[1610] in Privacy_Forum
[ PRIVACY Forum ] Why the "foul mouthed" pilot deserves more than a
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (privacy@vortex.com)
Thu Jun 23 01:18:55 2011
Date: Wed, 22 Jun 2011 21:18:09 -0700
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Why the "foul mouthed" pilot deserves more than a slap on the wrist
http://j.mp/mMMNxM (This message on Google Buzz)
- - -
A few people have been asking me why I feel that the "foul mouthed"
pilot mentioned earlier today, who accidentally transmitted an almost
three minute homophobic/misogynistic rant on an air traffic control
channel, deserved more punishment than a short suspension.
http://j.mp/mqtSMN (Gawker / WARNING: Language!)
We can leave aside the fact he jammed the ATC frequency during that
time. Obviously he didn't intend to do that.
But to those persons who argue that it was meant to be a private
conversation, that we should show more tolerance ...
Perhaps you're unfamiliar with the formal concepts of airline and crew
discipline and safety, but one of the key concepts is having respect
for your crew members. It's not a matter of niceness, or morality,
it's a matter of ability to work together with mutual respect --
critical in emergencies.
This pilot made it clear, explicitly and obscenely (the latter isn't a
big issue for me except for the weight it gives to the former) that he
did not have respect for his crews, in fact he held them in extreme
contempt.
If the pilot had been ranting about his wife, or girlfriend, or almost
anything else, it wouldn't invoke safety-related issues. But saying
such things about your crew is an entirely different matter, whether
they hear you or not.
This isn't to say that various other pilots may not feel the same way.
But that's not the point -- we now *know* how this guy felt. And we
know what such attitudes can mean in terms of flight safety.
But perhaps the most telling statement was made on that same ATC
recording, apparently by another pilot who was listening on the same
frequency and perhaps felt chagrined by the incident:
"They wonder why airline pilots have a bad reputation."
--Lauren--
Lauren Weinstein (lauren@vortex.com): http://www.vortex.com/lauren
Co-Founder: People For Internet Responsibility: http://www.pfir.org
Founder:
- Network Neutrality Squad: http://www.nnsquad.org
- Global Coalition for Transparent Internet Performance: http://www.gctip.org
- PRIVACY Forum: http://www.vortex.com
Member: ACM Committee on Computers and Public Policy
Blog: http://lauren.vortex.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurenweinstein
Google Buzz: http://j.mp/laurenbuzz
Tel: +1 (818) 225-2800 / Skype: vortex.com
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