Root Cause Analysis — 5-Why and Fishbone

Overview

Evidence-led root cause analysis for aviation safety and quality: define a problem, test fishbone and 5-Why hypotheses, consider human and organisational factors, select actions and verify effectiveness. Fourteen sections include 42 ungraded scenario decisions with feedback. A separate final examination samples 12 questions from a 24-question bank; pass mark 75%. Original fictional examples develop decisions without essays, uploads or workbook submissions. The course certificate records completion and assessment, not an accredited auditor qualification, IAQG authentication or operational authorisation. Equivalent classroom hours are planning estimates, not measured study time or mandated training minima.

This online aviation training course is designed for controlled seat assignment, recorded trainee progress, final assessment, and certificate issue after passing.

Course revision 2, reviewed 2026-09-10. References support the training scope; operational use requires current applicable rules and the organisation’s accepted procedures.

Syllabus

14 modules, completed in order — each with its keywords and objective.

1. 1

   Welcome and course scope

   scopeaudienceassessment

   Objective: Use scenario feedback to practise causal reasoning and distinguish course completion or tool use from investigation authority.

2. 2

   What a root cause really means

   root causesymptomcontributing factordefinitions

   Objective: Distinguish symptoms, direct actions and supported underlying mechanisms without assuming one wholly controllable root cause.

3. 3

   The RCA process end to end

   RCA processstepsproblem to verification

   Objective: Coordinate immediate containment, evidence preservation, iterative causal testing, action and effectiveness review.

4. 4

   Defining the problem and gathering evidence

   problem statementevidencescopedata

   Objective: Define a measurable deviation and its boundary, interpret exposure denominators and preserve relevant original evidence.

5. 5

   Cause-and-effect thinking and just culture

   cause and effectjust cultureblame-freesystems thinking

   Objective: Test causal claims without hindsight or blame, and apply fair reporting and accountability boundaries.

6. 6

   Fishbone (Ishikawa): what it is and when to use it

   fishboneIshikawacategories6Ms

   Objective: Use fishbone categories to organise hypotheses and assign evidence checks rather than treating a populated diagram as proof.

7. 7

   Building a Fishbone step by step

   fishbone constructionbrainstormingcategoriesbranches

   Objective: Build a fishbone around an observed effect and turn candidate causes into specific evidence tasks.

8. 8

   The 5-Why technique: the discipline

   5-Whyiterative questioningdisciplineevidence

   Objective: Test each why-chain link, branch where needed and choose a stopping point based on evidence and explanatory adequacy.

9. 9

   5-Why in practice: worked examples and pitfalls

   5-Why examplespitfallssingle-trackjumping to causes

   Objective: Recognise different mechanisms behind similar outcomes and validate actions for each affected pathway.

10. 10

    Combining the tools

    combining toolsfishbone + 5-Whyworkflow

    Objective: Combine fishbone, timeline, why-chain and Pareto tools while keeping frequency, consequence and causal proof distinct.

11. 11

    A brief tour of other RCA tools

    fault treebarrier analysischange analysistools

    Objective: Select an investigation or prospective analysis method that fits the uncertainty, significance and team competence.

12. 12

    From cause to corrective action

    corrective actionroot cause to fixSMART actions

    Objective: Select a control that addresses a supported cause and define ownership, change validation and effectiveness criteria.

13. 13

    Verifying effectiveness and sharing learning

    verificationeffectivenesslessons learnedsharing

    Objective: Judge effectiveness using relevant operating opportunities and control evidence, and communicate remaining uncertainty.

14. 14

    Summary, pitfalls checklist, and applying RCA

    summarypitfalls checklistapplication

    Objective: Use recurrence to test cause, rollout and scope, then record and share verified learning through appropriate channels.

Final assessment

• Format: 12 multiple-choice questions drawn from the course question bank, with the options shuffled each attempt.
• Pass mark: 75%.
• Certificate: issued automatically on passing, according to Evidence-led investigation methodology informed by EASA causal-analysis guidance and Regulation (EU) No 376/2014 just-culture principles; use the applicable organisational investigation process..