Cause analysis of unsafe acts of pilots in general aviation accidents in China with a focus on management and organizational factors

Objectives. General aviation (GA) safety has become a key issue worldwide and pilot errors have grown to be the primary cause of GA accidents. However, fewer empirical studies have examined the contribution of management and organizational factors for these unsafe acts. Flawed decisions at the organizational level have played key roles in the performance of pilots. This study provides an in-depth understanding of the management and organizational factors involved in GA accident reports. Methods. A total of 109 GA accidents in China between 1996 and 2021 were analysed. Among these reports, pilot-related accidents were analysed using the human factors analysis and classification system (HFACS) framework. Results. The significant effects of managerial and organizational factors and the failure pathways on GA accidents have been identified. Furthermore, unlike traditional HFACS-based analyses, the statistically significant relationships between failures at the organizational level and the sub-standard acts of the pilots in GA accidents were revealed. Conclusions. Such findings support that the GA accident prevention strategy that attempts to reduce the number of unsafe acts of pilots should be directed to the crucial causal categories at HFACS organizational levels: resource management, organizational process, failure to correct a known problem, inadequate supervision and supervisory violations.