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Human error is often cited as a major contributing factor or cause of incidents and accidents. The opaque´ veneer of blamism´ that characterizes pilot/human error obscures the fact that it is comprised of a network of alliances. Through the lens of Actor Network Theory and drawing upon Systems Thinking, Complexity Theory, Psychology and the science of networks, Dr Masys describes a landscape of inherent relationality and a space of possibilities. Opening the Black Box of Human Error presents a new framework for exploring complex socio- technical systems revealing a de-centered accident aetiology residing within a network of heterogeneous elements characterized as the hybrid collectif´ (Callon and Law, 1995). The analysis sheds light on a problem space in which it is difficult to separate human and non-human (technological) actors, highlighting as Latour (1994) argues, that every human interaction is socio-technical´. This work should be especially useful to professionals in Human Factors with an interest in complex socio- technical systems and accident aetiology.

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Anthony Masys is a defence scientist with Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC). Dr Masys received his BSc in Physics and MSc in Underwater Acoustics and Oceanography from the Royal Military College of Canada (RMC) and his PhD from the University of Leicester, UK (focusing on human error and complex socio- technical systems).

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