Fatigue in NTSB Investigations Evidence of Accidents and Injuries

Fatigue in NTSB Investigations Evidence of Accidents and Injuries
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Fatigue in NTSB Investigations Evidence of Accidents and Injuries
The various modes of transport are prone to accidents which cause minimal to severe damage and loss of life. The aviation industry contributes to one of the safest modes of transportation. However, when aviation accidents occur, they attract much attention, thus calling for investigations into their cause (Wilson, K. A. (2023). The NTSB has conducted various investigations to determine the main cause of accidents and injuries. While people have different perceptive about the cause of accidents, human factors are the leading causes. The paper will focus on how human fatigue, errors in manufacturing, and insufficient training facilitate accidents.
One of the main human factors contributing to many accidents is fatigue. The possibility of fatigue to cause accidents varies from one mode of transport to another, with aviation being the highest and marine the lowest (Parenteau et al., 2022). In most accidents involving trailers, fatigue is the main cause because the drivers drive for long hours. During long drives, some of them for not change shifts and, therefore, causes a lot of fatigue. In turn, this increases their chances of being involved in road accidents. Fatigue affects an individual's judgment while driving and, therefore, puts them at risk of causing an accident. It can also make the driver fall asleep, and in such a scenario, they would cause severe accidents, especially when on the highways. One study focusing on a federal investigation of the New Jersey Turnpike crash shows how fatigue causes accidents. The driver had commuted for long hours and, therefore, fatigued, thus causing the accident. According to the investigation, the severe injuries occurred because the occupants did not have safety belts (American Trucker, 2015). Ensuring drivers and pilots do not work long hours can be essential in reducing these accidents.
Another human factor contributing to accidents and injuries is errors during the manufacturing process. These errors cause vehicles or airplanes to malfunction and can cause major accidents. In the case of airplanes, major NTSB investigations have revealed that the lack of testing during the prototype stage of airplanes has led to major accidents. An example is the Boeing 737 MAX accident, whose investigations pointed to a system malfunction. If enough testing had been done during the prototype stages of manufacturing these airplanes, accidents could have been avoided. The same case applies to vehicles. Although vehicles rarely have manufacturing defects, these errors can occur during the car servicing exercise. When the mechanics mak...