Current Human Factors Approaches in Aircraft Maintenance Sector: Transformation of Dirty Dozen into Filthy Fifteen

In the early 1990s, aircraft accidents caused by human factors in aircraft maintenance tasks became an important agenda item in the aviation sector. In this context, as a result of studies conducted by Transport Canada employee Gordon Dupont and his teammates in 1993, twelve human factors that caused aircraft maintenance workers to make mistakes were identified, and these factors were named the Dirty Dozen. In the long process from the emergence of the Dirty Dozen model to the present day, there have been organizational and technological changes worldwide that could affect the performance of aircraft maintenance workers. For this reason, in recent years, it has been observed that some of the world's leading aircraft maintenance organizations have been using new approaches in human factors training. One of these new approaches is the Filthy Fifteen model put forward by Hawker Pacific Aerospace. However, it is seen that the studies in the literature on the Filthy Fifteen are extremely limited. In this context, the aim of this study, which is carried out theoretically, is to first examine the Dirty Dozen model, which is integrated with the concept of human factors in the aircraft maintenance sector, then to examine in detail the theoretical structure of the Filthy Fifteen model, which expands the Dirty Dozen, and to discuss the current human factors that can be added to the Filthy Fifteen model in the conclusion section. It is thought that the study will make an original contribution to the literature on human factors in the aircraft maintenance sector.