Aviation Accident Aetiology:A Systemic Examination of FratricideUsing Actor Network Theory

摘要

With the advent of complex coupled systems and the evolutionary introduction of new technology, the aetiology ofaccidents is changing. “Since World War II, we are increasingly experiencing a new type of accident that arises inthe interactions among components (electromechanical, digital, and human) rather than the failure of individualcomponents. Perrow coined the term ‘system accident’ to describe it.”(Ref. 1) This suggests the requirement tomove beyond the linear Event-based models of accident causation to one that is systemically oriented and considersthe socio-technical characteristics of systems. Accident surveys in aviation have attributed 70% of incidents to crewerror citing pilot error as the root cause of an aviation accident. (Ref. 2) This limited view of accident causationreflects a fundamental misunderstanding regarding the aetiology of aviation accidents. To better understand aviationaccident aetiology, it is necessary to describe the complex coupling of factors that contribute to its evolution.“Complex systems cannot be understood by studying parts in isolation. The very essence of the system lies in theinteraction between parts and the overall behavior that emerges from the interactions.”(Ref. 3) Sociology offers aninteresting approach to looking at the socio-technical elements of systems through the application of Actor NetworkTheory (ANT). The systems perspective of ANT looks at the inter-connectedness of the heterogeneous elementscharacterized by the technological and non-technological (human, social, organizational) elements. In this work,Actor Network Theory is used to examine the complex interconnectivity of heterogeneous elements associated withaviation accident aetiology. The aetiology of the Desert Storm fratricide incident of 17 February 1991, involving theaccidental destruction of two friendly vehicles by two Hellfire missiles fired from an Apache helicopter, will beexamined through the application of ANT.