Customer Reviews

Aircraft Safety : Accident Investigations, Analyses, & Applications, Second Edition

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am not sure what Shari Krause's Ph. D. is in, but I would guess psychology given the human factors emphasis evident in this book. Indeed, human factors play an overriding factor in many if not most accidents and she gives good and bad examples of Cockpit Resource Management (CRM) and Aeronautical Decision Making (ADM) in the numerous case studies in this book.

The book is designed in broad categories of accident types (for example, 'Weather' and 'Mid-Air Collisions'), which are further broken down by specific hazard type ('Thunderstorms' and 'Turbulence', for instance) and illustrated with case studies largely taken from NTSB reports. Most of the case studies are excellent, and her analysis is generally quite good, although her specific systems knowledge is occasionally not up to speed (for instance, in the L-1011 autoflight discussion of EAL 401, and in the hydraulic system discussion in the 737 rudder hardover accidents). The minor systems errors and misconceptions found in these sections would be virtually undetectable to someone who had not flown the specific aircraft in question, and at any rate are mere annoyances at worst. The overall level of analysis is good enough that trivial details don't take away from the greater points she makes.

Overall, the book is a quite comprehensive text and should be read by pilots and aviation personnel of all experience levels. Her discussions of weather accidents and runway incursions were superlative. Particularly well covered were icing and microburst accidents, though I think she went a little far in her discussion of 'giant anteater clouds'.

Distractions for me were what I thought were a relatively large number of typographical errors, including the very annoying, often repeated (likely spell check induced) "HIS" instead of "HSI". The systems quibbles were minor as well, but nonetheless a distraction in some instances. The effort to make the book 'current' by including the Air France Concorde accident was a mistake. The summary presented was evidently taken from a sole internet source and completely devoid of useful information.

On balance, I think this is an excellent effort, and should be read by all pilots, the earlier in their career, the better.

This book by Dr. Krause is a must-read for safety-oriented aviators from beginners to professionals. This book provides accounts of some of the more well-known aircraft mishaps and dissects each one for causes and chains of events. It also provides the reader an education on various human-factor and weather-related issues. It also covers human-performance issues involving more recent technological developments like EFIS cockpits and TCAS, without neglecting basic hands-on skills and flight discipline.

I read the hardcover version of this book and it is wonderful. Shari Stamford Krause is informative and descriptive down to the last datail that you would not get from the FAA or NTSB. She defines the circumstances in a way that anyone, whether a seasoned pilot or just an avid plane lover, can understand. Everyone should read this.

I enjoyed reading this book which I found to be fascinating and enlightening. The case studies on several past accidents were particularly illuminating in explaining why serious aircraft accidents and incidents happen.

The book provides a comprehensive coverage of aircraft accidents, highlighting the major causes and how similar accidents can be prevented in future. The author rightly emphasizes on human factor issues which are the cause of most airplane incidents and accidents. The author methodically and clearly highlights the five main causes of accidents namely human factors, weather, mid-air collisions, mechanical failure and runway incursions. The writing style is easy to follow and understand.

This is a fantastic book which is recommended reading for those with an interest in preventing or reducing aircraft incidents and accidents.

What one sees in second edition of Aircraft Safety : Accident Investigations, Analyses, & Applications, is a comprehensive look at why serious aviation accidents and events occur. Dr. Shari Krause looks at over 40 aircraft incidents and accidents, analyzes why they occurred, and offers suggestions to avoid future calamities.

Krause concentrates on four probable accident cause areas (human factors, weather, mid-air collisions, mechanical failure) and highlights the perspectives of pilots, crewmembers, air traffic controllers, and the National Transportation Safety Board.

Many of Krause's conclusions center on two areas, pilot error and failure to properly use the technology. Many of these pilots are not some newbie's who read a for dummies book, or are recently certified via some technology boot camp. They are professionals that have spent thousands and tens of thousands of hours in the cockpit. These commercial pilots have physicals every six months, and spend significant amounts of time annual being retrained and tested.

These commercial pilots work in cockpits whose avionic hardware costs millions of dollars. Yet with all of this, these same pilots often don't think and attempt to land during an active thunderstorm, fly their airplane into mountains (officially known as CFIT (Controlled Flight Into Terrain), and more.

The book is fascinating and a valuable read.

I have a mixed feeling about this book. The theorical part is far too theoratical and based on merily summing up important issues, where the reader more would have learned about about these sum ups, if they where accompanied with graphics or illustrations. But the descriptive analisis of accidents is one of the very best I have ever seen. Very profound details indeed by means of case studies. However I would have rated it 4 stars if more case studies were included.

Very well written and researched. This book breaks down each accident with CVR transcripts and lessons learned. A must of an
Aircraft Safety reader.

I was disapointed by this book. The author ideas are very intersting and deserve 5 stars. However, every chapter starts with very few pages of text then continues with a copy/past of NTSB reports. The book has about 500 pages more than 400 arn't original work but just publicly available accident reports.