Define biomechanics.

This is a discipline that studies various aspects of physical movements of the body

Explain the importance of the following in cockpit design ...

Reach

Comfort

Posture

By positioning the pilots in a seating position of good posture this will minimises physical and mental stress and allow the pilot to work for extended periods of time in comfort. 

Lighting levels

Describe the basic principles of control, display and workspace design.

The flight deck is ergonomically designed to make life easier for the pilot increasing comfort and reducing stress

This includes having displays in front of the pilot and easy to read, controls easily reached and moved and the workspace designed that it is easy to use and spend an extended period of time using. 

Describe the role of punitive sanction

Punitive sanctions are disciplinary consequences imposed on pilots who have been found responsible for rule and law violations.

Punitive sanctions are in place to prevent negligent and reckless behaviour in aviation and to maintain a culture of safety

Distinguish between negligent and reckless behaviour.

Negligent behaviour

This behaviour stems from failing to look after and or maintain a safety margin. This behaviour can be someone trying to pass on the blame, or being careless. 

The core concept of negligent behaviour is that people dont exercise reasonable care in their actions, by taking account of the potential harm that they might foreseeably cause to other people or property

Reckless behaviour

Reckless behaviour stems from someone who doesn’t respect the reactions from actions. 

It is a disregard for or indifference to the dangers of a situation or for the consequences of one’s actions, as in deciding to act without stopping to think beforehand. 

Distinguish between normal error, at risk behaviour and high culpability behaviour. 

An individual’s distinctive personal character defines the behaviour and risks associated with that behavior and outlook.   

A normal error is something that happens from time to time. Usually it goes no further, and the pilot rectifies it straight away. Someone who makes there errors normally does so when there is a lapse in judgement, are stressed or tired.  

A at risk behaviour can be seen as someone who is negligent or even reckless. This person may have pushed their boundaries or the aircrafts boundaries, and even the law. 

Highly culpability behaviour stems from someone who will take no responsibility for things going wrong, even if the event is directly caused by their actions. This is a very dangerous behaviour, as if you don’t understand there are reactions for your actions, you may never learn to respect aviation and things can go wrong. 

Explain the rationale for mandatory reporting of incidents as required by CARPart 12. 

The mandatory reporting means that an incident may prevent the next occurrence that could result in an accident

By making the reporting mandatory, the CAA ensures they have record of all incidents accidents and events and can then choose what information should be shared to ensure the laps in safety does not occur again. 

List the key reasons for safety reporting in aviation.

Without reports on incidents, accidents and lapses in safety, we would not know how and why these events took place, nor would we be able to learn from them and prevent and minimise future events from taking place. 

Safety reports are a vital part of safety in aviation. We must ensure that everytime time we fly safety is the most important consideration; this stems through all aspects of flying. 

By understanding why and how incidents took place, we can learn from this events and never put ourselves or others in the same unsafe position. 

Identify the elements in a safety culture.

Defined as an “ongoing process of intellectual and practical achievement directed at eliminating all unsafe attitudes and practices”

It is an awareness of the need for minimising the risk of accidents at all levels

It applies to the individual, the organisation and to the aviation system within which the organisation lies

It is reflected in all policies and all procedures that reflect those policies

It involves hazard recognition and preventive action

It is the key to accident avoidance

Explain the basic elements and features of the Reason Model.

The REASON model, sometimes referred to as the “swiss cheese model” is a model used in risk analysis and risk management, including aviation safety and engineering.

It likens human systems to multiple slices of swiss cheese, stacked side by side, in which the risk of a threat becoming a reality is mitigated by the differing layers and types of defenses which are “layered” behind each other.

Lapses and weaknesses in one defense do not allow a risk to materialize, since other defenses also exist, to prevent a single point of failure. 

It can be seen the larger the threat, the larger the hole in the piece of cheese. When the holes of multiple slices line up, the error or errors are allowed to take place and not stopped by another system check or alike. 

When all the holes line up, an accident or incident will take place; leading to failure.