According to recent publications, reports, etc, on aviation safety, between 70 and 80 per cent of aircraft accidents are due to human factors.  In a significant part of them, a maintenance error is one of the main causes or at least a contributing factor.  Furthermore, recent statistics show a relative of increase of accidents where Maintenance is a primary factor.  Many of these accidents could have been avoided if basic human factors concepts had been observed.

Although accidents have reduced over the years to about 1 per 5 million departures in Western Europe, it has remained at this level with no signs of declining.

With the foreseeable increase of air traffic in the coming years, the number of fatal accidents per year will undoubtedly increase, giving the public the wrong impression that the skies are becoming less safe. In order to stabilise the number of fatal accidents per year, the main aviation safety authorities around the world (FAA, Transport Canada, JAA) have undertaken a series of initiatives, including the taking into consideration of Human Factors in Operations, Certification and Maintenance.

As far as Maintenance is concerned, while the FAA has decided to focus on research, publication of guidance material and the promotion of Human Factors Programmes without changing the regulatory framework, the JAA and Transport Canada decided to enhance their maintenance regulations by imbedding human factors concepts in them.

Accordingly the JAA Committee decided, in December 1998, to set up a JAA Maintenance Human Factors Working Group with the view of improving the JAR 145 requirements in the light of recent developments in Maintenance Human Factors research.  In order to ensure a consistent approach with Human Factors development in Certification and Operation, the Maintenance Human Factors Working Group had to work in close co-operation with the JAA Human Factors Steering Group.

Working Group Report