Gordon Breault's comments jolted me out of my normal place as an observer
of these discussions...
>When was the last time a
>flight attendant crashed a jet? Sure, there may be that odd spilled cup of
>McDonalds hot coffee in the aircrews lap, but that's like saying we
>shouldn't wear seatbelts because one jammed while stalled on the railroad
>tracks. It's the folks up front, folks, who gave rise to CRM, and all the
>reasons for focusing on the aircrew are just as valid today as they were
>when the program was birthed.
While I cannot think of an example where a flight attendant caused an
aircraft to crash, I can think of numerous examples where intervention by a
member of the cabin crew might have averted an accident or an incident:
1) The Dryden F28 accident: if the cabin crew had communicated passenger
concerns regarding icing to the cockpit crew, the decision to take off
might have been averted.
2) The 737 crash at Kegworth: Although the captain had announced to the
passengers that they were having trouble with the (wrong) engine, the
passengers and cabin crew could see smoke coming from what the flight crew
thought was the good engine. Again, communication of this fact to the
cockpit crew might have led to a different outcome.
3) The Northwest Airlines DC10 which landed at Brussels: Although the
flight deck crew had lost situational awareness (and did not realize that
they were headed to the wrong airport), the moving map display in the cabin
had raised questions among the passengers. A question posed in the cockpit
might have resolved the situation.
The point is that the comment above minimizes the contribution that people
in the system other than pilots make to safety. Cabin crew are privy to
information that the flight deck crew do not have (e.g. they can SEE the
wings and engines). Including them within CREW Resource Management serves
to communicate the importance of their contribution to safety and may
provide the impetus for cabin crew to ask questions and communicate safety
concerns.
Regards,
Joel Morley
Joel Morley, Senior Consultant
RANA International Inc.
PO Box 527, Merrickville ON K0G 1N0 Canada
Tel: 613-284-0776 Fax: 613-283-6992
Website: www.ranaprocess.com
Home Office: Tel: (613) 567-0535