Airplanes’ Accidents and Solution, Research Paper Example

A substantial number of planes have been documented to crash annually as a result of accidents that can easily be evaded. In majority of these cases, the contribution of human factors has been witnessed to play crucial role in aviation operations and have therefore been seen as key contributing factor in majority of the aviation crashes. Nevertheless, the aircraft accidents cannot be attributed to entirely solitary reason since events leading up to accidents of a crash are divergent and varied ((Adelsohn, 2013). The reasons that are attributable to plane accidents can be positioned in an extensive number of categories.  Even though plane accidents involve relatively tragic situations, much can be learned from each accident to decrease the overall number of accidents and deaths that are constantly witnessed in aviation industry.  To gain a clear insight in the real scenario of airplane accidents, it is prudent to consider several facts, statistics, cases as well as examples of some of the most common reasons why airplanes accidents take place and show that in majority of the cases that entail plane crashes can be attributed to human error although additional factors equally play a crucial role as contributing factors.

The actual reasons behind airplane accidents are numerous and varied. It is a widely acceptable fact that, airplane freight is associated with a high degree of danger because the engine can fail at any time which is a potential cause of plane accident. This statement holds a significant portion of truth but is is also crucial to understand the fact that, most of the accidents that involve airplanes are attributed to a combination of factors including human and pilot errors. Other factors that make substantial contribution to plane accidents include mechanical failures in the plane, poor maintenance of the plane, ignorance to the appropriate procedures and environmental factors. Each of these factors plays a crucial role in the safety of the airplane although the pilot error is the single greatest factor that contributes to most cases of accidents in aviation.

Environmental conditions are also critical factors that play a crucial role in aviation accidents in general. Most of the efforts of planning are directed into a flight on the basis of the current along with forecasting the weather conditions with regard of the safety of aviation.  This is specifically attributed to the rising cases of aviation accidents that have so far been documented as a result of planes that occasionally fly in bad vagaries of weather which include for example thunderstorms that is at times accompanied with low wind shear, lightning, hailstorm, icing conditions as well as poor visibility.  Poor conditions of weather may prove to be extremely precarious and a consideration of this fact will make majority of the aircraft flights to be easily evaded if the most appropriate precautions are given the due diligence that they deserve to evade probable horrific weather situations.

Airplanes accidents facts and statistics

In 1985 the second day of August , an aircraft labeled Delta L-1011 flew from Fort Lauderdale aiming to take the  Dallas  to Fort Worth route. While the flight crews were approaching the airport they noticed some lightning that was coming from a storm cell directly in the direction of their flight path.  The crew was aware of the potential danger of low level wind shear or micro bursts that is commonly associated with thunderstorms but they continued with their movement while approaching the Dallas / Fort Worth.   The first officer piloted the L-1011 in to the rain; increasing headwind and consequently caused the aircraft to balloon above the glide slope.  The experienced captain was quick to recognize the first signs of wind shear and thus began issuing instructions to the first officer. Immediately after, the aircraft was hit by a downburst which caused it to lose 44 knots of IAS in 10 seconds then immediately after that, the airplane was hit with intense wind gusts which turned the plane almost completely sideways.  At that point the crew could no longer regain the control of the L-1011 plane.  The aircraft struck the ground at 170 knots killing 134 people on board (Jeppeson).  The occurrence of this incident leaves everyone wondering if such an accident was as a result of poor weather conditions or bad judgment of the flight crew who incidentally steered the plane into severe weather.  The deductions from this case is a clear indicator that, a combination of poor weather conditions and pilot error was the ultimate cause of this unfortunate tragedy.  As a result of this accident therefore, low level wind shear alert systems (LLWAS) have been installed in strategic locations at many airports to detect variances in wind readings.  This alerts flight crews and ATC of the presence of downbursts and they therefore contribute significantly in the reduction of accidents in aviation.

Another extremely hazardous weather condition with significant implications is aviation accidents entails icing.  The implication of icing is a condition that involves the formation of ice along the leading edges in the aircrafts.  The ice is then a potential cause of disruptions in the smooth air flow over airfoil of the aircraft that subsequently lead to a reduction in the capabilities of the aircraft to maintain the normal lift and at similar moment it augments the drag and weight.  ATR-72’s and Embraer 120 aircraft offer prime examples of some weather related crashes.  Since the 80’s several accidents have occurred due to accumulation of ice on the aircraft wings.

This is  a serious cause of accidents in the aviation industry and therefore it has prompted the introduction of deicing equipment which are installed on majority of air travel at the present time although research on icing is still ongoing because there is a gap in knowledge in as far as this field of study is concerned.  People have therefore continued to study the effects that are associated with icing in the wind tunnels but astonishingly, simulation of different icing conditions has not been achieved so far.

Another important case of airplanes accidents facts and statistics that is worth consideration was the Florida 737 that was involved in a terrible accident when it plunged in to the Potomac River in January 13, 1982  in Washington D.C. due to the failure of the crew to turn on the deicing equipment. The investigations done by NTSB investigation arrived at the conclusion that the, the occurrence of the accident was attributed to a combination of the crew’s application of thrust in reverse on the ground to achieve a push back, and the ignorance of the crew in the activation of the anti-ice system in the aircraft engine which subsequently led to the crash. The failure of the crew activate the anti-ice system of engine, the presence of huge amounts of snow coupled with the ice that was consequently sucked inside of the engines at the time of the reverse thrust was permitted to remain there.  Ice accumulated in the inlet pressure probe of the compressor, which is responsible for evaluating the power of the engine power. As a consequence instrument indications in the cockpit showed a 2.04 Engine Pressure Ratio, while the power plants were in reality only producing 1.70 EPR, or about 70% of obtainable power. The combination of the ice covered wings and low power caused an immediate stall on takeoff which consequently caused an accident that resulted to the deaths of 74 people.  In this accident both procedure and weather were the main factors that contributed to the accident.  This accident was preventable only if proper procedure was followed in deicing (Griswold, 2015).

Another case which is a critical pointer of airplanes accidents facts and statistics occurred on September 8, 1997 involving the USAir Flight 427 which was on approaching the Pittsburgh International Airport. The plane was at 6,000 feet and 190 knots when it encountered the wake turbulence from a preceding B727.  Approximately three seconds after encountering the wake vortex the 737’s rudder suddenly moved to a full-left position (Airplane Crash Statistics, n.d).

The aircraft began to yaw and roll left and the nose started to go downward.  As the crew attempted to regain control of the plane, the roll that occurred at the same time with the yaw persisted and the nose continued to drop.  Approximately 23 seconds later after the onset of the full rudder deflection, the plane hit ground in a nearly vertical attitude completely out of control. In this case, an investigation of the accident revealed a number of anomalies that were attributed to the accident.  The Boeing 737 rudder control system may have caused the aircraft’s rudder to fully deflect without crew input or to move opposite to the crew’s input.  From this, US Airways concluded that the probable cause of the accident was an un commanded full rudder deflection or rudder reversal that placed the aircraft in a position from which recovery was impossible using techniques known at the time.  With more knowledge and training is it fair to say this accident could have been avoided?  Procedure has changed since this and other accidents and incidents.  Pilots today are trained to regain control of an aircraft in the event of full rudder deflection.  Again there is more than one contributing factor in this incident.  No procedure to follow in the event of a rudder deflection and mechanical failure (David, 2007).

An example which clearly defines a failure to follow procedure (poor maintenance) is American Airlines DC-10, Flight 191.  Chicago, May 25, 1979 while on its takeoff role the number one engine of AAL191 began to come apart before finally tearing itself completely from the airplane.  By this time it was too late for the pilot to abort the takeoff (David, 2012). The airplane reached V1 climbed to approximately 300 feet and suddenly banked to the left impacting the ground killing all 271 aboard and 2 on the ground.  There was obvious mechanical failure with this aircraft however the main contributing factor to the engine separating itself from the aircraft was improper maintenance.  Mechanics were servicing engines by removing them from the airplane with forklifts, in turn damaging the pylon where the engine is mounted.  From this example you can see how vital proper procedure in maintenance can be in deciding the fate of an aircraft.

The Value Jet crash in 1986 was caused by the maintenance crew improperly storing oxygen generators.  These generators ignited shortly after takeoff causing a fire which burned through control cables.  The aircraft rolled uncontrollably and crashed into the Everglades.  This crash was a direct result of poor maintenance and failure to follow guidelines and procedure.

From these examples I have given you get an idea of how plane crashes usually do not occur for one reason. There is constantly a chain of events along with multiple contributing factors leading up to the disaster.  Plane crashes are tragic.  They take lives in a horrifying fashion.  At the same time flight is an amazing science that will only get safer as time goes on. Aviation is still relatively young and the hard truth is through every plane crash we learn more and more about the environment, the issues of maintenance, aviation technology as well as human factors.  Additionally, the policies and procedures are constantly changing as more knowledge is being acquired. A lot of efforts are requisite in a strive for success in aviation because flying is still and shall remain to be the safest and quickest form of travel. Air travel is documented as a comparatively safe mode of transport because as compared to car crashes, this mode is six times safer.

References

Adelsohn, L. (2013). CRM Aviation Human Factors & Safety?: Pilot Error Accidents. Retrieved from http://crm4pilot.blogspot.com/2013/06/pilot-error-accidents.html

Airplane Crash Statistics | Statistic Brain. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.statisticbrain.com/airplane-crash-statistics/

David, N., (2007). “Safest Seat on a Plane: PM Investigates How to Survive a Crash”. Popular Mechanics.

David, Y., (2012).”The crash of American Airlines Flight 191 near O’Hare”. Chicago Tribune.

Griswold, A. (2015). Could Better Psychological Testing Prevent a Tragedy Like the  Germanwings Crash?