Statistics for the past 10 years or so show that the aircraft itself has been cited as the primary cause of the accident on only about 10 percent of occasions. The same statistics show, however, that on 85 percent of occasions, or even more, human error has been involved as a contributing factor. Much already is being done to further improve aircraft. Today's aircraft constantly are being improved with further safety refinements. If we are going to make any meaningful reduction in the overall accident rate, we have to address the biggest problem.
Human factors are mistakes or errors of judgment made by people.
Everyone makes mistakes. Generally, such mistakes are not deliberate. Making inadvertent mistakes is a normal part of human behavior. Usually, in any accident, there are a number of contributory causes that combine like links in a chain to create the event. Remove any one of the links to break the chain, and the accident will not occur.