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[Institution’s Name]
Essay on The Concept Of Aircraft Age & Its Effects On Flight Safety
Aging systems: The 1996 explosion of TWA Flight 800 raised the issue of aging systems, especially regarding wiring, connectors, and so forth. Miller recounted how the explosive decompression of Aloha Airlines 737 in 1988 stimulated a massive effort to assure the structural integrity of high-time aircraft. While non-structural aspects were a point of concern even then, the focus was on structure. Miller expressed dissatisfaction with the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) April 2, 1999, Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on aging airplane safety, which speaks almost entirely to "damage tolerant" structural problems.
"Some people even now do not seem to appreciate the scope of the aircraft age problem," he groused. (Air Safety Week, 1999)
Aviation accident rates vary dramatically throughout the world, with national airlines in emerging nations in Africa, Latin America and Asia experiencing more accidents than industrialized nations in Europe, North America and the Middle East.
Davis points out that while some of the variability is due to national differences in aviation infra- structure, aircraft age and condition, and other issues more closely connected to socioeconomic status, cultural factors help to explain additional variation. For example, regions with high accident rates also share similar cultural values, such as power distance - the inability of subordinates to question the actions of superiors and recommend alternative courses of action - and uncertainty avoidance, which emphasizes rigid adherence to rules and procedures that reduces the directness and bluntness of communication.
Direct and rapid communication, though, is often essential if accidents are to be avoided or critical situations surmounted. (Schultz, J.)
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