Ethnography of Aviation
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I first began
research on aviation automation safety in 1989 under a grant from the
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One of the most
important methods for an anthropologist is participant observation.
That means that one should, to the extent possible, participate in
the day to day activities of the community one is studying. For
me this meant learning to fly and advancing as far as I could toward the world
of the airline pilot. Of course, I
did not and never will arrive at the level of expertise achieved by any working
airline pilot. However, I did make
a serious effort to learn enough about flying airliners to be able to understand
the activities, concerns, and joys of the airline pilot. I read everything I could find on the history
of aviation. Over the years I have
made hundreds of flights in the cockpits of airplanes operated by major airlines
in North America, Europe, Asia, and
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Through a consulting agreement with the Boeing Commercial Airplane Company in 1991 I completed the transition training course for the Boeing 747-400. In 1994, America West Airlines allowed me to participate in the ground portion of the transition training for the Airbus A320. I am very grateful to these two companies for having provided me these opportunities to deepen my knowledge of automated airplanes and airline operations. |
I have participated in aviation conferences, interviewed pilots, conducted surveys, provided expert advice in accident related litigation, and participated in an independent audit of a major airframe manufacturer. Why? In addition to being a lot of fun, all of these activities provide a wealth of background knowledge that is required to provide warrants for claims about what happens in actual operations. The jet training was essential because it gave me a basis to understand not only what pilots can be observed to do, but also what they might have done, yet chose not to do.