pilot error
Aviator's fatal misjudgment
Pilot error is a mistake or misjudgment made by an aircraft pilot that contributes to an accident or dangerous situation.
Aviation investigations often cite pilot error as a primary or contributing cause of crashes, encompassing failures in judgment, procedure, communication, or situational awareness.
The term has extended beyond aviation to describe human mistakes in operating any complex system: The server crash wasn't a software bug—it was pilot error.
- complacencyUncritical satisfaction with oneself
- collisionForceful contact between objects
- fatigueWeariness from prolonged exertion
- aviationFlying or operating aircraft
- situational awarenessPerception of surroundings
spatial disorientation · human factors · decision-making · distraction · checklist · overconfidence · stress · misjudgment · mental workload · communication breakdown · air traffic control · standard operating procedure · cockpit · crash · reaction time · black box · flight recorder · multitasking
- aviation disastersplane crash, air crash, midair collision, crash landing, crash site
- Crash InvestigationsNTSB, crash investigation, crash site, crash scene, black box
- aviation hazardsbird strike, engine failure, icing, midair collision, stall
- errorsmistake, blunder, blunders, fault, flaw
- navigation errorsmissed exit, wrong direction, wrong way, off course, getting lost
- maritime accidentsship collision, ramming, broadsiding, sideswipe, side swipe
pilot errormechanical failure
Equipment stops working properly
structural failure · engine failure · design flaw · system failure · manufacturing defect