Data collection and analysis challenges Essay

Data collection and analysis challenges include an access to the crash site, consistent and reliable collection at the site of occurrence, data standardization like using common units of measurements and descriptions, equal access to data, filtering out the human factor bias, normalizing of data, valid interpretation of the data and acknowledging the importance of the data in order to implement a corrective procedure and recommendation
The evolution of accident investigation originated from earlier days when the first fatal aircraft accident killed Thomas E. Selfridge in 1908, this was the first accident where a reaction was announced by Lorin Wright telling reporters, "My brothers will pursue these test until the machines are as near perfect as it is possible to make them, if they are not killed in the mean time."(11) Here continuation of testing was driven by a reaction rather than initiated as an effort to forecast an accident. Thanks for these kind of courageous people who kept on flying and testing the aircraft available in those days, we are able to fly safely from place to place any where on earth.
Earlier than these during the Tullamore balloon accident in Ireland, there was no reaction and no fire brigade was established till 100 years later when a fire destroyed a tobacco company (10).
Transiting from no reaction of the balloon fire to reaction of the first flight accident was a good step, but took a while as there were no flight accidents involved during that gap, how ever there were lots of fatal accidents ranging from transport to factory fires none of which had been reactive enough to take accident investigation into the reactive stage.
The transition from reactive to predictive can be described, as something that keeps on going, changing slowly over time, like the continuum of the four seasons. Though it is good to always think we always progress towards predictive, our basic human nature forces us to swing back and forth between reactive and predictive, even though we have the instruments and capacity to predict and possibly prevent some accidents before happening. The evolution from reaction to prediction has been simplified by changes in directives and policies over a long period of time.
In earlier days of aviation, the main reason of accident investigation was to blame someone involved in the accident or incident, the US national Advisory committee for aeronautics used to apply a credit system giving an amount of percentage for each mishap like 70% pilot error, 20% mechanical problem, and 10% weather related.
"International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), convention on civil aviation ("Chicago Convention") of 1944 and further refinements in 1946 and 1947 began a shift from identifying blame to sharing lessons learned. This later became annex 13 of the convention" (12)
Annex 13 opened the way for information sharing, which would explain and recommend lessons and data collected from all accidents and incidents in the prediction and prevention of further happenings, instead of apportioning blame as a reaction to the accident