Just culture!

It’s no secret that small mistakes and inaccurate behavior can lead to incidents, accidents and even worse,…. fatal accidents.”
So I start the new year of 2014 with a link to a youtube video, from a  by now famous professor, who did pioneering work in Human Factors and SAFETY.
He also is a best selling author on human factors and safety ” Field Guide to understanding human error” and a pilot.
He, Sydney Dekker,  gave a lecture in Amsterdam only recent on December 18 and  I know him from years ago as a young pilot flying gliders with my son Dennis.
As far as I know he now lives in Brisbane.

The title from the lecture in Amsterdam was ” Safety, Bureaucracy or ethics? ”
Guests listened to recent developments in safety , not only in aviation but also  in petrochemicals, construction and health care.

Nowadays incidents during flying/soaring should be mentioned to the club.[ Safety Management System] And what are they doing after a report, punish or not.????
There is a very interesting  link to YouTube [ 3 min. 42 min.] where you can listen what Sydney had to say about “JUST CULTURE.”It’s a small part of a full lecture!
It’s a couple of years old but still very much temporary.

Sometimes I wonder if Sydney started this study after an incident with gliding here in Holland in 1987.I told you the story before, but for those who missed it, here is it again.

On a day, at the airfield of the Gelderse Gliding Club,  North from Arnhem, a few young guy’s were flying. My son Dennis was on the winch, Sydney on the cable , I think in the KA 8, to go for a flight.
But Sydney , high up, could not release the cable….the handle did not move.Dennis noticed that something was wrong and with the ax , he cut the cable. Sydney flew his pattern to land but took the cable with him over the power lines, where it dropped. Result; Part of Arnheim and Apeldoorn , 2 big cities, in the Eastern part of Holland, had no power!!!
Sydney landed safely , hand full of blood of trying hard to release.

Both were 16 years old and though hospitals and plants had to work on aggregates, Dennis was honored for his brave behavior.

Talking about human factors!
Only half a year later Dennis died after an accident with the tug, he just hit a power line; missed out on only 2 cm. as we could see on the mark on one of the tires.
On a sunny afternoon he was on his way to pick up a pilot who flew his first 50 k.to Jerilderie.
Dennis knew all powerlines, had the best eyes,  but maybe he was distracted by an unusual situation. He took in the back of the Scout a young KLM co-co-piloot who had just arrived in Tocumwal.
Just to show him the area from above. Very kind! But it finished in a tragic way.
The co-co was saved by a guy on the motor passing by and rescuing him. When he tried to save Dennis,… the Scout was in fire.
Last Friday , by the way, at 5 PM it was 26 years ago.

A few years later Sydney arrived at , at that stage, ” our ”  airfield in Tocumwal and I took him to the cemetery to see Dennis.
He specially came to ” see”  him and was still grateful!

A bit of a heavy story so in the beginning of this year 2014.Just to let you know how important safety is at ALL times. When you start, when you fly and also when you land and are tired after a long flight!
Pilots make so many fantastic and happy flights that sometimes,  we just have to remember them, only for a moment, that sometimes a small “thing”  can lead to disaster.
As you know I still love the soaring world, even when I lost more friends through it then due to other reasons.

For that reason I wish you again a HAPPY, HEALTHY and above all SAFE 2014.

Ritz
For all my other news,  published last Wednesday,  you can go to www.soaring.eu

Dennis op Malden

 

Dennis 5th to the left standing [blue pullover, white trousers] at Malden at one of his first comps.
Picture received from Frouwke.