The Role of the Crew on Board - Sioux City - Essay Example

?Critically Examine the Role of the Crew on Board and Explain Situations That Needed More Attention And That Could Have Been Addressed within the Given Constraints Captain Haynes together with his crew was involved in plotting a route in the air of the Sioux City municipal airport where the plane was crash-landed after its hydraulic malfunctioned. All the crew in the cabin and the cockpit co-operated excellently, even though there was no much time to coordinate or communicate to them. Most encouraging was that the senior flight attendant, Janice T. Brown, offered a lot of assistance, which was very worthy considering her expansive experience. When the pilot alerted her to the flight deck for the first time, she was very quick to recognize that there was an emergency – she immediately embarked on emergency response activities including preparation of the passengers for a crash-landing. After realizing there was an emergency, the crew was very quick to acknowledge that much communication was not necessary since this could have disrupted high level co-operation, which was highly needed at that moment (Boehm-Davis, Holt, & Seamster, 2001). The crew members were also very good at communication – one of the biggest factors that contributed to a large number of survivors. The crew in the cockpit was very skillful in communicating with the Sioux City approach control & control tower and the air traffic control in the Minneapolis Centre. Once it was realized that the aircraft was heading for a serious danger, the crew within the cockpit built up. For example, Dudley Dvorak rushed to the radio and spent all the time talking with the aircraft’s SAM facility, which was comprised of a group of experts. The level of cooperation and expertise that the crew exercised in such an incident, which they had never practiced in their lives before, was particularly laudable. The crew called for advance emergency services, something that worked very well because by the time the aircraft land-crashed, all the emergency service providers including firefighters, and hospitals were already prepared (Boehm-Davis, Holt, & Seamster, 2001). Describe at Least Three Factors That Affected the Resolution of the Problem Luck Although being involved in such a flick accident can be understood to be a bad lack, the fact that two thirds of the passengers and crew onboard survived is a good luck. For example, the fact that the crew was able to get the aircraft to Sioux City with a failed engine was nothing but a sheer luck. When they touched on the ground, the aircraft had no steering, no brakes and no nose wheel or tail. The elevators, too, were out of control. Running a plane without all these parts and having some survivors following the crash-landing were a tremendous piece of luck. Another piece of luck was the fact that the plane experienced mechanical problems when it went over the relative flatlands over Iowa. This means that even if they had missed the airport, they could have probably landed on some fair level ground and still manage to get some survival. The weather was also an amazing piece of luck. It could have been extremely hard to fly the F-15 under any kind of turbulence, but fortunately, during the time of the crash the skies were clear and the visibility was excellent. Lastly, the fact that this fateful disaster occurred during the daytime was an amazing luck because the crew was able to control the aircraft well considering that they could observe the ground properly. Preparation Preparation was extremely important for such a disaster. The emergency response crews in Sioux City had a disaster response simulation every three years, which prepared them for any disaster. For example, during 1987, the organizers pretended that an aircraft that did not serve the city had crashed on its runway. After running the drill, areas of improvements were detected and changes made accordingly. Ideally, the preparation by Sioux Gateway Airport laid down a plan, which was very helpful for the crew of Flight 232. The repeated training that was conducted every year prepared the disaster response team how to notify the passengers to get ready for a disaster landing. In essence, the team was able to do what it did because it had previously had some practice (McKinney et al., 2005). Communication Communication was one of the biggest factors towards the success of this rescue operation. The crew in the cockpit started off the communication that was very skillful in alerting the Sioux City approach control and control tower and the traffic control in the Minneapolis Center. As the aircraft’s situation became more dangerous, the communication within the cockpit was increasing accordingly. When the aircraft crews run out of ideas, the crew on the ground was very quick in getting on the radio to offer their advice through a SAM facility, which was comprised of a group of experts. The communication that was coordinated through SAM was very important as it helped the Chicago Dispatch Center to locate them and what they intended to do. Also, through SAM, their personnel in the Chicago Flight Center were able to follow up what was going on, and hence they dispatched their personnel to Sioux City and sent others in hospitals just on time (McKinney et al., 2005). What Is the Main Goal of the Character You Are Analyzing? Support Your Response Al Haynes, Captain Captain Al Haynes was supposed to help Bill in shutting down the engine, a task that was extremely difficult. Although he was not sure of what to do, he was quick to take control whenever they tried something which failed to work. In summary, the role of Al Haynes was to try all the means to get the people from point A to point B safely (McKinney et al., 2005). Jan Brown-Lohr, Senior Flight Attendant Jan Brown was a flight attendant who was actively involved in comforting the emotions of the frightened passengers so they do not become so terrified at the expense of taking safety measures. Just before the plane hurled across the Sioux City runway, she advised the parents how to protect their small children to increase their survival rate. She was also in charge of explaining the emergency procedures to the passengers. In summary, her goal was to encourage the passengers to undertake safety measures to increase their survival rate. How Effective or Ineffective Was the Individual in His / Her Attempt to Meet the Goals? Why? Al Haynes, Captain When it was learned that all the plane’s hydraulics had failed, Al Haynes attempted to think of what should be done to keep the plane on air, and in fact he was successful after experimenting several things, together with his team. In the process, Al Haynes together with his team established that alternating the thrust could help to control the altitude and manipulation of throttles could prevent the aircraft from rolling over, which again they tried and they were somewhat successful. When things got out of hand and a pilot called Denny Fitch offered to help by taking control over the throttle, Bill and Al Haynes had to fly by the control wheels, despite doubting whether this was doing any good. When Denny was controlling the throttle, Al Haynes and Bill were guiding him closely, hence managing to crash-land the plane at an amazingly high survival rate (Davis, Driskell, & Salas, 1991). Jan Brown-Lohr, Senior Flight Attendant Jan Brown was doing a very challenging job, which she could not have succeeded in if it were not for her courage and commitment. Despite the panic mood that each passenger was undergoing, she managed to explain the safety procedures to them, especially concerning how they should protect their children. Those who followed her advice had themselves or their children survive. What Specific Personal Negotiation and Leadership Skills Did He or She Demonstrate Throughout the Crisis? Al Haynes, Captain One of the most outstanding traits of Al Haynes that helped him achieved his goals was his ability to work cohesively in a team. Despite the confusion and panic expected in such a situation, Al Haynes remained cool and cooperated well with his copilot, the ground crew and anybody else that was involved in the procedure. Al Haynes was also very patient – no wonder he did not give up on trying different options even after learning that he aircraft had lost all its hydraulics. Jan Brown-Lohr, Senior Flight Attendant Senior Flight Attendant Jan Brown-Lohr was amazingly an audacious and caring lady, and that is why she managed to explain the emergency procedures to frightened mothers, without being weighed down by the fact that she was also going to be involved in the disaster. Her caring heart was also witnessed when she tried to prevent a mother from going back to get her son who perished in the burning aircraft (Davis, Driskell, & Salas, 1991). How Well Does the Individual Know Himself or Herself, and How Effectively or Ineffectively Did He or She Adapt to the Circumstances and Personalities Involved on Board Flight 232? Captain Al Haynes was persuaded that his role during such a situation was to seek all means to ensure that he saved the lives of the crew and the passengers. Having acknowledged his role, Haynes could not leave any stones unturned – he exhausted all the ideas he had and listened to the advice from who offered to help. Although it had dawned on everybody that he plane was headed for a deadly disaster, he did not lose his composure but rather adapted to the situation and continued to try very other options. Senior Flight Attendant Jan Brown-Lohr knew that her role was to help the passengers and their children survive the disaster, and she remained steadfast to achieving her goals. Even the high level of panic did not deter her from helping the passenger to prepare for an emergency. She adapted very fast to the frantic situation of an imminent disaster and hence she was able to discharge her duties comfortably (Davis, Driskell, & Salas, 1991). References Boehm-Davis, D., Holt, R., & Seamster T. (2001). Airline resource management programs. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Davis, R., Driskell, J. E., & Salas, R. (1991). Group decision making under stress. Journal of Applied Psychology, 76, 473-478. McKinney, E. H., Jr, Barker, J. R., Davis, K. J., & Smith, D. (2005). How swift starting action teams get off the ground: What united flight 232 and airline flight crews can tell us about team communication. Management Communication Quarterly (McQ), 19(2), 198-237. Appendices Al Haynes, Captain Title: Captain Work type: motivational speaker Position: Retired DC-10 captain Education: graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School (Dallas, Texas) in 1948, and then attended Texas A&M University, Training: Subsequently he entered Navy flight training and was commissioned Marine Corps aviator. In 1956 Haynes completed his military service and joined United Airlines, eventually climbing up the airline's pilots' ranks until he became a captain. Personality: humorous, enthusiastic, Jan Brown-Lohr, Senior flight attendant, Title: Captain Work type: cabin crew Position: Senior flight attendant, Education: aviation, flight attendant, emergency response Training: flight attendant Personality: caring, courageous Read More