Human Factors in Aviation
Human factors are estimated to be responsible for 80 percent of all aviation accidents. (PHAK, 2016).
While there are many different contributing pieces to human factors, I personally believe that communication amongst maintenance technicians is one that is absolutely critical to overall aircraft safety. Many people are quick to believe that the pilot's of aircraft face the greatest communication risk, but it's often those behind the scene that are forgotten about that have a massive impact on risk reduction.
Above you can see a few A-10 mechanics huddled around a tool box completing some aircraft maintenance forms. If you look very closely, you'll see that they are all wearing hearing protection and there appears to be some form of a -60 bleed air cart connected to the aircraft as well. The bleed air carts are incredibly loud. Even with adequate hearing protection, it is still difficult to communicate over the air cart and hear effectively. Now couple this with the challenge of climate factors and an inherent urgency to complete the maintenance being required, and it becomes increasingly difficult. Teams of 3 or 4 members sometimes are needed to complete maintenance tasks such as pre-flight inspections, engine runs, fuel servicing, and if communication and direction is not being clearly utilized, the risk for missed steps can exponentially increase. Let's say you service engine oil on one engine, and see another technician standing by another motor.. you yell over to ask if they're done with the task. They may not hear much of what you said, and throw you a thumbs up to acknowledge you. The technician that gave the all-good signal may have been doing an engine cowl inspection or nacelle look-over and had zero intentions of checking the engine oil. This places the next crew at risk for an under-serviced engine. Another instance is when performing a full-power run. You have a qualified team member sitting in the cockpit, another on communications downstairs, and another standing fireguard. Without effective communication about potential engine blast/wash areas, wind direction changes that could lead to a compressor stall, or general awareness of the surroundings, there is a potential for danger.
Communication is vitally important to aircraft maintenance teams. Clear direction, expectations, and responsibilities must be clearly communicated to ensure the safety of the maintenance team, and the safety of the crew that will operate the aircraft next!
Reference:
Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge. (2016). FAA. Chapter 2. Retrieved 18 May 2021. https://www.faa.gov/regulations_policies/handbooks_manuals/aviation/phak/
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