Date of Award

9-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Department of Systems Engineering and Management

First Advisor

Alfred E. Thal, Jr., PhD

Abstract

Poor maintenance is a major factor in many aviation mishaps. This is due to the fact that some maintenance activities are carried out improperly or overlooked as a result of human error. It is important to acknowledge that maintenance mistakes are a visible sign of deeper organizational issues. Therefore, adequate solutions to maintenance issues must consider organizational influences. Despite efforts to reduce the accident rate within the Royal Saudi Air Force (RSAF), the RSAF suffers from an increasing trend in mishaps attributed to maintenance. Therefore, safety data was analyzed to examine trends. Additionally, the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) was used to investigate accident reports in an attempt to discover the root causes of the accidents. HFACS was applied to 16 maintenance-related accidents to capture the nature of and connections among latent conditions and active failures, as well as uncover the underlying causes to the accidents. Twelve-hour shifts, fatigue, shift handover documentation & record-keeping, and management response to maintenance issues were among the underlying causes discovered in this research.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-ENV-MS-22-S-072

DTIC Accession Number

AD1181344

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