The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has issued its report on its investigation into the Asiana Airlines flight 214 catastrophe — the Boeing 777 aircraft that crashed and burned on runway 28L at San Francisco International Airport almost exactly one year ago (July 6, 2013), killing three and injuring 187 of 307 people on board.
What does an NTSB report on an airline accident have to do with police officer safety? Here are five things to consider:
1.) Don’t over-rely on technology
2.) Practice your physical skills
3.) Guard against fatal fatigue
4.) Beware of task saturation
5.) Unused seatbelts are useless
Let’s briefly address each, examining the NTSB’s findings and apply them to police work.
1.) Technology
Chris Hart, the NTSB’s acting chairman, said that flight crew “over-relied on systems they did not understand and flew the aircraft too low and slow, colliding with a seawall at the end of the runway.” This caused the tail section to rip off, after which the airplane went spinning and skidding down the runway, ultimately bursting into flames.
High-tech systems can quickly become a hazard if you over-rely on them, and can be downright deadly if you’re insufficiently trained on them. As the dash boards of squad cars look increasingly like aircraft cockpits, it’s the responsibility of the agency to provide training on those new systems, and the responsibility of officers to enthusiastically embrace that training.
2.) Proficiency
Over-reliance on technology can — and, it seems, in this case, did — lead to a precipitous drop at least one of the pilot’s proficiency in basic flying skills.
NTSB Chief Investigator Bill English said that the pilot flying the approach — Lee Kang-Kuk, who was experienced in the Airbus A320 but just beginning his time at the helm of the Boeing 777 — suffered rusty hand-flying skills.
Deborah Hersman — the NTSB chairwoman at the time of the accident — said after the tragedy that technology is intended to help air crews, “but you can’t abdicate the responsibility for actually having good flying skills when you’re in the cockpit.”
“Pilot skills degrade if not practiced,” English said today.
Other physical skills which degrade if not regularly practiced include defensive tactics, arrest and control techniques, handcuffing, driving, shooting, and a host of others. Yes, training budgets are shrinking, but that makes it all that much more important to do what you can — even if for just ten minutes a day — to practice your physical skills.
3.) Fatigue
NTSB staff said that the Asiana flight crew “was likely experiencing fatigue” at the end of a “routine ten-and-a-half-hour flight from Seoul.” Asiana Airlines has admitted that the “pilots picked the wrong auto-pilot mode, which disengaged the throttle” according to ABC News. By the time the crew discovered the mistake, it was too late to execute a go-around.
Fatigue is an inherent danger in shift work. Rotating shifts — which messes up your sleep cycle — as well as taking on overtime can have a cumulative effect on your mental and physical abilities.
But fatigue can be dealt with — and even defeated — through eating a proper diet, taking regular breaks (in safe environments like the local fire station or back at the company), staying well hydrated, and simply getting out of the squad car every so often and walking around for a moment.
4.) Saturation
Combined with the first three factors above — over-reliance on technology, degraded physical capabilities, and pilot fatigue — we have the issues of confusion and task saturation.
Neither pilot was paying adequate attention to the most fundamental aspect of flight: airspeed. Both pilots were probably using all of their available concentration to figure out their glidepath situation, and as a result their airspeed went unchecked until it was too late.
Both of the pilots aboard Asiana 214 were highly experienced — just not in the roles and responsibilities they were playing that day. Lee Jung-Min — the instructor pilot sitting in the co-pilot’s seat beside Lee Kang-Kuk — was newly certified to train new Boeing 777 pilots. NTSB investigator Roger Cox said that Flight 214 was “Lee’s first with a trainee under his wing.”
All too often we see news of highly experienced police officers making what some would call a “rookie mistake.” The fact is, in rapidly-unfolding high-stress situations, even the most-seasoned cops can become overwhelmed. Be prepared for the physiological effects of stress, and do your best to work the problem.
5.) Seatbelts
Lastly, the NTSB said that the three teenage girls who were killed were not wearing seat belts and were ejected from the airplane. One survived being catapulted from the jet, but was subsequently run over by a responding fire vehicle.
The NTSB reported that had these passengers been wearing their seatbelts, it’s likely they would have lived.
“It’s so important to make sure you’re restrained every time,” former NTSB chairwoman Hersman said. “It’s so low-tech — a seat belt — but a huge life-saving measure.”
Unused seatbelts are utterly useless. Buckle up.
