WHAT AILS INDIAN CIVIL AVIATION? (Part 2)

On 20 March 2015, while FAA was in the process of re-evaluating India's safety rating, I had written a post on this same subject (WHAT AILS INDIAN CIVIL AVIATION?). FAA has subsequently considered it appropriate to upgrade India's rating to category 1. Now we have some disturbing news from India that only goes to support my view that India, at this time, does not deserve the Category 1 status! The news from India is as follows:

 

In my opinion, this incident in which the crew are being hailed as “Hero’s” for this “Amazing Feat”, and Indian DGCA’s lack of any reaction to it, represents everything that is wrong with Indian Civil Aviation. The arguments I have heard in the social media are as follows:

“Extreme circumstances require Extreme Solutions.... Better than an assured and painful death...”

“So you mean that under those conditions people should have been left to die... Please get real... No need to be an Academic in the situation that was...”

“Rules do not apply in toto for a Humanitarian Aid...”

“I believe that at the end of the day... 240 Thankful Souls and Human lives have been saved. Humanitarian consideration is supreme.”

“…calculated risks. Today's aviation is rule bound with no room for discretion. I am of the view that a bit of room needs to be given for discretion…”

Well, the answer to these arguments is that just like light is not absence of darkness, but presence of energy, safety is not absence of accidents, but presence of risk management. Principles of basic aviation risk management must be followed always and every time. To have an accident is not a crime but violation of standards is a crime!

“240 Thankful Souls and Human lives” were not saved in this flight, but lives of 240 unsuspecting innocent people were put to needless and avoidable risk! People who were desperate. People who had no option but to trust the professionalism and competence of the Indian Civil Aviation System to take them safe. People whose trust and faith has been betrayed by that very same system in the end!

My question is, if this flight had crashed, would we still be hailing this crew as “Hero’s” or would we be screaming “Pilot Error” and asking for the Pilot’s head to roll for overloading the aircraft? So, what message are we sending out there? The message I am getting is that it is Ok to violate as long as you do not have an accident! This is a very dangerous message, because once we set out on this path, there is no knowing who will violate what, when and to what extent! So, how many passengers more than the aircraft’s seating capacity are we willing to accept in a flight? In this case, the flight was loaded to 60 more than the seating capacity. So, if 60 is OK, is it also Ok to have 80 more? 180 more? 1,000 more? Where will we draw a line? Who will decide? On what basis will this decision be made?

The logic of putting lives of 240 people at risk to save 60 (who will also be included in this body count) escapes me! The basic mantra of Safety Risk Management cannot be overstated…while having an accident is not a crime; violation of standards is a crime…Always, and every time.

https://www.createspace.com/4583791

To understand the full implications of this incident, we need to go a bit deeper into how human minds work. I had also touched on this subject in the last chapter of my book “Waiting…To Happen!” and this will also be the prime subject matter of my next book that is, at this time, under production. However, to elaborate very briefly, humans are very adaptable. It is this trait of adaptability that has been one of the major factors in our survival as a race. A flip side of this adaptability is that we also adapt, very quickly, to risks in our environment and stop perceiving them as threats. An example can be found in driving a car. Initially, one may feel afraid to cross, say 40 Km/hr. speed. Nevertheless, one trip on the highway, driving at 60 or 80, and we stop seeing 40 as a risk any more. Then we quickly adapt to 60, 80, 120 or even more! In addition, humans are motivated by, among other factors, a “Need for Professional or Social recognition”. Seeing someone recognized/rewarded for an act motivates us to follow in that persons footsteps and do something similar. On the other hand, seeing someone punished or shunned for an action motivates us to avoid putting ourselves in the same situation. This is the basic theory on which “Carrot and Stick” policy works to modify human behavior and maintain discipline in an organization while also creating an “Organizational Culture”. 

Now, put these two concepts together. By recognizing the crews action (of overloading aircraft by 60 passengers more than the aircraft’s seating capacity) as an act of bravery, we are sending a message that it is more important to help someone than to follow correct procedures. The further message that goes across is that it is OK to violate safety standards and regulations to help someone. Now, a young and aspiring crew-member would latch on to this message very, very quickly. This will put them on a path where, in the end, there will be no control over who will violate what, when and to what extent! As long as they themselves feel justified, they would go ahead and violate…and while in this case the crew got away with the violation without an accident, the same will not be true every time or in every situation…and we will be left wondering, why did someone so well trained and experienced do something so stupid? The answer is simple. They did something so stupid because we set a precedence by recognizing and rewarding someone else’s violation instead of nipping the problem in the bud by strong action to send a message that INTENTIONAL violation of standards, and negligence, are never acceptable, whatever the circumstances! This is what is called an “Exceptional Violation” and in the chart below, an exceptional violation that amounts to negligence, is the ONLY violation that warrants a punishment.

So, PLEASE WAKE-UP INDIA! By praising this action and by not taking strong action to nip this in the bud, you are on a path whose end will only be in destruction and disaster!

Stay Safe,

The Erring Human.