Analysis of human factors in aircraft accidents: The case of the USA

Since the advent of commercial aviation, there have been numerous aircraft crashes. Lessons derived from each accident and the data obtained from these aircraft accidents have played a major role in the development of the aviation industry. To achieve this development, it is vital to analyse the factors underlying aircraft accidents properly. Different methods and models to analyse the factors that led to aircraft accidents have been introduced over time. One of the closest and most comprehensive models to today is the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS). This model examines and classifies the latent or explicit human factors at all levels. Content analysis which is a qualitative research method was used in this study. 245 reports of commercial aircraft that took place between 2000 and 2018 in the USA are downloaded from the database of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the causes of those accidents were analysed and classified according to the HFACS model. For classification, the most up-to-date versions of HFACS, HFACS 7.0, and HFACS-ADF models were taken as a basis and the accidents were coded within this framework. As a result of the research, causes of commercial aircraft accidents and their relationship with each other were tried to be revealed.Unlike the classical HFACS applications, the causes of accidents were not only examined at the operational and organizational level, but also non- organizational factors were included in the research.