Lyman, (#1804)
I suspect that BEA’s examination of ‘Human Factors’ will consider the many aspects within the scientific discipline. This should avoid the often bigoted dismissal of human factors, human error, etc, as a coverall for many complicated and interacting issues in such accidents.
Such an investigation might only be comprehendible with some speculation; this requires activity beyond the scope of ICAO guidance for accident investigation (factual reporting), but this work could provide a valuable resource for learning about the crew in AF447 or similar humans/situations.
The major threats in accident scenarios are in the extremities of the ‘SHEL’ human factors model. The risks are in the interface with the central ‘L’ – the human interaction with the situational environment.
The contributing causes to an accident can be found in all aspects of the model – threats, risks, situation, and management – human activity; the difficulty is deciding which had the greater contribution, or which might be more effective for improving safety.
A human factors view might only be another view, but in such a complicated accident another view might be valuable.
With hindsight, perhaps the crew of AF 447 would have benefited from another view.