Did some one imbue captains with divine insight or authority? First Officers?
There is something to be said about teamwork here. Is the mountain of evidence
that even captains (or first officers) can be wrong to be ignored? Ah, for the
good old days when a go around call was complied with first, then discussed
when the aircraft was stable after the go. Things were so much simpler then.
In the system I flew in if any crew member noted what HE/SHE considered an
dangerous condition on takeoff, they called it out by crew position and/or
system. The reject or abort decision was up to the aircraft commander. In my
case, I only decided against my crew once. That was on a takeoff where I knew
that we were too far down the runway to stop safely. Fortunately, we got up
and limped around for a safe recovery.
Go around calls were a different matter. If a crew member called a go around,
we went. If we had a crew member that made erroneous calls or whose judgement
was faulty, additional training was prescribed. The professional and corporate
culture was that ãreal pilotsä did go around if the conditions warranted. To
ignore a go around call was to admit to incredible professional stupidity. I
guess in some quarters things must have changed.
I am not advocating a captain who is primed and cocked to the go position. One
thing we cannot allow to change and that is Rule #1: that the aircraft
commander (captain) is the aircraft commander (captain). His/hers are the
final decisions. The crew members jobs are to provide the best information
they can to insure the best decisions. Challenges arise in the margins, but
rule 1 still applies. Professional and corporate cultures and policies and
regulations must emnphasise the importance of both positions. They all play a
part, but the one in charge has to be just that, in charge. When you get right
down to it, the cockpit is not a democracy. But neither is it a dictatorship.
There is a reason why there is more than one pilot on the aircrew. Look at the
experience of Al Haynes and the guys on the United flight into Souix City, or
the crew on the 747 with the cargo door blowout. I doubt if the captains' egos
got in their way, nor was there a doubt, I reckon, as to who was in charge.
To paraphrase Santana: Those who forget the reason are condemned to suffer the
consequences. Hopefully, they are becoming fewer in number.
Dave Wilson
Raytheon