Variations in human behavior and performance are responsible for a large percentage of aviation accidents. Selected human factors that contribute to general aviation accidents are identified and classified and their frequency of occurrence is determined with the intent of providing means to reduce the accident rate. The purpose of human factors research in aviation is twofold. First, human limitations and capabilities are defined in terms of interaction with people and with mechanical, technical, and procedural systems. This definition spells out what a human can and cannot do; thus the limits of the human performance envelope are established. Second, knowledge concerning the envelope can be used to provide direction for modification of flight training, system design, and aircraft design. A checklist based on a systems approach to understanding human behavior in aircraft accidents was used to identify human factors that contributed to general aviation accidents. Accidents studied were selected randomly from all 1988 National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) accident reports. Some types of human factors were readily identifiable from NTSB reports. Other factors were not identified directly by NTSB; it was difficult to detect their influence from the body of the reports. Although use of the modified checklist identified human factors as contributing to 90 percent of the accidents studied, it is likely that some contributing human factors were not detected, and that the actual percentage is higher. The high incidence of human factors contributing to general aviation accidents points out a need for increased or modified training in several areas. Incorporation of a human factors checklist into the NTSB accident investigation procedure would be a step toward identification of all factors contributing to aviation accidents. This information could then be used to modify pilot training and aviation systems development to reduce the accident rate.

Variations in human behavior and performance are responsible for a large percentage of aviation accidents. In this study 1988 general aviation (GA) accident reports were analyzed to identify human factors and determine how often they occur in accidents. The purpose of aviation human factors research is to provide a means to reduce the number of aviation accidents. The identification of which human factors contributed to GA accidents was particular concern.