Duty of care

There is always a conflict between legal and prudent and aviation doesn’t have that market cornered. We may legally be permitted to drive on the freeway at 110km/h, but if it is a dark night blanketed in fog, is that prudent? For better or worse, this is where the human element can contribute. There is much to be said about the human factor and the weakness thereof in aviation, yet in certain spheres the human element can provide the safety buffer. Whether it is a weakness or a strength may come down to the culture of a company and the individual. An aircraft maybe legally serviceable, but whether it is truly suitable to operate on the designated route under the designated conditions may be a totally different matter. In these instances, the written word may even be misleading. Although written with good intention, the boundaries of any rule set cannot seamlessly cover every scenario.

At these times, the pilot must apply experience and a different perspective to the equation. On occasions, such decisions may seemingly be at odds with commercial requirements, but this is only a perception. In all honesty, an unsafe outcome never provides a commercial advantage. Herein lies the duty of care. When making such assessments and decisions, flight crew must always remember that their duty of care and safety is the prime objective.

When things such as on-time departures do not go to plan, there will be those offering alternatives, however, in the majority of cases these people do not have operational experience beyond their specific role. They may be well intentioned, but their objectives and priorities may be different. Furthermore, they may not see their lone decision or action as it plays into the greater scheme, whereas pilots are trained in James Reason’s Swiss cheese model and that outcomes are the result of multiple factors. They are trained in human factors, CRM and even basic psychology and they are trained in decision-making. In turn, experience provides the skill to reinforce such decisions at the appropriate time with appropriate assertion. This is something that is not always easily achieved.

Other stakeholders may honestly believe that their objectives are more important, but pilots prioritise many times each day as a matter of course. They need to gather all of the relevant information and then assess it in terms of duty of care and safety. One of the major complications of duty of care is perceived time pressures. Schedule is not a priority. At almost every turn time pressure is a potential enemy, encouraging short-cuts which may seem harmless on the surface. Schedule is also often the priority of those other stakeholders. For pilots the first priority is the safe delivery of their passengers and a distant second is when that takes place. It reflects the standard of commercial aviation in this country that the difference between safe delivery and timely delivery is often only measured in minutes. Yet for those without the bigger picture, those minutes sometimes seem like days. And when those perceived days become hours or even actual days, the drama is heightened to headline status.

Pilots are human, they can feel those pressures too. However, they cannot allow a deadline to enter the process in a position of influence. Maintaining focus in these situations can be the days when flight crew often truly earn their money. Yes, flying and instrument approach to the minimum in bad weather is one of those days too and such instances of far more recognisable. However, less obvious are those tough decisions that need to be made on the ground before flight even takes place. The decision to delay a flight, ground an aircraft or even cancel a service is never taken lightly – never. Flight crew are company executives at the sharp end and they also are aware of commercial realities, but for them it must always come back to safety and duty of care in the end.

It must also be remembered that circumstances and therefore decisions can change. Just as the weather can change at any given destination, factors influencing decisions can pivot. At these times, there is a need to reassess options and consider alternate plans of action. Yet, as with any decision, there must be a constant awareness of the knock-on effect of any such change. Does the modified timeframe introduce new weather variables? Is a replacement aircraft suitable for the planned operation, or does the time deciding this start to impact the crew in terms of fatigue? The fundamental logistics may fit together, but the flight crew are ultimately responsible for the jigsaw puzzle sitting on a table that won’t collapse.

Passengers may be frustrated when their expectations are not met – that is human nature. However, there are very few passengers that would want to board a flight that has any degree of uncertainty in matters of safety. Accordingly, despite the anguish, despite the rushing of others and despite the soft options, pilots must always exercise their duty of care for their crew and passengers. At times, there will be resistance and even criticism from coffee-room quarterbacks, but that is just part of the job. Safety and duty of care aren’t sales pitches for pilots, they are the bedrock of the decision-making process.