Airline Aviation Safety Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Airline Aviation Safety - Essay Example To see an airplane fly was indeed unique to actually fly an airplane was a daring feat. The early pioneers did not take it lightly, for to do so meant flirting with death in these fragile unstable craft. Thus, the earliest aviation was restricted to relatively straight and level flight and fairly level turns. The flights were performed under visual conditions in places carefully selected for elevation, clear surroundings, and certain breeze advantages to get the craft into the air sooner and land at the slowest possible ground speed. The greatest problems with early flight were the reliability of the propulsion system and the strength and stability of the airframe. Many accidents and some fatalities occurred because of the structural failure of an airplane component or the failure of the engine to continue to produce power. Although human factors were not identified as a scientific discipline at this time, there were serious human factors problems in the early stages of flight. The protection of the pilot from the elements, as he sat out in his chair facing them head on, was merely a transfer of technology from bicycles and automobiles. The pilots wore goggles, topcoats, and gloves similar to those used when driving the automobiles of that period. Crash Of Valujet Flight 592: A Case Study Of Human Errors On the morning after the crash of ValuJet Flight 592, United States Secretary of Transportation Federico Pena appeared on television to re-affirm the safety of flying on ValuJet: "I've flown ValuJet. ValuJet is a safe airline, as is our entire aviation system" (Navarro, 1996, p. A1). Pena also added a strong endorsement for ValuJet's management team: "Whenever we have found any issues, ValuJet has been responsive, they have been cooperative, they have in some cases even exceeded the safety standards that we have" (Navarro, 1996, p. A1). Senior Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officer David Hinson echoed Pena's sentiments about the safety of flying ValuJet. Three days later, a preliminary inquiry by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded that oxygen canisters being shipped in the cargo hold ignited a fire that brought the plane down shortly after its take off (Wald, 1996a, p. A1). Vincent, Crow, and Davis (1997) contend that an airline crash provides a compelling and visually powerful news story. Vincent et al. maintain that "the events which surround air crashes are inherently dramatic, involving life and death situations, heroic actions, fatal and fateful decisions, and unforgettable visual images" (p. 354). Part of the appeal of a crash occurs because it involves ordinary people. Part of the appeal of a crash occurs because of the very randomness of the act, and the potential for a similar random act to affect millions of other air travelers. Vincent et al. perceive an airline crash to constitute a rich text with three overarching story lines: (1) "The tragic intervention of fate into everyday life" (2) "The mystery of what caused the crash" and (3) "The work of legitimate authority to restore normalcy" (p. 357). In the case of ValuJet Flight 592, these themes were altered slightly by the recurrent