Evaluation Of The Airbus A400M Flight Crash: Impacts And Causes
Objective questions to guide the project
Aircraft accidents occur sporadically; air travel has been touted as being the safest mode of transport, with data showing that the chances of dying in an air accident being one in 9821; the chances of dying from a car accident or in a car is one in 114 (Larbi, 2017). usually, thorough investigations are usually done after every aircraft accident, an undertaking that usually involves government agencies, the aircraft manufacturer, the airline/ aircraft owners, and civil aviation authorities; such investigations are usually done not only to establish the cause of the accident/ incident, but also to develop better systems to avoid similar crashes in the future. The result is an elaborate and rich information and data on aircraft accidents that are usually made available to the public when the investigations are complete. In this proposed research, the author seeks to undertake an evaluation of the Airbus 400 M flight crash which was on a test flight before its delivery to the Turkish Airforce when it scheduled for June of 2015.
The aircraft, serial number MSN23 was being manned by a crew of Airbus defense and Space test team using the call sign CASA423 and this incident led to several delays in delivery of other similar aircraft by Airbus due to technical and logistical difficulties. With investigations done thoroughly and meticulously, this proposed research is feasible because the information and data on the investigation can be accessed easily and also because there will be interest in understanding just what happened in the accident and its impacts to the society in in general, the aviation industry, and the aircraft manufacturer and its customers. The Airbus A400M accident occurred in the midst of a supply chain initiative; the aircraft was being taken through its paces of tests before being delivered to the customer. This makes it an interesting supply chain aspect and it will provide answers on how to prepare for and deal with catastrophic events that occur in the supply chain
The aim of this research is to undertake a detailed research on the crash of Airbus A400M and its impacts wit the following specific objectives;
- To discuss the events surrounding to, and leading to the accident
- To research and understand the cause of the aircraft accident
- To establish the impacts of the accident
There are various causes for aircraft accidents, including bad weather, external events such as war that can lead to an aircraft being shot down, human error, and technical problems. Human error and environmental factors, such as bad weather are particularly important areas of interest in aircraft accidents because they account for the vast majority of aircraft accidents. Because of this, human factor analysis and classification systems (HFACS) have been developed and used as a theoretical tool for the investigation of aircraft accidents (Martinussen & Hunter, 2010). Shappell et al., (2007) undertook an investigation on human error and commercial aviation accidents where they used the HFACS to evaluate how air accidents occur. The study aimed at extending previous similar accident investigations to include supervisory, air crew, environmental, and organizational issues related to aviation using HFACS.
Overview of Aircraft Accidents and Investigations
The research utilized data obtained from NTSB (national Transport and Safety Board) and the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) as well as data from six aircrew raters for pilot, organizational, supervisory, and environmental factors associated with 1020 accidents in the commercial aviation realm that happened over 13 years. The results established that a majority of the causal factors of the accidents were caused by the environment and air crew and significantly fewer accidents were caused by organizational and supervisory issues. An investigation was undertaken on the effects of concurrent organizational changes and aircraft accidents by Herrera, Nordskag, Myhre & Halvorsen, (2009) where they investigated if organizational changes have a direct effect on safety and maintenance in aviation and how this can be evaluated. The research was based on an investigation undertaken by the AIBN (the Norwegian Accident Investigation Board); the AIBN had undertaken a survey of whether major organizational changes had an effect on air accidents in Norway between 2000 and 2004 with the aim of improving air travel safety and reducing accidents.
The research established that organizational changes can impact air safety and this should be factored in initiatives aimed at improving air safety. The Airbus A400M crash occurred during routine testing before delivery; this makes it an area of interest in relation to supply chain management and causes for disruptions and how these can be prevented. Knemeyer, Zinn & Eroglu, (2009) undertook an investigation on how proactive planning can be undertaken to mitigate catastrophic events in the supply chain because supply chains, in their opinion, had become increasingly prone to catastrophic events. One of the reasons is because increasingly, organizations invest increasingly less in terms of capital and human resources in supply chains; this results in reduced slack within logistics and supply chains to handle harmful events. The Airbus incident led to massive delays and technical challenges for the aircraft where deliveries for aircraft was significantly delayed.
The chances of catastrophic incidents occurring within supply chains have a very low probability, especially in the aviation industry, but their impacts are massive with very significant consequences for the organizations involved. As such, processes to pro-actively plan for catastrophic events in aircraft supply chains are of the utmost importance and form part of this research where the impacts of the Airbus 400M crash are to be evaluated in detail. Nazeri, Donohue and Sherry (2008) analyzed how incidents related with aircraft accidents: the research was based on the premise that air transport systems are by nature designed to ensure that incidents and accidents are a very rare occurrence; yet accidents cannot be completely ruled out. These accidents, according to the researchers, can be minimized by better understanding the contributing and causing factors. Because aircrafts accidents are few, using past data is not particularly useful in helping to identify patterns because most accidents are unique and after every accident, detailed investigations ensure that a similar accident or accidents in similar circumstances are not repeated or experienced again. The researchers, therefore, used a technique of data mining to undertake a holistic of aircraft incident data in the context of of the accident and identified relationships between the incident data and aircraft accidents where incidents have a strong association to contributing to accidents. Tiffany, Gallagher, and Babish (2010) undertook a research on the seven serious threats to the structural safety of aircraft based on past accidents and incidents. The research was undertaken in the context of historical evolution of civilian and military aircraft and structural issues in known past accidents discussed in the past 60 years prior to when the research was undertaken. These structural failures can result in accidents and need better understanding in order to prevent.
Specific Objectives of the Proposed Research Study
Leveson (2011) applied the concept of systems thinking in order to understand, analyze, and learn from previous events based on the premise that major aircraft accidents keep happening despite the fact that they seem preventable since their causes are similar and systemic. The author undertook the research because many times, people neglect to learn from past events and undertake to make sufficient changes in response to past events and losses. By studying the paradigms and assumptions that underlie safety engineering, according to Leveson (2011), can be useful in helping understand the problem. The author questioned four main assumption areas that include safety definition and the relationship of this (safety) to reliability; retrospective versus prospective analysis, causality models of accidents, and operator error. Systems thinking can help in identifying patterns and causes of past accidents and assist in developing better safety measures for air transport safety. Netjasov and Janic (2008) reviewed the safety and risk modeling in civil aviation based on the premise that safety is among the most important operational features of civil aviation with an extensive regulatory framework put in place supplement airport and navigation systems, private airlines, and also support incentives aimed at limiting the risks of flying.
The researchers focused on four main category models for safety assessment that include causal issues for air traffic and aircraft management operations, third party risks, collision risk, and human error. Koetse and Rietveld (2008) evaluated the impacts that erratic weather patterns and climate change have on transport using an experiential research approach. The research was motivated by mixed patterns on how these two factors impact air transport and patterns were observed; the increase in precipitation leads to an increase in the frequency of accidents, but paradoxically, results in a decrease in the severity of accidents. Ayres et al., (2013) summarized the work on the location and consequences of models in relation to air accidents after the completion of two projects for the cooperative research program for airports. The researchers focused on development of a methodology for improved risk assessment and assessment of risks that attendant to aviation accidents in airport vicinities and to manage runway safety areas. The authors noted that such approaches result in improved aircraft safety and reduction in accidents.
This research will be undertaken using a descriptive analysis method based on secondary research and data. The research will be a qualitative research study on the accident of Airbus 400 M. Secondary research is a method involving a research methodology and data collection that includes collecting and evaluating a blend of existing examination used for past researches. The secondary research ,method was chosen as being the most suitable for this research because it entails an evaluation of a past event in which various in depth studies have been done. Qualitative research will be used as the research approach: Qualitative research is a systematic and subjective approach that is utilized in describing life experiences and to give them some meaning and its goal is to gain insights into events and issues. Qualitative research approach aims at exploring the richness, complexity, and depth inherent in the phenomenon being investigated. The specific qualitative research methodology to be employed in this research is phenomenology, in which the experiences and events will be described as they happened.
References
Ayres, M., Shirazi, H., Carvalho, R., Hall, J., Speir, R., & Arambula, E. et al. (2013). Modelling the location and consequences of aircraft accidents. Safety Science, 51(1), 178-186. doi: 10.1016/j.ssci.2012.05.012
Herrera, I., Nordskag, A., Myhre, G., & Halvorsen, K. (2009). Aviation safety and maintenance under major organizational changes, investigating non-existing accidents. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 41(6), 1155-1163. doi: 10.1016/j.aap.2008.06.007
Knemeyer, A., Zinn, W., & Eroglu, C. (2009). Proactive planning for catastrophic events in supply chains. Journal Of Operations Management, 27(2), 141-153. doi: 10.1016/j.jom.2008.06.002
Koetse, M., & Rietveld, P. (2009). The impact of climate change and weather on transport: An overview of empirical findings. Transportation Research Part D: Transport And Environment, 14(3), 205-221. doi: 10.1016/j.trd.2008.12.004
Larbi, M. (2017). Flying is officially the safest way to travel and here’s proof | Metro News. Retrieved from https://metro.co.uk/2017/08/13/flying-is-officially-the-safest-way-to-travel- and-heres-proof-6848903/
Leveson, N. (2011). Applying systems thinking to analyze and learn from events. Safety Science, 49(1), 55-64. doi: 10.1016/j.ssci.2009.12.021
Martinussen, M., & Hunter, D. (2010). Aviation psychology and human factors (1st ed.). Boca Raton: CRC Press/Taylor & Francis.
Netjasov, F., & Janic, M. (2008). A review of research on risk and safety modelling in civil aviation. Journal Of Air Transport Management, 14(4), 213-220. doi: 10.1016/j.jairtraman.2008.04.008
Shappell, S., Detwiler, C., Holcomb, K., Hackworth, C., Boquet, A., & Wiegmann, D. (2007). Human Error and Commercial Aviation Accidents: An Analysis Using the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System. Human Factors: The Journal Of The Human Factors And Ergonomics Society, 49(2), 227-242. doi: 10.1518/001872007×312469