Causal factor analysis definition

Literature has many theories and concepts discussing human reliability and associated human error causal factors that always trigger incidents and accidents within safety-critical systems. The main - by definition - characteristics of such safety occurrences are their randonmess, rare predictability, sophisticated, yet vague sequence of propagation. Such characteristics can basically allow for the retrospective analysis of these occurrences and their causes at various sectors and levels within industry such that re-occurrence margins are reduced if not totally eliminated. The major drawback of such reactive treatment... 

The website http //www.ntsb.gov/events/aberdeeii/ppt presentations.htm includes presentations to the NTSB about the accident. There may be individual and team actions and failed defences that contributed to the incident, however these may never truly be known. As the speed of impact was near supersonic, it destroyed much of the physical evidence that could have provided a more definitive analysis of technical and human causal factors. 

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