Modeling air accident investigation methodologies, from the technical factor to the human factor

Aircraft is the safest means of transport but an error or a misbehave could lead to a catastrophe. Statistical data show a decrease in accidents due to technical factors and an increase caused by human factors noticeable in 70% of accident cases. Consequently, the sector of investigation had to adapt to this change by using better-performing models. Human factors in aviation are involved in the study of human’s capabilities, limitations, and behaviors, as well as the integration of that knowledge into the systems that we design for them to enhance safety, performance, and general well-being of the operators of the systems. The following thesis focuses its attention on the human factors study and on the development of a model that is best suited to the analysis of specific accidents. In this regard, it was necessary to conduct detailed research on the different methods. A statistic, based on the IATA (International Air Transport Association) 2022 report, is given in this work. The acquired data have permitted to determine the main category of accidents which is the loss of control in flight. Follow a descriptive section of a new accident model, defined as a hybrid, is given. The new hybrid model helps to unravel the mishap causes and it has as its strength the passage through various analyses. To support the proposed model, studies have been conducted on three accident cases that have the human factor as root cause. Since the human factor that cannot be eliminated, the new method will have limitations, but these can be overcome thanks to the synergetic collaboration of the various described approaches.