Confucius in western cockpits: The investigation of long-term versus short-term orientation culture and aviation accidents

This research applies the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System and Hofsted's fifth dimension of national culture (Confucian- long-term versus short-term orientation) to compare accident patterns between the US and Taiwan. Asia and Africa have higher accident rates than Europe or America. There are also fundamental differences between Chinese and Western minds. These variations suggest that there should be fundamental, underlying factors causing these differences. Several studies have investigated the relationship between culture and accidents however, no research has investigated Chinese culture and accidents. The findings clearly show different patterns in the human factors causes underlying aviation accidents in these different regions. It could even be argued that the accident analysis system itself has an implicit cultural bias within it, as HFACS was a product of Western culture. Global aviation is strongly influenced by the Western culture, however, the safety challenge is to manage the potential risks it may present.