**7. Way forward for even safer skies**

Newer technologies as well as materials available today and in the years to come will result in novel designs of new aircraft configurations as we march towards the zero-emission target. The air space is going to get even more populated with thousands of newer flying machines. This will mean that the way to safer skies begins right from the commencement of the new airplane configuration design. It is right from this stage that the required human factor elements should be embedded into the aircraft projects/programs. Human-to-machine interface designs such as flight deck design will require a relook in view of the new technologies. Also, the concept of design for maintainability and in-service support should be kept in mind. Customer inputs are also to be considered in areas such as passenger cabin design and flight deck design. Human factor experts should review the whole system before the project is taken up. The assessment ideally requires human factors specialists to assess the vulnerability to human error of the response tasks.

In order to achieve and maintain the goal of zero fatalities in commercial operations over the next couple of decades, five specific high-risk categories (HRCs) of occurrences have been identified by ICAO, based on analysis of hitherto aircraft accidents and incidents [42]. These five are Runway excursion (RE), Midair collision (MAC), Loss of control in-flight (LOC-I), Controlled flight into terrain (CFIT), and Runway incursion (RI). Reduction of operational safety risks is a must in order to achieve the goal of zero fatalities, and top management commitment to safety plays an important role in this direction. Continually evolving regulatory procedures must be respected and followed at all times.

Top managements must establish a conducive work environment to prevent the staff of the organization from getting into physical or mental tension. It is not uncommon for anyone subjected to emotional factors such as pressure, distraction, fatigue, and stress to suffer from making judgment errors in the work they carry out. Management should encourage error reporting and honesty among working staff. Many staff may not disclose unintentional errors that have been committed by them for the fear of losing their jobs.

Top managements must identify and implement independent and multiple inspections in critical areas covering design, drawing, raw material inward inspection and storage, fabrication, assembly, integration, aircraft inspection, ground testing, flight testing, servicing of Line Replaceable Units (LRUs), and so on. Design, manufacturing, and flight testing agencies must work with mutual coordination. Human factors will play a key role in every aspect of aircraft life cycle from drawing board till the end of its service life. Organizations that take up aircraft improvisation programs and/or new aircraft development programs will need to first do their homework regarding the feasibility of achieving the project goals within the committed time and funding. Ambitious and impractical goals may land the organization itself into a swirl of external pressures from the stakeholders and funding agencies and result in human errors creeping into the design, development, and manufacturing stages of the program, leading to costly and irreversible consequences.

Pilot familiarization and refresher training including simulator and CRM is an essential element for ensuring flight safety. Training of pilots in competencies such

**Figure 13.** *Aircraft technician under undue time pressure from top management. (illustration credits; Vidya Kamalesh).*

as communication, aircraft flight path management (both manual and automated), leadership and team work, problem-solving and decision making, application of procedures, work load management, emergency procedures, situational awareness and knowledge, fatigue and sleep duration, intoxication, checklist verification is a must on continual basis.

Aircraft maintenance activities will increase in the next few decades due to the increase in the number of aircraft as well as number of flights. It is important to integrate human factors into Safety Management System (SMS) in MROs. Some of the bare minimum aspects to be considered in this process are hazard identification, risk assessment and mitigation, management of change, design of systems and equipment, training of operational personnel, job and task design, safety reporting and data analysis, incident/accident investigation. Bullying by the bosses may have significant adverse consequences and may jeopardize the safety of flight. **Figure 13** depicts a typical scenario wherein an aircraft technician is instructed by the top management, to keep the aircraft ready for flight at short notice.

Uniformity should be maintained in all final reports pertaining to aviation accidents especially with respect to various human factors and root causes leading to the accident. This will facilitate use of powerful tools such as Watson Analytics and Cognos Analytics for analysis of airplane crash patterns and also to find possible solutions to make continual improvements in flight safety [43]. An advanced method of reporting system for integrating human factors into safety management system in aviation maintenance is described in [44, 45]. Trust, communication, and transparency are at the heart of an appropriately human-centered design process and, in combination, can have a powerful impact on the successful and safe use of advanced automated technologies [46].
