HW DUE IN 15 HOURS

Introduction

In the recent years, flight failures and aviation accidents have increased thereby raising questions on the quality of aviation education offered in the country and the design and quality of airplanes supplied in the country. Air transport being one of the fastest and most reliable means of transportation is important for globalization. However, aviation accidents are fatal and costly in terms of insurance settlement. This essay proposes that in order to minimize the rate of aviation accidents, partnership in education, partnership with aviation equipment manufacturers, constant review of pilots qualifications, and monitoring of pilots’ mental health are important steps towards dealing with aviation accidents.

Aviation Education

According to Karp (2000), aviation education has change little as opposed to the numerous advancements that have been discovered in the aviation industry. The classroom model whereby course contents are presented in audiovisual manner and then tested by written examination does little to help students retain the memory. The federal Aviation Administration should work closely with curriculum developers and educators to come up with new curriculum design that will equip aviation learners to cope with the advancements in the field. Opponents in the education field could argue that this could inhibit research, which is mostly privately funded. Additionally, it could be argued that institutions of higher learning are autonomous and seek to serve the changing needs of the society, which are sporadic. On the other hand, some dissenters may feel that the government is not doing enough to monitor the education of pilots (Lowy, 2016).

Stress in Aviation Industry

Stress is common in any high-risk line of work. Aviation is one of those industries that require aviators and pilots to exercise due care not to endanger the lives of people on the ground and on board airplanes. Nevertheless, stress is the leading cause of many flight related accidents. Some pilots have been known to commit suicide amid flight leading fatal accidents. To deal with this issue FAA should partner with American Psychology Association to ensure that mental health records of pilots are available regularly for monitoring of their mental health and fitness to fly. The problem with this may come from legal practitioners who feel that making mental health records of pilots’ public is a breach of privacy and confidentiality rules (Cowden, & Sterchi, 2015). Mental health practitioners could also shy away because sharing of such information in the anticipation of safety in the aviation industry may be mere speculation, which could harm their careers. Additionally, opponents could also argue that implementing this measure is difficult because it is tasking and almost impossible to screen every pilot for mental illness (Davis, 2015).

Partnering with Airplane manufacturers

Another area where improvements can be made is on the design where, FAA monitors the development of airplane designs by manufacturers to ensure that the models sold for commercial use are of high quality ("Fact Sheet, n.d). The downside of this approach is that airplane manufacturers may feel as if the government is reigning in on them by taking up their space. Additionally, the same companies may argue that such control by the government could lead to lack of creativity.

Conclusion

Despite the dissenting voices indicated in the above compilation, it is clear that the Aviation industry is an important part of a country’s transportation system. As a matter of fact it serves as a critical infrastructure that should be protected through monitoring, as well as other types of protection measures. As idealized above, some of the ways aviation safety can be improved is through education partnerships, partnerships between the industry and mental health practitioners, and partnerships with aviation equipment manufacturers.

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