MEDA focus on contributing factors

Aviation Mechanic General (AMG) practice question 13 of 16 on Human Factors. ACS element AM.I.L.K2 · difficulty: standard. Want to answer it in a timed quiz? Use the Aviation Mechanic General (AMG) practice mode.

Question bank updated 2026-09-22

QUESTIONA maintenance organization uses the Maintenance Error Decision Aid (MEDA) to investigate an event caused by a maintenance error. In keeping with the MEDA principles, what should the investigators focus on?

AIdentifying the employee who made the error
BThe factors that contributed to the error
CRetraining the technician involved in the event

Show the answer and explanation

Correct answer: B. The factors that contributed to the error

A — incorrect The handbook describes this as the traditional approach that MEDA was created to replace; when only the employee is identified, the contributing factors remain unchanged and the mistake is likely to recur.
B — correct MEDA investigators are trained to look for the factors that contributed to the error, instead of the employee who made it, so those factors can be fixed and the error prevented from recurring.
C — incorrect Retraining the individual is part of the blame and train cycle that MEDA is intended to break; the process targets root causes rather than the person.

BACKGROUND

The Maintenance Error Decision Aid (MEDA) was developed by Boeing as a human factors tool for investigating maintenance problems. It rests on the idea that errors result from a series of factors or incidents, and its goal is to investigate errors, understand root causes and prevent accidents instead of simply placing blame on maintenance personnel. MEDA is built on three principles: positive employee intent, contribution of multiple factors, and manageability of errors. Traditional investigations that only identify the employee leave the actual contributing factors unchanged, so the mistake is likely to recur; MEDA investigators are trained to break this blame and train cycle by looking for the contributing factors instead.

STUDY TIP

Remember the three MEDA principles and that the investigation targets factors, not people. Any choice that centers on blaming or retraining an individual runs against the MEDA philosophy.

KEY POINTS

MEDA is a Boeing-developed tool for investigating maintenance errors.
Its principles are positive employee intent, multiple contributing factors and manageability of errors.
Investigators look for contributing factors, not for the employee who erred.

SOURCES

FAA-H-8083-30B ch14 "Resources" (MEDA discussion) and the following MEDA principles

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