WARNING
CRMDEEN_at_aol.com
Mon, 25 Aug 1997 17:28:38 -0400 (EDT)
Fellow CRMers,
I would caution this group about publicizing the NAMES of individuals
who we are accusing of unsafe behavior in the aircraft. While the behavior,
especially on their last flight, was unsafe or illegal, and most likely
contributed to the mishap, I seriously doubt the mishap was intentional.
Whether an aviator is, or is not, a "rogue", does not warrant the
implication that the person was either suicidal or homocidal. I know of only
four stories in which one of the crewmembers boarded the airplane with the
INTENT to not return alive.
The lists I have seen describing the "rogues" have not included a
propensity toward committing suicide. Even the pilot of Tony Kern's 'Shade
of Blue' story did not PLAN to crash an airplane that day.
The discussions of the rogues are getting very close to equating
"rogues" with those who have no value of human life. I submit, that is a
very wrong analogy. "Rogues", as we call them, are skilled aviators who LOVE
being in an airplane; they LOVE that they have the skill that they have, and
they LOVE that others recognize that level of skill as being "better" than
the rest.
I don't think any of the rogues we've seen named have boarded the
airplane with the intent of crashing. Their quest for flying has taken them
"to the edge of the envelope" and back again. Unforturnately, one fateful
day, the "rogue" went beyond the edge, and was unable to recover. In the
case of Darker Shades of Blue, it was a sudden loss of judgement. Sudden, in
that the fateful maneuver was not planned; loss of judgement, in that he was
of such skill, that if you had asked him what his aircraft would do if put
into the flight regime it was, even the "rogue" would say--"that's stupid".
We are left to wonder why the aviation system allowed him to push his
personal performance envelope to far to the aircraft's edge, but we should
not accuse him of deliberately crashing an aircraft.
Which brings me back to my challenge for supervisor training and advice.
There is a rogue in the organization; he's not suicidal, just aggressive.
How do we keep his envelope small enough that fellow crewmembers can "save
the day" when he crosses the line?
I suspect the solution is in the "professional" and "organizational"
culture peer pressure. Now how do we train that?
Greg Deen
HTI