Air safety: Naidu pitches for robust stress, fatigue management systems

New Delhi: Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu on Monday highlighted the need for developing the area of aviation psychology as well as robust stress and fatigue management systems for the safety of aircraft operations.

Ensuring continued safety is a collective responsibility as human factors are contributors to aircraft accidents, he said.

The minister was speaking at the national seminar on Human Factors in Aircraft Accidents organised by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) in the national capital.

Safety measures need to keep pace with the Indian aviation sector’s rapid growth, Naidu said and called for continuous skilling and upskilling of people. He also pitched for robust stress management and fatigue management programmes, including for pilots.

There is a lack of formal programmes for aviation psychology and advanced psychological aspects need to be integrated into training programmes, Naidu said.

India is one of the fastest-growing civil aviation markets in the world and more than 1,200 planes have been ordered by the country’s airlines. Naidu also stressed the need for technical and cognitive skills for personnel in the aircraft maintenance segment as more planes will be coming into the country.

With the evolution of advanced technology and more reliable aircraft systems, Naidu said it has been seen that the primary cause of air accidents has shifted from mechanical faults to human errors.

“Human factors whether in the cockpit, air traffic control or ground support operations now play a pivotal role in aviation safety,” he said.

According to him, reports indicate a 10 per cent increase in human error-related incidents over the last decade. Safety audits of the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) reveal that human factors are a major contributor to safety risks at present, he added.