Is Engineering Ethics Important for Aerospace Engineers?

¹ Institutes of Science and Development, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
² School of Aerospace Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084, China

^a haghighattalab61@gmail.com ^b Corresponding author: anchen@casipm.ac.cn

Abstract

Engineering as a profession has a direct effect on society and the environment. Engineering ethics is a part of the essence of engineering. One of the important branches of engineering profession is aerospace engineering. Furthermore, aerospace industry achievements play an undeniable role in our lives. Research and development in the aerospace domain have contributed to the progress of some new technologies in the last decades. The purpose of this study is to emphasize the importance of engineering ethics as an essential part of aerospace engineering. Engineering ethics examines professional responsibilities and ethical decision making of engineers. Moreover, codes of ethics help the engineers to apply ethical principles in critical conditions. The poor ethical decision-making of engineers leads to engineering failures which jeopardized human life and the environment. This paper by examining two case studies related to the field of aerospace engineering (Challenger and Columbia disasters) describes the role of the negligence of engineering ethics on the occurrence of engineering disasters.