Recent Papers
Captain Shawn Pruchnicki (Ret.) PhD FRAeS ATP CFII
Recent Papers
Drifting into failure: theorizing the dynamics of disaster incubation
by Sidney Dekker and Shawn Pruchnicki
Abstract: Ergonomic theory holds that accidents are preceded by periods of gradually increasing (but essentially unrecognized) risk, known originally in man-made disaster theory as the incubation period. This paper discusses the theorizing of the dynamics of such accident incubation. It considers theoretical contributions – ranging from high reliability to control theory to resilience engineering – for their ability to illuminate the driving forces behind a gradual shift in norms and erosion of safety margins, and for their ability to effectively track and represent such changes over time.
Plane crash probes should cast wider net
by Shawn Pruchnicki
Opinion piece for CNN.com regarding the potential inadequacies of trying to find a single probable cause in accident investigations.
Cognitive Demands of Staying in Control on Highly Automated Aircraft When Faced with Surprise
by Shawn Pruchnicki and David Woods
Proceedings from the 5th Resilience Engineering Association (REA) Symposium. Soesterberg, Netherlands.
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