Background

There is a tendency in aviation to focus on human factors issues only after an accident or incident. As a result, most existing taxonomies of human factors issues contain only “negative” components such as errors or failures to perform. The Operator’s Guide to Human Factors in Aviation (OGHFA) is focused on the proactive use of human factors principles to prevent accidents and incidents and to increase operational efficiency. This briefing note discusses how the existing taxonomies of human factors can be altered or supplemented to encompass not only information on accident and incident causes but also to include “positive” human factors that have avoided problems or lessened their impact.

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Annex 13 defines a serious incident as “an incident involving circumstances indicating that an accident nearly occurred.” A note to this definition adds: “The difference between an accident and a serious incident lies only in the result.”