The medium (environment) refers to the environment where particular tasks are to be conducted and includes the weather conditions, terrains, obstructions, sunset or sunrise, lighting of the airfield as well as navigation aids amongst others. Essentially, both the natural and artificial media refer to the environment in which aircraft operations occur, the equipment used as well as the manner in which the work of aviation personnel affects safety (Liou, Yen, and Tzeng, 2008). The medium or environment comprises of two parts that include the natural environment and the artificial environment.
First, it is noted that the natural environment refers to the medium that occurs naturally and may be living or none living. This comprises the ice, lighting, mountains or hills, rain, weather, topography, temperature, wind, and volcanic eruptions amongst others (Liou, Yen, and Tzeng, 2008). On the other hand, the artificial medium includes things that have been made by human beings. These may include airports, airfield lighting, navaids, physical portion-ATC, non-physical portion system software as well as other procedural components. Others include federal or national legislation and the orders and regulations associated with them, standard operating procedures, and syllabi for training in aviation.
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Another notable difference is that aviation personnel may not have the power to control the effects or operations of an aircraft, which is associated with the natural medium. For instance, it is impossible to control rain or ice when they occur as at the time of operating an aviation instrument. On the other hand, the artificial medium can come under the control of the aviation expert (Harris, 2006). For example, it is possible to monitor and manage the lighting at an airfield or the quality and length of an airport runway.
References
Harris, D. (2006). Influence of human factors on operational efficiency. Aircraft
Engineering and Aerospace Technology , 78 (1), 20-25.
Liou, J. J., Yen, L., & Tzeng, G. H. (2008). Building an effective safety management system for
airlines. Journal of Air Transport Management , 14 (1), 20-26.