Aircraft Accidents Caused by Mechanical Failure A brief overview

I chose my topic because it was something that really interested  me.  For me it is easier to read about an accident when no one is necessarily at fault and it is simple mechanical failure.  I also chose mechanical failure because it's one of the most common causes of aircraft crashes.  I picked this topic because as an aircraft mechanic myself, it is easy for me to understand and translate some of terms associated with this topic.

The truth of the matter is that about half of aircraft crashes occur from pilot error (Rohrer, F.,  Castella, T. 2014).  Unfortunately I believe that whenever an aircraft incident happens mechanics or mechanical failure is one of the first things blamed.  Throughout time it seems that pilots are always exalted.  Even I have been guilty of feeling the same way.  Even more unfortunately I have had two airplanes I have worked on go down.  One was because of a commonly know mechanical issue that was neglected and the other was just pilot error.  The instant I heard about each crash all I could think about is what could I have done wrong to endanger that aircraft.

Of course the whole purpose of investigating aircraft incidents is to prevent them.  If I get nothing else out of this class I will take what I learn here to make my workplace safer. 

Aircraft mechanical failure can be defined as a failure or break down in a mechanical aircraft component due to that component reaching the extent of its "age" or improper install or application. 

Pilot error is a decision, action or inaction by a pilot of an aircraft determined to be a cause or contributing factor in an accident or incident.

Here is a relevant link
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26563806

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Rohrer, F., & Castella, T. (2014). Mechanical v human: Why do planes crash? Retrieved August 30, 2014.