ipl-logo

Organizational Behavior Case Study: American Airlines Flight 1420

1064 Words5 Pages

American Airlines Flight 1420 June 1, 1999, a McDonnel Douglas DC-9-82, dispatched as American Airlines 1420, crashed after it had overran runway 4R, at Little Rock National Airport. The flight claimed the lives of 11 people, including the captain, and 105 passengers received serious or minor injuries, including the first officer and flight attendants (NTSB, 1999). According to the NTSB, this accident was due to pilot error (NTSB, 1999). This report will exam all human interaction as well as performance, utilizing Dr. Scott Shappell’s and Dr. Doug Wiegmann’s HFACS model, so one may find the route cause of the errors, and prevent similar accidents in the future. HFACS Level 4: Organizational Influences Errors aren’t created at the bottom …show more content…

Airlines are constantly under pressure, due to unprecedented schedules, competition and flight planning. Everything must be on time to make a dollar at the end of the day, and American Airlines is no different. Since 1934, American Airlines has been owned by the AMR Corporation and headquarter in Dallas, Texas. The airlines competes with all airlines throughout North America, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, and the Pacific (NTSB, 1999). According to the NTSB, the operational process, in regards to weather were too vague (NTSB, 1999). In fact, when an American Airlines training represented was asked about training, in regards to operating in thunderstorms, the manager state, “Our pilots are forbidden to enter or depart a terminal blanketed by thunderstorm” (Bogaert, 2013). What is …show more content…

Unfortunately, the opposite can be said. Unsafe supervision, or level three of the HFACS model has four categories; inadequate supervision, defined as the roll of supervisors to provide personnel with the chance of success, with opportunities such as training, leadership and oversight; planning of unsafe operations, referring to operations that can be accepted and different during emergencies, but unacceptable during standard practices; failure to correct known issues, defined as safety deficiencies that are just accepted; supervisor violations, defined as willfully disregarding regulations (Rodrigues & Cusick, 2012). With that said, when the decision was shifted to the PIC, this accident could have been avoided. Unfortunately, the pilot had what the NTSB calls ‘lets-go-ides’, a buildup of impatience, until a pilot doesn’t care what condition the flight will be, he or she just wants to complete their duty day (Bogaert, 2013). Because of his impatience, the PIC provided inadequate supervision to his crew, by placing them into the situation. During the inappropriate operation, the pilot stated, “I hate droning around at night, when I don’t know where I am” (Bogaert, 2013). His statement made it is clear that the he failed to correct a known problem. The PIC knew that the flight was at risk, and instead of rerouting, he remained on

Show More
Related
178 Words | 1 Pages

Through the use of recorded patterns Gladwell makes the belief of, more or less, seven errors on a plane will result in a crash. Gladwell embraces repetition to present the problem of pilots not communicating consequently making errors of flying a plane “and then another and another and another and another” using this rhetorical structure he presents the number of small errors that have happened that lead to a crash (Gladwell,184). He emphasizes the extent of problems on the plane to create an image of chaos on the plane. The use of anaphora created a feeling of anxiousness as the problem could’ve been prevented “one pilot knows something …one pilot does something wrong” with all the problems that have occurred and the pilot and co-pilot not

Read More
612 Words | 3 Pages

It could’ve been prevented if people were doing what they were supposed to be doing. It also could’ve been prevented if people were more cautious about their working spaces. Those were both prime examples, but the most important fault, in my opinion, was the fact that the owners, Max Blanck and Isaac Harris didn’t issue any fire drills. The Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire was a disaster before the disaster actually happened.

Read More
865 Words | 4 Pages

1518 CST Flight 4184 was cleared to LUCIT intersection by BOONE control and were given a revised estimated time of 1545 for further clearance from ATC and after several radio transmissions were given clearance for a 10 nautical mile holding pattern with a reduced speed and right turns. 1524 Transmitted “entering hold” to BOONE control. The crew then informed American Eagle that their estimated time for further clearance from ATC is 1545 using the automatic communications and recording system.

Read More
671 Words | 3 Pages

Third Officer Pitman risked making a decision that would bring big impacts since pitman would have risked his life or the life of the passengers. Events like these bring a negative factor when it comes to experimenting with new builds and features but that's where trial and error come along. They help gather information for the future to help prevent matters like these. Risk-taking plays a big part when it comes to explaining the actions of what others had to do in a situation that could have happened later. But figuring out what happens sooner can help stop it

Read More
812 Words | 4 Pages

I. Summary Air France flight 447 leaving Rio De Janeiro, Brazil heading to Paris, France plunged into the Atlantic due to pilot error. Inexperienced pilot placed the Airbus A330 aircraft in stall condition and was unable to recover the aircraft prior to crashing in the ocean. Investigations proved that 2 out of the 3-man crew were sleeping when the airplane entered the stall condition. II.

Read More
1076 Words | 5 Pages

Direct supervision requires extremely impressive change for a framework which is working by aberrant supervision and this change might be seen as pointless danger taking by governing

Read More
775 Words | 4 Pages

Gladwell gathered several sources of evidence to explain this phenomenon. The first part of the problem was communication. Transcripts were gathered from several planes in emergency situations and showed that the lack of proper communication between the captain and the first officer contributed to the accident. By giving a crew command and

Read More
1282 Words | 6 Pages

American Airlines Flight 1420: Errors in Decision-Making and Situational Awareness Mariah Cann Embry Riddle Aeronautical University Abstract This case study will focus on the human factor errors involved in American Airlines Flight 1420 and organizational shortcomings by American Airlines and their policies. By using the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System model (HFAC), key human factor failures can be identified.

Read More
849 Words | 4 Pages

After reviewing the findings generated in the NTBS report, I would tent to agree with it. While it is far easier to sit at my desk and write a report about a series of mistakes that a crew made that sadly ended in loss of life, I am reminded that as a Captain myself, it too is my responsibility to provide the safest means of

Read More
1238 Words | 5 Pages

The aim of this paper is to explain the accident of American Airlines Flight 587, an Airbus Industrie A300-605R, registration N14053 aircraft which crashed into a residential area of Belle Harbor, New York. The aircraft’s vertical stabilizer and rudder were separated during the flight. The safety issues discussed in this paper focus on characteristics of the A300-600 rudder control system design, A300-600 rudder pedal inputs at high airspeeds, aircraft-pilot coupling, flight operations at or below an airplane’s design maneuvering speed, and upset recovery training programs. Introduction:

Read More
930 Words | 4 Pages

a) Importance of Organizational Structure and Culture Organisational Structure The structural plan that decides hierarchical arrangement in an organization is the Meaning of organizational structure. It describes the methods of work distribution, orientation and other activities such as management to gain the are carried out in order to achieve goal of organization. Organizational structure mainly divided into three. 1.

Read More
1498 Words | 6 Pages

Furthermore, the captain failed to realize, despite his experience, that he had not requested for flaps 40 and not completed the before landing checklist. This, therefore, made their course of action more precarious and finally resulted in the accident. Conclusion

Read More
1489 Words | 6 Pages

These mistakes are important to further encounters of these types of collisions as it was created from a highly lackluster ways of handling control from the controller and managing from the front line manager. According to the NTSB, there are five probable causes that contributed to the Hudson River collision. One of the main reasons is the natural limitations of the see-and-avoid concept forces pilot to only see the helicopter until the final seconds of the collision. The second root of the collision is squarely blamed on the TEB controller’s improper telephone conversation which distracted them from their air traffic control duties, which included the important task of correcting the pilots read back of the EWR tower frequency.

Read More
1148 Words | 5 Pages

Before I attend to this class, I think Organizational Behavior (OB) is a concept how behavior affects the management, leadership and relationship among people in an organization resulting from the meaning of OB word by word. Nevertheless, this assumption was changed after I attend the Organizational Behavior class, which has the subject code BUS 314 thanks to my lecturer- Mr. Nguyen Dinh Hoang, who put huge efforts to inspire me to learn this subject. At the beginning of this course, he drew an overview of Organizational Behavior, is a field of study that explores the impact of three determinants: individual, groups and structure of an organization.

Read More
948 Words | 4 Pages

Aircraft accidents Aircraft accidents are the nightmares for both every pilot and aircraft passengers. Accidents can happen even when you least expect it which makes them even mere frightening. The reasons behind an aircraft accident can vary from situation to another but the main reasons are human error or most of the time it is caused by technical issues. In this essay I will address how accidents can happen which means I will in detail examine how accidents can happen which related to human error, technical issues or even accidents are caused by supernatural phenomena. First of all in my essay I will talk about human errors.

Read More

More about Organizational Behavior Case Study: American Airlines Flight 1420

Related Topics

Open Document