Trust at 37,000 Feet

Trust is a positive catalyst. It activates, accelerates and sustains the development of strong relationships and productive results. Like a chemical catalyst, trust will remain in the mix as long as it is not disrupted by elements such as broken promises or gross negligence. These things can inhibit, derail or destroy trust.

 One week ago, 144 travelers on Flight 188 put their collective trust in Northwest Airlines, a network of air traffic controllers, a crew of five, and an Airbus A320. As far as I can tell, Northwest Airlines and the air traffic controllers did everything they were expected to do. Three of the five crew members appeared to carry out their roles satisfactorily. The Airbus A320, perhaps the only hero in the story, performed flawlessly, operating just as it was designed.

The crew and all of the souls on board (as people are referred to on airplanes and ships) arrived in Minneapolis safety, albeit 74 minutes late. It is fair to say that most, if not all, of the passengers deplaned without knowing what had transpired in the cockpit between the captain, Timothy Cheney, and the first officer, Richard Cole.

For 91 minutes, the pilots were completely out of communication with air traffic controllers and airline dispatchers and wound up overshooting their landing destination by 150 miles. In other words, they went 300 miles out of their way. This was all the result of human error. To say that the pilots were distracted is not completely accurate. It is more accurate to say that they were selectively attentive to something other than flying the airplane.

This is not to debate whether it is best to trust man or machines. Both have their pluses and minuses. Both can serve us admirably and fail us miserably. It is best when humans and technology are integrated and work to support each other. In the case of Flight 188, the pilots and the aircraft were supported by plenty of backup systems. The pilots had people tracking them from the ground, aided by technology. The aircraft they were flying (sort of) was equipped with the capability to operate, monitor and adjust the flight controls.

With regard to trust, the pilots made the decision to place their trust in the safety features and redundant systems designed into the aircraft. The trust the pilots had in the aircraft probably came from experience. Pilots of sophisticated aircraft like the Airbus A320 are used to turning over the controls to the onboard computer systems. It was not that the pilots of Flight 188 distrusted the people on the ground, but they definitely discounted or ignored their relevance. Ironically, it was a flight attendant and numerous air safety personnel who helped prevent a tragic ending to this story.

There are many things we can learn from Flight 188, and no doubt many more insights will surface as all the details unfold. Here are a few leadership lessons that may not come out of the various investigations that are currently underway:

•  Concentration and focus are very helpful skills in a noisy, complex and never unplugged world, but they need to be used prudently. Sometimes we need to monitor all input channels when important things are at stake, like peoples’ lives. The pilots thought they were cutting out distractions by filtering out “ground noise” when what they were really doing was neglecting their primary responsibility – i.e., the safe transport of the passengers.

•  Smart people design smart technology to keep us safe, improve our accuracy, assist our decision making, and boost our productivity. We need to be sure to use smart technology smartly, not blindly.

•  We need to evaluate what “productive time” means. The pilots were using what they perceived as “down time” to review a computer-based scheduling system on their laptops while another computer was flying the plane. There was a lot of efficiency demonstrated here but very little situational awareness or personal responsibility.

•  Placing our trust in human beings can lead to disappointment at times, but it can also save us from getting shot down when our backs are turned. The pilots of Flight 188 barely avoided being intercepted by US Air Force fighter planes. It was only the patience and discretion of some “grounded” humans who keep this from happening.

•  Trust is a fragile thing, especially at 37,000 feet.

For me, it serves no useful purpose to comment on what should happen to the pilots of Flight 188 or to speculate about their future. I choose to give them the benefit of the doubt and believe that they are skilled pilots and decent human beings, but they allowed themselves to get complacent, and this complacency turned into gross negligence. Sometimes our own confidence and experience can do that to us – our brains and hearts can go on autopilot. Don’t get me wrong. What the pilots did was dangerous and negligent. I just like to leave room for forgiveness. Given a second chance, they would probably never make a similar error in judgment or behavior. But, my guess is that the pilots will never fly again. The consequences of broken trust at 37,000 feet can be harsh.