Systematic Way of Understanding the Grand Canyon Helicopter Accident Using CAST

The complexities of both technical and sociotechnical systems have increased in aviation over the years, and so have the causes of the accidents. In February 2018, there was an accident involving a helicopter crash in the Grand Canyon in the United States, causing the death of five passengers. According to the safety investigation report, the crash was due to the pilot’s inadequate controls during gusting tailwind conditions. Following the crash, people onboard could not evacuate on time due to the absence of the Crash-Resistant Fuel System test. Concluding an accident by blaming the pilot flying or the engineers cannot prevent similar accidents in the future. Accident investigators need a system-thinking approach to understand the accident and its causes systematically. Causal Analysis Based on System Theory (CAST) is an accident analysis method based on the Systems Theoretic Accident Model and Process (STAMP). It was selected as a preferred method to identify more causes of the Grand Canyon helicopter accident than those found in existing investigations. On top of the 8 recommendations proposed from the investigation report, the authors identified another 23 unique recommendations using CAST.