There are two types of failures that cause human errors: ______ failures and ______ failures.

• A. active, latent
• B. latent, active
• C. primary, secondary
• D. immediate, eventual

Answer: (A)

Active and latent failures describe how human errors happen in safety-critical systems. Active failures are the immediate unsafe actions a person takes at the point of operation—slips, lapses, mistakes, or rule violations that directly lead to an error. Latent failures are hidden weaknesses in the system—design flaws, gaps in training, poor procedures, maintenance issues, or management decisions—that lie dormant and set up the conditions for an error to occur. The two kinds interact: latent conditions create vulnerabilities, and when an active error occurs, the combination can produce an accident. This pairing matches well-established safety models (like the Swiss cheese model), which is why the correct answer uses active failures first and latent failures second. Other term pairs don’t map onto these well-recognized categories.