MOBILITY

QUICKSTOPPERS
FAA Dirty Dozen: Common Causes
of Human Factor Errors
These come from the FAA but apply to AF aviation
as well.
1. Lack of Communication – Failure to transmit, receive
or provide enough information to complete a task.
Never assume anything.
By MR. STEVE PANGER,
AMC Flight Safety
There are many methods and tools to overcome each of
these: CRM, LRM and AvORM are but a few. The biggest
thing is to communicate with your crew or team members
(see #1) when something does not look right.
2. Complacency – Overconfidence from repeated
experience performing a task.
3. Lack of Knowledge – Shortage of the training,
information and/or ability to perform successfully.
4. Distractions – Anything that draws your attention
away from the task at hand. Distractions are the #1
cause of forgetting things, including what has or has
not been done in a maintenance task.
5. Lack of Teamwork – Failure to work together to
complete a shared goal.
6. Fatigue – Physical or mental exhaustion threatening
work performance.
7. Lack of Resources – Not having enough people,
equipment, documentation, time, parts, etc., to
complete a task.
8. Pressure – Real or perceived forces demanding highlevel
job performance.
9. Lack of Assertiveness – Failure to speak up or
document concerns about instructions, orders, or the
actions of others.
10. Stress – A physical, chemical, or emotional factor that
causes physical or mental tension.
11. Lack of Awareness – Failure to recognize a situation,
understand what it is, and predict the possible results.
12. Norms – Expected, yet unwritten, rules of behavior.
TSgt Waldell Graves, a C-5M Super
Galaxy flight engineer (instructor) with
the 9th AS monitors aircraft systems
closely from a standing position in the
cockpit during a training mission.
USAF photo by greg l. dAViS
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