Citation

Benner L, Rimson IJ. Forum Int. Soc. Air Saf. Investig. 1992; 25(1).

Copyright

(Copyright © 1992, ISASI)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

When an accident is described in concrete terms-where it happened, who did what and when, and the actions are sequenced properly - relatively few questions are required to find out what happened. The key criteria are clear statements of who did what, when and where. What creates confusion when we listen to the description of an accident? When the narrator places the time or location of events out of order confusion begins almost immediately. We cannot construct an orderly picture. When the narrator assigns ambiguous names ("he, they, it") we have difficulty picturing who is doing what. When the narrator uses passive voice ("He was struck on the arm") we can't visualize who did the striking, and sometimes we can't visualize who was struck, either. The picture gets confused when the narrator attributes an action to two people, or to the wrong person. Quality control requirements become evident once the sources of confusion are identified. Part 2 of 2.