Thank you for the comments on my previous post. All I did is vocalise what many of you already know.
To me this is a watershed accident. It will be the study of safety lectures for years to come. However I feel the thread is focusing on the symptoms and not the cause.
As I watch the development of the thread, there is a tendency amongst some to defend MK. I do however feel that we should draw a distinction between the crews and those who manage at a higher level. I know many of MK’s present and previous pilots. Indeed they are a very practical bunch who know the basics and in a tight spot quickly revert to a simple solution that draws heavily on a previously learnt, solid aviation background. That, combined with common sense, makes them very versatile. Some of these skills are a direct result of survival in Zimbabwe and Rhodesia.
Indeed sometimes I wish these qualities could be displayed when I watch simulator sessions go wrong purely because of lack of background in the airline trained and groomed pilots who know no other way apart from the highly proceduralised channels they have followed. Their minds are often so full of fine-print that the greater objective is blurred. These are the products of both a welfare state and a purely specialist training. This is a topic, all on its own, which I leave to the CRM gurus of the industry who are still searching for the perfect tools. I wish them well – it is very complicated.
However, I can also say with authority that these same MK pilots enter a different world when they leave MK for a more professional outfit. Almost to a man, they admit that they didn’t know what they didn’t know. The complexities of the industry, the true professionalism of an outfit that acknowledges that the pilots are only the final defence against disaster, are often a cold shower of reality. The learning curve is steep. Ultimately they settle down to be very well rounded professionals.
And yes they do often come from disciplined backgrounds like the airforce, but let us not forget that 2 of MK’s hull loses were commanded by the same airforce pilot. Again there is more to modern commercial aviation than a very capable pair of hands and discipline.
I too understand the pressure. I openly admit that I have blatantly broken the rules at the behest of a country’s dictator. Either that or I lost my job - perhaps worse. I managed my personal risks but then I was younger and also did not know what I did not know. A responsible hierarchy would never have placed me there. When the authorities don’t understand the risks, the outcome is variable. And eventually tragic.
For management there is a balance. They are responsible for watching for the warning signs and taking them seriously. They are responsible for putting up the sensors that detect these signs. They are responsible for putting in place a system that catches most errors before the crews are forced to initiate a recovery. I hope all managements, however good, take this accident as a poignant refresher.
So too must the management turn a profit. After all that keeps us all in a job. We all work hard to get the job done. However modern cargo ops are not the desperate plight of the Berlin Airlift. It’s all about money. I personally cannot condone an operation, however dynamic, that might well result in incinerated houses, mass funerals and children with their faces burnt off. You get the picture.
I admire the entrepreneur. To carve a niche is this business is no small feat. But best he know his business. Every aspect of it – including safety.