Aviation operations require collaborative work of technologies, machines, and human skills, and any deviation can result in an accident. For instance, a commercial helicopter owned by Safari Aviation Inc. collided in the woods of Kekaha, Hawaii, making all passengers victims (National Transportation Safety Board [NTSB], 2019). Although the change in meteorological conditions has been claimed to cause the accident, human factors, such as the pilot’s awareness of the situation and attention, have significantly influenced the outcomes. This case study aims to discuss the Airbus AS350 B2 crash and explain the implementation of information processing elements during the event.
The Airbus AS350 B2, N985SA was a commercial helicopter owned by the local company Safari Aviation Inc. and used for touristic purposes. On December 26, 2019, the transport collided due to the instrument meteorological conditions (IMC) as the low rainy clouds occurred, and the pilot decided to continue the flight until it struck terrain (NTSB, 2019). Weather changes were visible before the tour and were uncommon for Hawaii, enabling other helicopter drivers to cancel their missions to eliminate the risks. The pilot who decided to make a tour with a slightly different route demonstrated a lack of awareness and inability to address the information correctly provided Hawaii aviation weather camera program. After the Airbus AS350 B2 N985SA collided, the regulator assigned Hawaii aviation companies to enforce ground support, install crash-resistant flight recorder systems, and train employees (NTSB, 2019). The incident that resulted in human victims also reveals poor education, management, and leadership practices of the employer and helicopter owner because the airman failed to follow basic safety regalements.
Information proceeding elements are essential for safe piloting, and the incident with the helicopter collide demonstrated how lack of situation awareness, attention, and appropriate decision-making have fatal consequences. According to the reports, the pilot had more than a decade of experience flying in Hawaii, the helicopter’s safety was confirmed, and the weather information was pre-printed and checked before the flight (NTSB, 2021). The investigation also registered that despite no record of incorrect decision-making performed by that airman, Safari Aviation Inc. employees worked extra hours (NTSB, 2021). Therefore, the pilot could experience a high workload or choose to take a flight to avoid earning less during the season.
Pilots must maintain awareness of meteorological conditions, especially in places such as the Hawaiian islands, where the weather is unstable. The airman had sufficient experience operating in the area and could overestimate their knowledge by assuming they could escape the clouds by changing the route (NTSB, 2019). The decision demonstrates the lack of safety training because the risk for the pilot and passengers was predictable as the clouds and rains started before the flight. Furthermore, several other employees canceled their flights, and the differences in their decisions emphasized that the company did not have the regulations to use in doubting situations.
The workload is a factor that must also be assessed because conditions such as tiredness could influence how a pilot managed information proceeding elements before the incident. The airman took multiple flights in a row prior to the fatal one and could assume that if the previous were successful despite the unstable weather, there is no need for additional risk evaluation (NTSB, 2021). Pilots must be educated on managing workload and individual conditions because insufficient rest decreases their capability to make correct decisions in stressful situations (Moacdieh et al., 2020). Collision into Terrain by Airbus AS350 B2 demonstrated how human factors and lack of safety training result in fatal consequences and that information proceeding elements require training and regulatory measures to be performed effectively.
References
Moacdieh, N. M., Devlin, S. P., Jundi, H., & Riggs, S. L. (2020). Effects of workload and workload transitions on attention allocation in a dual-task environment: Evidence from eye tracking metrics. Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making, 14(2), 132-151. Web.
National Transportation Safety Board. (2019). Collision into Terrain Safari Aviation Inc. Airbus AS350 B2, N985SA. Web.
National Transportation Safety Board. (2021). Operations and human performance factual Report. Web.