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Australia has an enviable record for airline safety - No one has ever died in an accident involving a commercial jet aircraft in Australia. The reasons behind this have been the source of much speculation and theories tend to focus on issues related to the natural environment and even luck. However, with human error being present in arguably 100% of aircraft accidents, it seems reasonable that a good safety record is at least partly the consequence of human intervention. This text uses Australian aviation as a case study of a safe system to explore the interactions between the natural, operational and human environments. Based on doctoral research including a major survey of pilot and air traffic controller perceptions, the book is unusual in that it looks at positive examples in safety rather than taking the traditional reactive approach to safety deficiencies.
List of contents
Contents: Australia’s safety record; Defining safety; A new approach to safety?; Exploring the physical geography; Exploring the human geography; Culture is not spelt with a k; Comparative safety; Exploring the human environment; The lucky country...; Exploring the operational environment; Infrastructure and support; Understanding the safe system; Epilogue; References; Index.
About the author
Graham Braithwaite completed undergraduate studies in Transport Management and Planning. In 1997 he moved to the Department of Aviation at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, where he is now a Lecturer, specialising in safety and human factors. Dr. Braithwaite has worked on a range of projects with the aviation industry and has consulted for the likes of Qantas, Ansett, Airservices Australia and the UK CAA. He also teaches on Loughborough University's air transport degree program.
Summary
Uses Australian aviation as a case study of a safe system to explore the interactions between the natural, operational and human environments. It looks at positive examples in safety rather than taking the traditional reactive approach to safety deficiencies.
Additional text
’...easy and compelling to read, concise but surprisingly comprehensive, this seriously analytical volume deserves an equally serious study.’ ROSPA Occupational Safety and Health Journal, 2005
