Capture Errors

The 5^th or the 6^th floor?

Last week, I moved from the 5th to the 6th floor of the EASA building, as I am now part of the EASA Communication and Safety Promotion Department, headed by Janet Northcote.

Friday morning, in the elevator – guess what – I pressed the 5th floor button instead of the 6th, a classical mistake.

This error qualifies as a routine error because the 5th floor button was previously commonly used. It could also be considered a capture error – a less commonly used term—since my finger was kind of automatically attracted or captured by the 5th floor button, despite it being inappropriate in this new context, and I couldn't suppress the action.

A moment later, I noticed the mistake and corrected it. The lift control panel then looked like what you see in the picture, with both the 5th and 6th floors selected:

The error was mainly due to habit, combined with poor attention management – my thoughts were elsewhere, focused on my afterrnoon’s tasks. The side-by-side placement of the two buttons – the design element, didn’t help either.

The consequences of undetected or uncorrected errors depend on the system, the situation and the environment: they can range from none, to minor, serious, or even catastrophic.

In this case, the error had no real consequences – except it gave me the idea to write this short article.
 

Capture error

Would you Google “capture error”, the AI Overview provided by Google (*) would provide the following definition, examples, and mitigation measures (ref. July 25, 2025):

(*) Google AI Overviews use the Gemini large language model (LLM). 

Definition

A capture error is a type of human error where a more practiced or frequently performed action is mistakenly executed instead of a less familiar or intended action. This often happens when two actions are similar, and the more ingrained one "captures" the behavior. 

Examples of Capture Errors

• Phone Numbers:

Intending to give your work phone number but accidentally giving your home phone number. 

• Typing:

Typing your name when you meant to type another word that starts with the same letters. 

• Driving:

Driving to your old workplace instead of your current one, even though you've driven to the new one many times. 

• Computer Input:

Typing a word you frequently use when you meant to type a different word with similar first few letters. 

Capture errors are considered a type of "slip": a type of error that occurs when a person's actions don't align with their intended outcome, often due to automaticity or a lack of attention. 

How to Address Capture Errors

• Awareness:

Recognizing that capture errors can happen can help people be more mindful of their actions. 

• Redesign:

Interfaces and processes can be redesigned to reduce the likelihood of capture errors by making the intended action more distinct or less prone to confusion. 

• Training:

Targeted training and practice can help reinforce the correct actions, making them less susceptible to being captured by more automatic behaviors. 

References 

You might enjoy these two reads – bedtime reads, because they are so entertaining:

Human Error by James Reasons | Higher Education from Cambridge,

The Design of Everyday Things by Don Norman | MIT Press.

Managing Maintenance Error - A Practical Guide by James Reason and Alan Hobbs  |  Taylor & Francis.

In case you wouldn't have time, see the excellent synthesis provided by Andy Evans from the ESPN-R in James Reason's 12 Principles of Error Management - Aerossurance.