MH17 Shot Down...

Taking Aviation Security to a New Level...

Hundreds of emails (and one text) have come through asking me my take on MH17. My take is I'm heartbroken, and pushed back ten paces.

In the post, If I had One Wish for Aviation... I told the world that I planned to make sure another accident would never happen again. But as I observe our changing industry with technology moving full speed forward, combined with human performance,  proficiencies (or lack of), and abilities, in this ever changing world,  I'm beginning to wonder if my wish was an unrealistic dream.

There will always be accidents when technology changes. Looking back at the aviation industry, any time technology introduced a major change accidents occurred. Then we adapted and learned how to deal with the new world. 

With Next Gen building force, and sitting on the horizon, a huge change is about to come again, and with it more challenges. Human factors in our engineering world look at the probability of what might happen first, then they look at the improbable. I have yet to see an airline deal with the improbable in training. They don't take the time or spend the money.

How can we deal with the unexpected if we don't have qualitative data to prove why we must spend the added dollars? Could being proactive mean not flying through war zones? I'm not sure if anyone would drive through a known gang area while a turf war was is process. Why would any airline fly over an area when a war is underway? 

They obviously did not believe in the improbability of being shot down. Besides it's much cheaper to fly direct rather than a circuitous route for safety. Many airlines detoured. Why not Malaysia?

Money will always trump anything. 

This incident hits a new level of emotion for me, as this shooting was the epitome of taking control out of our hands. We think we have control over safety, but do we?  We think we can make a difference, but can we? We do our best, and yet there will be people that will make gross negligent errors, act stupidly, and have complete disregard for human life. 

I have to ask, is this any different than TWA800? Frightening (or ironic) that these two events happened on the same day 18 years apart. Many think the center fuel tank blew up on TWA800, but I tend to believe otherwise. We may never know, but we do know that the results were the same. Friends and family members are dead. Just as the results of MH17, loved ones are gone.

Where do we go from here?

We wake up and breath. We eat, exercise and go through our daily functions. We find something to smile about. We find gratitude for what we have. We adopt the attitude that we can create change for the positive and despite the chaos of the world. We will not adopt an attitude of hatred. Bad things are going to happen in life. They are not acceptable. But if we allow those events change who we are, we have allowed someone else to control our lives. 

I believe we should live in honor of those we lost. Do our best to prevent tragedy in the future. My mission to press forward is still intact, despite the naivete. If I make a dent and stop one event, then I do believe my life was a success. Together we can make a difference.

This weekend I celebrated a grandson's third birthday. We went to Planes Fire and Rescue. One of the lines spoken was this, "You can give up now. But you will never know how many lives you could have saved." So often we ask...

What's the point?

The first time I posed this question I was five years old. I was in the back seat of my mother's car. I couldn't figure out how she knew which way to drive. Those signs meant nothing. My great grandfather had just died. I had no idea what death meant. But I remember vividly wondering why I had to go to kindergarten to learn how to cut and paste when I was going to die anyway. 

These thoughts pass by often. I wonder why I'm doing all I do. I wonder why any of us do what we do. What's the point? 

 

The point is... this is your life. You can choose to live with joy and happiness, or chose to live hating the world in fear. The choice is really yours. It's mine, too.

How do I feel about MH17? The same way I feel about TWA800, and MH370, the many school shootings, my neighbor having a stroke, and my friend losing her mother, and another losing her husband... it sucks! 

 

All we can do is go on. Enjoy the moments we have. We never know how long they will last. But if you're reading this, you have today. Make a difference in your world and find the good.

Enjoy the Journey...