Harm
Section 06: System Safety & Functional Safety
Definition
Physical injury or damage to the health of people, or damage to property or the environment. In aviation safety, harm is the ultimate adverse outcome that safety objectives seek to prevent or minimize. The severity classification of failure conditions (catastrophic through no safety effect) is based on the degree of harm that could result: from hull loss and multiple fatalities (catastrophic) to no effect on safety (no safety effect).
Where This Shows Up
Harm is the consequence that the safety system is designed to prevent. The classification of failure conditions by severity is fundamentally about the level of harm that could result. This consequentialist perspective drives the entire safety assessment: more harmful outcomes demand more stringent design assurance and lower probability thresholds.
Primary Sources
Defines harm in the context of safety assessment and failure condition classification.
Related Terms
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