Ethics are simple, they are a driving set of principles a person bases their behavior and decisions upon. This sense of obligation to a moral duty applies in every walk of life, but it is the foundation of all operations in aviation. Every time the wheels go up on an airplane as it lifts off the ground, there is no guarantee of a safe return to the ground. Unless countless people have done their job right. Therefore, ethics and morals are the bedrock of the aviation profession.

            To me ethics and the word duty are almost synonymous. If I step into the cockpit to fly it is my duty to anyone on board, their families, and my own to make the right choices and not accept shortcuts. I expect the same of all the professionals involved, from the maintenance crew that works tireless hours in the sweltering hangar without air conditioning, to the controller working a long week managing hundreds of different flights. If anyone tries to take the easy way out it can mean dire consequences. It is probably not apparent to most, but from the beginning of any shift until the debrief we are often faced with a barrage of ethical decisions (Elizabeth A. Hoppe, 2018).

Left Engine Fire Flight 1400 (Credit NTSB)

            American Airlines Flight 1400 is an example of when shortcuts are allowed. After a failed engine start, a manual start was required with assistance from maintenance personnel. Shortly after takeoff the manually started engine began to give indications of problem and soon began to catch on fire. Thankfully the flight resulted in no casualties due to the quick actions of the crew. But after post-accident review it was found the mechanic involved in the manual start procedure, deviated from the approved checklist for such action. His reasons were that the approved procedure took too long and required a specialized tool that was not in the standard kit. This deference to the easy or quick answer, directly lead to this incident. (National Transportation & Safety Board, 2007)

For these reasons I urge anyone interested in pursuing a career in the aviation field to also find whatever motivation that speaks to them that enables a deep sense of duty that drives through the long tiring days to accept nothing but the right answer.

 

References

NTSB. (2007, September). In‐Flight Left Engine Fire American Airlines Flight 1400 McDonnell Douglas DC‐9‐82. https://libraryonline.erau.edu/online-full-text/ntsb/aircraft-accident-reports/AAR09-03.pdf

Hoppe, E. A. (Ed.). (2018). Ethical issues in aviation. ProQuest Ebook Central https://ebookcentral.proquest.com