Does that mean that we are doing everything right and that accidents are merely the product of a personality defect?
No, of course not. The Ransom model has it that we put a series of barriers in the way of the accident trajectory and that only when the holes in those barriers are aligned do we have an accident. One of those barriers is licensing. Licensing systems are designed (presumably) to deliver an optimum outcome - a competent pilot. Accordingly all the rules developed to deliver a licensed professional pilot must be designed to deliver this 'competent individual'. It therefore follows that the barrier (Swiss Cheese) called licensing is free of holes. We know different of course.
Similarly the barrier called 'Training' is designed to be compliant with the rules produced by the licensing authority. If fully compliant the schools delivering the training have every right to expect the result to be, once again, a 'competent individual'. Schools management MUST therefore focus on compliance in order to retain their approval to operate. The assumption therefore, once again, is that the 'Training' barrier (Swiss Cheese) has no holes in it. We know different here also.
I have a list of 'holes' that experience has allowed me to identify but I don't want to sound like a worn out record banging on about them. Maybe you other guys and gals out there can pitch in with your experience and tell us what 'holes' in both the Licensing and the Training Swiss Cheeses you have identified. Maybe between us we can identify a definitive list and use it to inform those that need this knowledge. A kind of bottom-up feedback.
G.
