The Limits of Expertise: Rethinking Pilot Error and the Causes of Airline Accidents

This book review discusses a 2007 title, The Limits of Expertise: Rethinking Pilot Error and the Causes of Airline Accidents, by Dismukes, Berman, and Loukopoulos (Ashgate Publishing, Hampshire, United Kingdom). The reviewer first briefly describes the book, which took a second look at airline accidents and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reports of those accidents and encourages readers to avoid the tendency to use hindsight to consider the causes of the accidents. The book includes 19 chapters that follow a similar layout from an introduction to a case study (all of which listed pilot error as a cause of an accident between 1991 and 2000), followed by an in-depth study of the particular areas of interest, and a conclusion. The authors ask the readers to imagine a group of similarly-skilled pilots in the same event, given the same limits of information, environment and other variables, and discussing whether it is likely that the outcome would be the same. The reviewer supports this approach and praises the authors' level of information and understanding, as well as the use of footnote explanations. In addition, the case studies provide a mixed illustration of the various human factors in aviation, including fatigue, crew resource management, and environmental factors. The reviewer commends the book's authors for providing ample support for the aviation layperson to understand the material presented.