Why do Planes Crash?

We recently saw the tragic accident of Bolivian charter airline Lamia carrying Brazilian soccer team Chapecoense crash, killing nearly everyone on board.

When these things happen the question is always asked about why planes crash?

1. The proportion of crashes caused by pilot error now stands at around 50%.
2. Equipment failures still account for around 20% of aircraft losses.
3. Bad weather accounts for around 10% of aircraft losses.
4. About 10% of aircraft losses are caused by sabotage/terrorism.
5. The remaining losses are attributed to other types of human error caused by air traffic controllers, dispatchers, loaders, fuelers or maintenance engineers.

One of the foundational safety principles that I learnt as a pilot and kept me safe is known as the Swiss cheese model.

It is a concept that was first described by the cognitive psychologist and researcher James Reason, in his book Human Error. In order for an accident to happen a chain of errors have to line-up, just like the holes in Swiss Cheese. The accident is caused by a series of sequential errors, rather than one single event. Through a careful analysis of a number of accidents, I was trained to recognize these errors forming. This is very insightful as it teaches you to be aware of these things and when you see an error chain forming you can interrupt it. This is where Human Factors and Crew Resource Management (CRM), backed up by a sound safety culture, are key to any flight department.

Fabrizio Poli is Managing Partner of Aircraft Trading Company Tyrus Wings. He is also an accomplished Airline Transport Pilot having flown both private Jets and for the airlines. Fabrizio is also a bestselling author and inspirational speaker & has been featured on Russia Today (RT), Social Media Examiner,Bloomberg, Channel 5, Chicago Tribune, Daily Telegraph, City Wealth Magazine, Billionaire.com, Wealth X, Financial Times, El Financiero and many other Media offering insight on the aviation world. Fabrizio is also regularly featured as an Aviation Analyst on Russia Today (RT). Fabrizio is also aviation special correspondent for luxury magazine, Most Fabullous Magazine. Fabrizio is also considered one of the world's top 30 experts in using Linkedin for business. You can tune in weekly to Fabrizio's business Podcast Living Outside the Cube available both in video & audio. You can also follow Fabrizio's aviation videos on Tyrus Wings TV.

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