Aktuelle Themen und zukünftige Entwicklungen in der Luftfahrt

This paper reviews the association between neurobiologically-based sleepiness/fatigue and human-error related accidents. It concludes that fatigue contributes to human error and accidents in technology-rich, industrialized societies in terms of human, environmental and economic impacts. The cultural utilization of time as expressed in 24-h work operations, combined with the widespread use of automation, will continue to escalate in the next century, further increasing the risks of fatigue-related accidents, as more people conduct vigilance-based activities at times other than the traditional daytime work hours. Fatigue management and prevention of fatigue-related catastrophes need to become a sustained priority for government, industries, labour, and the public. Scientific data are urgently needed on the most likely areas in which sleepiness-related performance failures contribute to accidents, and on the effectiveness of a wide range of potentially useful countermeasures.

In this study, we describe changes in the nature of Crew Resource Management (CRM) training in commercial aviation, including its shift from cockpit to crew resource management. Validation of the impact of CRM is discussed. Limitations of CRM, including lack of cross-cultural generality are considered. An overarching framework that stresses error management to increase acceptance of CRM concepts is presented. The error management approach defines behavioral strategies taught in CRM as error countermeasures that are employed to avoid error, to trap errors committed, and to mitigate the consequences of error.