In November 2016, the flight Lamia Flight 2933 crashed, claiming nearly all members of the Brazilian Chapecoense soccer team. This book provides a comprehensive analysis that goes beyond simplistic explanations. It does not accept the initial narrative of pilot imprudence but instead investigates organizational failures, regulatory oversights, and systemic pressures that created the conditions for disaster. Through parallel analysis of the Boeing 737 MAX crashes, the book challenges the complacent assumption that such tragedies only occur in developing nations with supposedly inferior aviation standards.
This title looks at how organizational environments influence critical decision-making, particularly under stress, and exposes the dangerous issues that can occur between documented safety protocols and actual practices. The book analyzes how regulatory bodies can fail in their supervisory roles, how financial pressures compromise safety decisions, and how whistle-blowers are silenced when they attempt to highlight dangerous practices. By understanding these complex interactions between individuals, organizations, and regulatory systems, readers will gain crucial insights into preventing "accidents waiting to happen" across all high-risk industries.
Structural Failures in Aviation Lessons Learned from the Chapecoense and 737MAX Aircraft Crashes is essential reading for ergonomics and human factors practitioners, aviation professionals, safety managers, regulatory personnel, and organizational leaders in high-risk industries. It will prove invaluable to accident investigators seeking to understand the complex interplay of factors that lead to disasters.
Table of Contents:
1. Introduction. 2. The LAMIA Case: An Abnormal Conception. 3. Other Cases Where Supervision Failed. 4. Systemic Failures and Missing Frameworks. 5. Organizational Accidents: The Role of Management and Oversight. 6. The Imperfections of Prevention and the Need for Improvement. 7. Strategies for Effective Change Management. 8. Conclusions.
About the Author :
Jose Sanchez-Alarcos is a Freelance Organisational and Human Performance Consultant based in Madrid, Spain. He is an aviation psychologist and certified European Ergonomist (Eur. Erg.) with a PhD in Sociology and a Bachelor's in Psychology. His expertise in human and organisational factors and aviation safety has led to training and consulting roles with EASA, ICAO, Airbus, Mitsubishi Aircraft, and various civil aviation authorities. A published author of works including Taylor & Francis texts Aviation and Human Factors (9780367245733) and Improving Air Safety through Organizational Learning (9780754649120), Dr. Sanchez-Alarcos teaches Human Resources at Instituto de Empresa, Madrid, Spain, while researching organizational dynamics in high-risk activities. His academic insights are complemented by practical experience as a private and glider pilot, bridging theory and practice in aviation safety.
Ricardo Javier Garcia Soruco is the CEO of Aero-Evolution (SAM) in Quebec, Canada, specializing in aviation master plans and airport planning and design. With a PhD in Aviation and a Master's in Social and Political Sciences, he brings extensive expertise as a former ICAO Council member, ICAO Auditor, and SMS Instructor. Dr. Garcia Soruco's background includes experience as an airline pilot, flight instructor, and former Civil Aviation Authority Executive Director. His analytical planning skills and industry connections have established him as a respected aviation safety expert and air transport development advisor where he continues to shape the future of international aviation infrastructure and safety protocols.
