ABSTRACT
Airline passenger safety has increased substantially since the 1950s. However in relatively recent times the accident rate has plateaued. The previous gains in airline safety have been largely due to the increased mechanical reliability of the turbo-jet, and on-board systems. At present it has been calculated that about 70% of accidents are caused by pilot error (Helmreich & Foushee, 1993). Cooper, White, and Lauber (1980) and Murphy (1980) (cited in Cooper et at, 1980) suggest that human error, or pilot error, was more likely the result of failure in team communication and coordination than failure in technical flight proficiency. In an effort to further reduce the accident rate many airlines have introduced crew resource management (CRM) which focuses on crew coordination, communication and effectiveness.
