors within the accident chain. The data or analysis report from a variety of accident reports can also be proactive that the information gathered can be used to identify and develop various methods to control or mitigate the human factors within the accident chain in a preventative way.

References
Wiegmann, D. A., & Shappell, S. A. (2001). Human Error Analysis of Commercial Aviation Accidents: Application of the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS). Aviation, Space, and Environmental Medicine, 1006-1016.

Wu, Y. R., Duan Mu, J., Xu, J.-H., & Ren, X.-H. (2014). Aviation Human Factors Accident Causation Model Based on Structure Entropy. Applied Mechanics and Materials, 1354-1357.