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Predicting design-induced error on the flight deck: an aircraft engine oil leak scenario

Predicting design-induced error on the flight deck: an aircraft engine oil leak scenario
Predicting design-induced error on the flight deck: an aircraft engine oil leak scenario
Objective: to explore the types of errors that commercial pilots may make when trying to resolve a suspected engine oil leak using the interfaces currently available.

Background: the decisions that pilots make often have to be made quickly and under time pressure, with the emphasis on avoiding critical situations from arising. To make the correct decisions, it is vital that pilots have accurate and up-to-date information available. However, interaction with flight deck interfaces may lead to error if they are not effectively designed.

Method: a hierarchical task analysis was conducted using evidence from pilot interview data to understand the pilots’ typical response to a suspected engine oil leak scenario. This was used as the primary input into the Systematic Human Error Reduction and Prediction Approach (SHERPA).

Results: a total of 108 possible errors were identified. The most common error type was a retrieval error, in which flight crews may retrieve the wrong information about the engine. A number of remedial measures are proposed to try and overcome such issues.

Conclusion: this analysis provides an initial starting point for identifying potential future design ideas that can assist the pilots in dealing with oil leaks.

Application: this work has identified the value of applying human error identification methodologies to the assessment of current flight deck processes surrounding engine oil leaks. The method presented permits the operational analysis of possible errors on the flight deck and facilitates the proposition of remedial measures to implement technological innovations that can mitigate error.
0018-7208
Parnell, Katie
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Banks, Victoria
0dbdcad0-c654-4b87-a804-6a7548d0196d
Plant, Katherine
3638555a-f2ca-4539-962c-422686518a78
Griffin, Thomas G.C.
3a664464-6c7c-4b28-9853-06083f9d20b6
Beecroft, P
8f8643bd-9292-46a8-b5e5-d50d1510f4d6
Stanton, Neville
351a44ab-09a0-422a-a738-01df1fe0fadd
Parnell, Katie
3f21709a-403b-40e1-844b-0c0a89063b7b
Banks, Victoria
0dbdcad0-c654-4b87-a804-6a7548d0196d
Plant, Katherine
3638555a-f2ca-4539-962c-422686518a78
Griffin, Thomas G.C.
3a664464-6c7c-4b28-9853-06083f9d20b6
Beecroft, P
8f8643bd-9292-46a8-b5e5-d50d1510f4d6
Stanton, Neville
351a44ab-09a0-422a-a738-01df1fe0fadd

Parnell, Katie, Banks, Victoria, Plant, Katherine, Griffin, Thomas G.C., Beecroft, P and Stanton, Neville (2019) Predicting design-induced error on the flight deck: an aircraft engine oil leak scenario. Human Factors. (doi:10.1177/0018720819872900).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Objective: to explore the types of errors that commercial pilots may make when trying to resolve a suspected engine oil leak using the interfaces currently available.

Background: the decisions that pilots make often have to be made quickly and under time pressure, with the emphasis on avoiding critical situations from arising. To make the correct decisions, it is vital that pilots have accurate and up-to-date information available. However, interaction with flight deck interfaces may lead to error if they are not effectively designed.

Method: a hierarchical task analysis was conducted using evidence from pilot interview data to understand the pilots’ typical response to a suspected engine oil leak scenario. This was used as the primary input into the Systematic Human Error Reduction and Prediction Approach (SHERPA).

Results: a total of 108 possible errors were identified. The most common error type was a retrieval error, in which flight crews may retrieve the wrong information about the engine. A number of remedial measures are proposed to try and overcome such issues.

Conclusion: this analysis provides an initial starting point for identifying potential future design ideas that can assist the pilots in dealing with oil leaks.

Application: this work has identified the value of applying human error identification methodologies to the assessment of current flight deck processes surrounding engine oil leaks. The method presented permits the operational analysis of possible errors on the flight deck and facilitates the proposition of remedial measures to implement technological innovations that can mitigate error.

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Predictingdesigninducederrorontheflightdeck-Anaircraftengineoilleakscenario - Accepted Manuscript
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e-pub ahead of print date: 18 September 2019

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 440774
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/440774
ISSN: 0018-7208
PURE UUID: de79798d-6ee0-4c21-b8db-f098c76547a7
ORCID for Katie Parnell: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-5962-4892
ORCID for Katherine Plant: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-4532-2818
ORCID for Neville Stanton: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8562-3279

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Date deposited: 18 May 2020 16:31
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:51

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Contributors

Author: Katie Parnell ORCID iD
Author: Victoria Banks
Author: Katherine Plant ORCID iD
Author: Thomas G.C. Griffin
Author: P Beecroft
Author: Neville Stanton ORCID iD

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