Analysis of Pilot Errors Caused by Cognitive Distortion

Recent aviation accidents have all been caused by some aspect of human factors. Asiana Airlines Flight OZ 214 that impacted the seawall in San Francisco Bay was an example of a complete lack of monitoring the situation as the... [ view full abstract ]

Recent aviation accidents have all been caused by some aspect of human factors. Asiana Airlines Flight OZ 214 that impacted the seawall in San Francisco Bay was an example of a complete lack of monitoring the situation as the aircraft came in to land. There were four highly experienced pilots on board, however, they all failed to monitor the automation mode and speed. The main cause for this was some cognitive distortion caused by other factors such as fatigue experienced at the end of a 14 hour flight from Inchon, Korea. The training Captain who was also the pilot monitoring failed to recognize the incorrect configuration. Perhaps Air Traffic Control could have warned the pilots about the aircraft’s altitude and speed. In any event, corrective action was taken much too late and the aircraft impacted the ground. My paper will examine the role of automation in the cockpit and the urgent need to train the crew to take corrective action when unforeseen events occur.