Aerospace Medical Maintenance Tools
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By Dr. Susan Northrup, FAA Federal Air Surgeon
The FAA’s Office of Aerospace Medicine does far more than ensure safety through medical examinations. We strive to improve safety in all aspects of aviation.
For most in the aviation community, contact with the FAA’s Office of Aerospace Medicine (AAM) is limited to periodic medical examinations from an Aviation Medical Examiner (AME) or even a one-time evaluation for some BasicMed users. However, the FAA’s medical experts are engaged in many other activities to improve aviation safety in such areas as aircrew and AME education, cabin safety, toxicology, and human factors research. It might surprise you to learn that we are concerned with how human factors affects not only pilots but also maintainers, and we have staff dedicated to this cause.
You might ask why this is important for you. Well, first of all, every one of us has a vested interest in good maintenance. AOPA’s 2021 Nall Report notes that in 2019, maintenance factors contributed to over 19% of total general aviation (GA) accidents and over 8% of fatal GA accidents. Researchers estimate that the majority of GA accidents can, in part, be traced back to a failure to follow written procedures (FFP) and can occur for many reasons. These include fatigue, time pressure, miscommunications, not having the right tools or parts, technical work instructions that are not easily understood or followed, and cultural issues.
The FAA’s Office of Aerospace Medicine does far more than ensure safety through medical examinations. We strive to improve safety in all aspects of aviation.
Do you pressure your maintenance shop for early completion, cut corners in a pre-flight inspection, skip steps in maintenance (e.g., the torque wrench is at home, but it feels about right), or delay maintenance because the annual is only a few months away? There are many examples in aviation where a step was omitted in a repair, a reassembly was incomplete, or a repair was completed improperly with catastrophic consequences. Our human factors team is working hard to reduce these events.
At CAMI (Civil Aerospace Medical Institute), we conduct ongoing research to identify and mitigate areas of maintenance safety risk. One strategy is to raise awareness about human factors by providing timely education. CAMI’s research outputs have included the development of free training programs. Although CAMI developed this training with the aviation maintenance technician (AMT) in mind, many training courses are also directly applicable to pilots. You can find CAMI’s training courses and safety and human factors resources online. CAMI also publishes the Aviation Mx Human Factors Quarterly newsletter.
The FAASTeam has many safety-related topics and courses for AMTs as well. The Buck Stops with Me (course ALC-534), for example, is specifically designed to promote a culture of procedure following. If you’d like to take a deeper dive into the world of maintenance human factors, take a look at the Operator’s Manual: Human Factors in Aviation Maintenance (PDF download).
Fusing it All Together
AAM collaborates with manufacturers and airlines to explore the use of emerging technologies, like augmented reality devices (think real-world information and virtual reality combined). These innovations would make it possible for AMTs to access work instructions (sometimes animated), pertinent updates, and safety-critical information, as well as track task completion without referring to a tablet or written procedures.
Pilots, imagine how your pre-flights might improve if the checklist item appeared right in front of you just as you’re examining that same area on your aircraft, perhaps even with a visual cue of what you should see. Just think what an improvement to safety and task efficiency such a feature may bring.
Dr. Susan Northrup received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and a medical degree from The Ohio State University, as well as a master’s degree in public health from the University of Texas. She is double board-certified by the American Board of Preventive Medicine in Aerospace Medicine and Occupational Medicine. She is a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and a former regional medical director for Delta Air Lines. She is also an active private pilot.
