EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK Hero or...?
BY JOY FINNEGAN EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
aviation in history. Aircraft are worked on, maintained, worked around and operated by humans. And we all know the saying, “To err is human…”
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On May 9, 2013, an R22 helicopter crashed in downtown Honolulu. Fortunately for all involved in this accident, no one was killed or even injured badly. By all accounts the pilot responded extremely well under the circumstances and was able to complete the forced landing due to a loss of power on a busy, downtown street. Both the pilot and a photographer on board were able to walk away. But make no mistake about it, it was a crash and could have ended very badly. The NTSB is investigating remotely and working with local authorities and the FAA to determine probable cause.
As I said, the accident is under investigation and the cause of the accident has yet to be officially announced. But in advance of that official determination a remarkable thing happened. According to a Hawaii News Now report, the owner of the company that maintains the helicopter for the operator, Mauna Loa Helicopters, came forward to take responsibility. Brant Swigart, owner of Hawaii Air Power Labs, “says he’s had the contract to work on Mauna Loa Helicopters for the past ten years, and he knows exactly why the pilot experienced engine failure Wednesday. According to him, a cable snapped. ‘This cable failed because of negligence, and it was my negligence that caused it,’ said Swigart,” according to the news report. The news report goes on to say, “Swigart says he needed to come forward and take accountability to be able to sleep at night.”
Although Swigart says he was not the last one to work on the
aircraft, or rig it, he feels responsible as the owner of the company. Several years ago a columnist in this magazine, a mechanic with years of experience, wrote a column he entitled “The Call.” I’m sure everyone reading can understand and relate to what call we are talking about. It’s the call that comes when an aircraft you have worked on crashes. It’s the stuff of nightmares. Some of you may have received such a call. Some of you have been fortunate enough not to. And let me state for the record, nowhere, in any other industry save perhaps the medical profession, have I ever seen a
ircraft accidents and incidents happen every day in our business. It is a fact of life in the aviation industry, even though we are living in one of the safest periods of
more responsible, serious, selfless group of workers, than those who care for aircraft. Especially those who sign their name to their work in a logbook that lives for the life of that aircraft. At this point, I’m not sure what to make of the turn of events that brings Swigart to the forefront. I’m writing to ask you for your opinion. What do you make of this gentleman’s proclamation? Is this where we, as an industry, should be headed? Did he do the right thing? Should we praise his forthrightness or caution him to quietly wait for the NTSB findings or a potential lawsuit to come about? Is this what just culture really means? We have written about just culture numerous times in this magazine as well. But to recap, just culture is a process for allocating responsibility for events whether caused by the system or by humans. Just culture addresses when disciplinary action should be taken and ultimately leads to better management of things that are within our control in our work environment. It encourages the creation of safe systems to be put in place as well as helping humans make safe choices. Just culture is a values-supported system of shared accountability. For more info on just culture, go to
www.justculture.org. So I ask you now, is this man a hero or a fool for stepping
forward, placing himself in the spotlight and taking responsibility for this accident? As owner, should he be the one to take responsibility for all the work done in his business?
I can only speak for myself and say that as editor-in-chief, when a mistake is made in the magazine, I take full responsibility. I do my best to fact check, proof read, edit and correct every error I find. But I, too, am human and do not always catch every error. I find solace in the fact that even the best newspapers in the world such as the Washington Post have a corrections section where they make right any error that may have made it into their publication. So even if an error is made and slips by our staff and makes it into print; even if I didn’t personally make the mistake, I take responsibility for it.
I’d like to open a dialogue about this and see where the majority falls. Please send a note with your thoughts about what occurred in Hawaii and how this business owner responded to it, to me at
jfinnegan@avmain-mag.com. And as I said in the opening paragraph, “To err is human…” and the rest of that famous statement fits right in with just culture, “To forgive is divine.” AM
4 Aviation Maintenance |
avm-mag.com | May 2013
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