Death by Human Error Trumps Technology Again

Investigators examining the crash of a commuter flight that killed 50 people near Buffalo, New York, have concluded that the accident was caused by a series of errors by the pilot and co-pilot.

The case is a reminder that human error causes far more damage and kills far more people than computer or technological failures. Cars are safer and more structurally sound than ever, yet about 40,000 people die each year in vehicle accidents. Most of them are the result of human error or poor judgment on someone's part: driving while under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or sleep deprivation; driving while texting or distracted, and so on.

Two of the most famous technological accidents in modern history were rooted in human error: The Space Shuttle Challenger accident and the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident, both in 1986.

In the case of the space shuttle, NASA overrode safety warnings from engineers about the seals of the solid rocket boosters. Engineers warned that the O-ring seals failed repeated tests under the cold conditions the morning of the Challenger launch, but NASA ignored the red flags and went ahead anyway. What seemed like a small part eventually turned catastrophic.

At Chernobyl, a group of scientists intentionally deactivated several safety systems in order to test a cooling system at reactor 4 and led to the worst nuclear accident in history.

In these cases and many others, accidents happen when inexperienced people intentionally ignore important safety systems designed by scientists and engineers. Safety guidelines, regulations, and devices are there for a reason, and though many people distrust technology, history shows us that we pay a terrible cost for human error, instinct, and overconfidence.

Benjamin Radford is LiveScience's Bad Science columnist.