The ‘Human Factor’ in civil aviation. A comparison between the European and Soviet aviation industries, 1950s – 1980s

• Applicant: Dr. Sabrina Lausen
• Subject Area: Modern and Contemporary History
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 533466512

In the course of digitalization, the development of historical human-machine relationships has increasingly become the focus of research. On the other hand, the human-machine relationship in the aviation industry still represents a major research gap, although hardly any other topic in aviation is discussed as frequently and with as much publicity as the question of automation in the cockpit. The planned project aims to close this research gap. Therefore, it examines the changes in the relationship between man and machine in modern commercial aircraft, using the example of the European and Soviet aviation industries during the so-called "Jet Age" and the "Digital Age". The project aims to generate a publication in the field of historical science that explains the reasons that led to this change and analyzes ist consequences for the pilot profession and pilot training. The analysis is conceived as a historical comparison, as preliminary work indicates that the man-machine relationship was perceived differently in the European and Soviet aerospace industries. This perception likely had a direct impact on the automation process. However, since there have been repeated knowledge transfers between the different aviation industries, the project also examines transnational perspectives. The temporal focus lies on the decades between 1950 and the late 1980s because then automation in the aviation industries was most pronounced. The research question will be answered in two steps. The first step is to analyze the role that political and economic actors in the aviation industries attributed to the so-called 'human factor' in the cockpit and why they changed this role. The second step shall adopt the perspective of the pilots. The aim is to examine how automation has affected them, their training, and their profession. The focus is also on the pilots' experience and perception of technology. The corpus of sources includes official records of Western and Eastern aircraft manufacturers and the responsible aviation authorities. In addition, there are holdings from the pilots' unions, such as official documents, membership magazines, and testimonials. Furthermore, interviews will be conducted with pilots who experienced the automation process themselves up to the 1990s. The project aims to tie in with earlier research on historical human-machine relationships and the history of automation. In addition, the study attempts to contribute from a historical perspective to the current debate on automation and human error in civil aviation.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants