Culture can affect aviation safety through its effect on how the flight crew deals with difficult situations ; cultures with lower power distances and higher levels of individuality can result in better aviation safety outcomes . In higher power cultures subordinates are less likely to question their superiors . The crash of Korean Air Flight 801 in 1997 was attributed to the pilot 's decision to land despite the junior officer 's disagreement , while the crash of Avianca Flight 52 was caused by the failure to communicate critical low-fuel data between pilots and controllers , and by the failure of the controllers to ask the pilots if they were declaring an emergency and assist the pilots in landing the aircraft . The crashes have been blamed on aspects of the national cultures of the crews . Geert Hofstede classified national cultures into four dimensions , two of which can be applied to the flight deck : power distance , which defines the " nature of relations between subordinates and superiors " , or " how often subordinates are afraid to express disagreement " ; and whether the culture is collectivist or individualist in nature . Western cultures are individualistic and have a low power distance , whereas most Asian and Latin cultures are on the other side of the spectrum . Low power-distance and high individualism in Western culture may have contributed to a better safety record than in Taiwan and India . In a more collectivist society like Taiwan , a possible explanation for this might be that personal decision-making skills are not as developed . In Western society , the power-distance is lower in general ; " making decisions , implementing them , and taking responsibility for their consequences " is part of their life , making personal decisions easier to make
Avianca Flight 52
Avianca Flight 52
Impact of culture on aviation safety