Maintenance errors can have catastrophic impacts on aviation safety, but with so many safeguards woven into aviation systems, why do errors like these still happen? That’s the question being investigated by researchers at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University, who are exploring the effects of fear and trust in the aircraft maintenance workplace.

“This research is crucial because maintenance errors remain a leading cause of aircraft accidents and incidents, despite technological advancements and stringent regulatory standards,” said Sang-A Lee, a candidate who is concentrating her dissertation on the topic. “There has been a lack of focus on emotional factors such as trust and fear, and this oversight may result in a skewed understanding of safety culture, with insufficient attention on how emotional dynamics and trust influence maintenance safety cultures.”

The research, led by Dr. Dothang Truong, professor and associate dean of the , recently received funding from the at Embry‑Riddle. The center, which was started in 2022 and opened in its new facility in 2024, was established to uphold and promote safety throughout the aviation industry. The center has also recently funded two other areas of research: loss of control and spatial disorientation in aviation. All three research projects involve Embry‑Riddle students.

“There are no more easy problems in aviation safety — the issues we have now are complex and multi-dimensional,” said Dr. Kristy Kiernan, associate professor in the and associate director of the Boeing Center for Aviation and Aerospace Safety. “That’s why it’s more important than ever that our students have the opportunity to conduct research into real operational challenges. From using AI to model and predict loss of control and spatial disorientation to exploring maintenance safety culture, these projects not only contribute directly to operational safety, they also fulfill our university’s fundamental mission to equip students to lead our industry.”

Regarding Dr. Truong's research, understanding how trust and fear affect safety culture can open new avenues for reducing maintenance errors. Truong explained that an aircraft maintenance workplace where technicians experience fear around their work may undermine safety culture by creating patterns in which technicians avoid acknowledging or reporting problems. On the other hand, trust can create a sense of psychological safety, which helps promote safety culture.

"When facing imminent risk or danger," Truong said, such as the risk of demotion or job loss, "individuals respond with emotional reactions (fear control) and then develop behaviors to manage or avoid the risk (danger control). Trust, on the other hand, is the confidence one party has in another party's behavior, creating a sense of security and confidence that influences behavioral choices."

The research, Truong said, aims to help develop “effective strategies to strengthen the safety culture among aircraft maintenance technicians. These strategies will help mitigate risks and improve overall aviation safety, ensuring that maintenance errors are significantly reduced and the safety of aviation operations is continuously enhanced.”

Truong said the idea for his research predated recent public allegations that aircraft maintenance technicians had been retaliated against by their employers for reporting what they perceived as safety lapses. He added, however, that the controversy “further solidified the significance of our work in improving aviation safety.”

Mind Matters

At the same time that the Boeing Center has sponsored the research on the connections between safety and aircraft maintenance culture, it has also supported research into loss of control accidents, which have sometimes resulted in mass fatality aviation accidents.

Loss of control can occur because of human factors such as inattention, distraction, confusion, fatigue, lack of proficiency and improper training, said Brian Roggow, associate dean of the on the and department chair and assistant professor in the . The research he is leading with the Boeing Center's support aims to provide a better understanding and prevention of accidents by amassing data and using sophisticated modeling approaches to achieve better insights into causes.

Undergraduate researcher Kelly Hansen, a senior in with a minor in , said, “By enhancing the predictive abilities and addressing the limitations of current models, our research has the potential to significantly influence FAA standards for training, pilot certification and operational safety protocols, thereby improving overall aviation safety.”

The research team also includes Dr. Esmaeil Zarei, associate professor of Safety Science, and Safety Science master’s student Caleb Langel.

The Boeing Center has also recently provided funding for research into spatial disorientation, a phenomenon in which pilots misperceive their aircraft’s position, such as is believed to have occurred when John F. Kennedy Jr. lost control of his Piper Saratoga while flying at night over water without a visible horizon. The accident resulted in his death as well as the deaths of his fiancée and her sister.

The research is intended to develop models using machine learning to draw links to the causes of spatial disorientation, said Dr. Mihhail Berezovski, associate professor of and the program coordinator for the bachelor’s and master’s degrees in .

“By fusing data from multiple sources — National Transportation Safety Board, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and aircraft technical databases — the research provides a broader understanding of the factors contributing to spatial disorientation incidents,” Berezovski said, adding that interventions to prevent spatial disorientation mishaps will be explored with the collaboration of Embry‑Riddle’s .

Others on the team researching spatial disorientation include Dr. Joseph Keebler, associate professor; Dr. Alex Chaparro, professor in the Department of Human Factors and Behavioral Neurobiology; and Jenna Korentsides, a Ph.D. student in the same department.

Katherine Hoffsetz, a senior in with minors in Space Operations and who is also working on the research, said the project is guiding her toward her dream career.

“I don't think I can fully express how much being involved in this research has meant to me,” Hoffsetz said. “This project showed me that I can apply my love of math and data science to something that is very interesting to me and that I'm passionate about. I came to Embry‑Riddle because I loved space and was hoping to find an intersection between math and aerospace to pursue a career in, and this project showed me that is possible.”