The Limits of Expertise A Book Review

Abstract

Over the years many compilations of aircraft accident reports have hit the market. Many of
them were designed to inform pilots of the human errors often the cause of aircraft accidents. Instructors, teaching courses in Crew Resource Management (CRM) or related subject areas, have been fans of such literature, because they are easier to study than the unabridged report provided by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). In recent years, human error and the management of error have taken center stage in the CRM literature, although not everyone is agreed on the nature of human error or how one should go about mitigating its affect on safety. The new text on The Limits of Expertise bridges the gap between the technical description of accidents and the scientific explanation of pilot performance with an easily digestible blending of the two approaches.