Should we take the spotlight off Malaysia Airlines because of MH17?
We may have to withdraw our patronage of Malaysia Airlines. We may have to dispose of it or we may have to take drastic measures to fix it; or we will have to hold our tongues as it bleeds our tax dollars.
Rama Ramanathan
To-date I’ve written eight essays about MH370. I viewed MH370 through the technical, managerial and political lenses I’ve used in three decades of employment as a technical and managerial professional.
My goal in writing is to understand, diagnose, reveal, challenge, engage and encourage. MH 370 was no different. Here’s a quick review of what I said in my MH370 essays.
No activity is risk-free. Despite our best efforts, bad things can happen. In MH370 and the Risks of Flying, I said “I wrote my will soon after I became a corporate quality leader”. I said “Those of us who have specialist knowledge know that inspection is not fool-proof.”
The real world is not the TV world. In MH370: Programmed by Slick Productions, I said TV and movies have led us to think “mankind is now omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent: all-knowing, present-everywhere, all-powerful.” I said “we need to curb our impatience.” I was criticized for being soft on Malaysia Airlines and on the government which runs it.
Disagreement between professionals is normal. I wrote MH370: Should Airlines Ban Licensed Pilots from Using DIY Simulators? out of my experience as a CEO-appointed, protected-by-law, authorized person who could and has refused approval for equipment and people. The essay drew flack from many in the airline industry. But I stand my ground. I believe automation can be excessive; and I am not comfortable with licensed pilots using uncontrolled simulators. I said “I wonder what the MH370 investigation final report will have to say about the use of DIY simulators by licensed pilots.”
Politicians routinely hide embarrassing information. In MH370:Reveal Why the Air Force Radar Information was not Initially Believed I wrote as one who has led and gagged many Crisis Management Teams. I asked and answered the questions: “Why do CMTs limit access to data and information? Why do we not release all the data we have? Why do we open ourselves to accusations of “the CMT is not transparent”?” But I sensed the Home Minister was hampering the work of the CMT. So, “since MH370 CMT members are still gagged,” I spoke for the CMT.
We need honest reports AND effective actions. In MH370: Air crew, the Titanic and the Auditor General’s report I spoke for all who work for MAS (since their contracts of employment limit what they can say in public). I asked “If I’m a crew member on an airplane which is illegally diverted, whom do I think is looking out for me on the ground? Whom do I think will look for me? When do I think they will begin looking for me? What do I expect them to use to look for me? Which airline and civil aviation standard practices and procedures give me such confidence?”
Presumption of goodness is not enough. In MH370: Should the captain and co-pilot of MH370 be investigated? I showed that international investigation procedures require even personal data – such as medicines they were taking – about pilots and co-pilots to be reviewed and reported. My purpose was to allay fears (which are natural in countries like Malaysia where government leaders are more interested in retaining power than in being accountable), that the Captain would be ‘fixed.’
Political opportunism. In MH370: CaptainHishammuddin’s media make-over I applied to the Home/Defence Minister what I have learned about why people want to speak for CMT’s; and the rules often used for determining who should speak. I said “Hishammuddin shouldn’t be Captain because being in the Captain’s seat opens the MH370 investigation to allegations that it is politically tainted. Malaysia Airlines, owned and operated by the government, is bleeding money. The pressure to ‘recover’ business morphs into pressure to blame those who are least able to defend themselves. A Captain with a history of brutally repressing dissent is definitely undesirable.”
China is different. In MH370: Hishammuddin is right, China is different I applied my personal experience of handling crises in China and I shared selected stories from China to make my point. I told of unruly Chinese passengers, the protest culture in China, Chinese citizens’ expectation of comprehensive, public reports (Wenzhou train crash; Sanlu milk), effective enforcement (P&G’s SKII; Evian water). I counselled our Keris-waving, Chinese-baiting Home Minister to recognize “China is different. That doesn’t mean the Chinese have unreasonable expectations.”
So, that was MH370. I wrote because I felt I had some professional lenses and experience through which to view the MH370 incident and offer some insights which could help the public.
In the case of MH17, I’ve been silent till now. I’ve been silent because technically and in terms of domestic politics MH17 is much simpler. Simply put, the plane which was shot down could easily have belonged to another airline, e.g. Singapore Airlines.
