Safety, Human Factors and Operational Knowledge
What this domain tests
This domain tests threat and error management, ground safety around turbines, fatigue and complacency, and checklist discipline during engine handling.
Core rules
- Turbine engines have intake and exhaust hazards: suction can pull people and FOD into the intake; exhaust is hot and fast. Establish a clear zone before start.
- Human factors: fatigue, complacency, distraction and normalisation of deviance contribute to start and handling errors. Use checklists and callouts.
- Threat and error management: identify threats (hot start risk, contaminated fuel, icing), trap errors (cross-check EGT and N2), and manage the outcome.
- Ground safety: fire extinguisher nearby, brakes set, chocks in place, ground crew clear.
Worked example
Before start, the ground crew reports a person near the intake. The crew aborts the start and waits for the area to clear. Reasoning: a turbine intake can draw a person in from several metres; the brief pause costs seconds, while FOD ingestion or injury costs lives and an engine. This is a classic threat-and-error trap: the checklist says the area is clear, but the report contradicts it.
Traps
- Assuming FADEC prevents all start errors.
- Rushing a start because of schedule pressure.
- Ignoring a gut feeling about an unusual noise.
- Standing in the exhaust danger zone during run-up.
Key points
- Intake suction and exhaust blast are the main ground hazards.
- Fatigue, complacency and distraction cause start and handling errors.
- Use checklists and callouts; cross-check EGT and N2.
- Threat and error management: identify, trap, manage.
- Abort the start if the area is not clear.