An HFACS-Based Analysis of Occupational Accidents in Aircraft Ground Handling: A Multi-Station Case Study (2023–2025)
Keywords:
safety, human factorsAbstract
Objective. Aircraft ground handling is labour-intensive, with staff, equipment and aircraft sharing confined apron space. This descriptive case study profiles occupational accidents at a multi-station ground handling company (2023–2025) by time, location and operation, and analyses their underlying factors with the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS). With no exposure denominator available, results are raw counts, not incidence rates.
Methods. This retrospective, records-based study used mixed methods. We summarised 1,930 accident records from 32 stations with descriptive and inferential statistics, and coded the free-text root-cause fields by rule-based content analysis across the four HFACS levels: unsafe acts, preconditions, unsafe supervision and organisational influences.
Results. Records rose from 424 in 2023 to 881 in 2025, and two large stations accounted for 71.2% of events. Loading, below-the-wing and unloading made up 43.0% of accidents; the apron was the commonest location, with a summer peak. Some 5,369 workdays were lost, and 33 events exceeded 30 sick-leave days. Preconditions dominated the HFACS layers (62.4%; mainly ergonomic strain and the physical environment), ahead of organisational influences (23.0%) and unsafe supervision (0.8%). Preconditions led in every phase (chi-square = 43.4; p < 0.001).
Conclusion. Risk concentrates on the apron and in manual load handling, though terminal and support areas also contribute. Root-cause records stay at the individual, immediate level, with supervisory and organisational factors seldom recorded. The findings favour a prevention strategy built on ergonomics and organisational safety rather than a “blame-and-train” approach.
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