Jumpseat: A Failure to Communicate

Les Abend

Wednesday, August 06, 2014 at 06:59 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

The article recounts two distinct incidents where communication breakdowns between a pilot and flight attendants led to significant misunderstandings and escalated situations.
In both cases, flight attendants' heightened perceptions of problems—a maintenance issue and a passenger's minor health concern—diverged significantly from the objective reality, causing tension and misjudgments.
The captain's experiences highlight the critical importance of effective communication, the need to distinguish personal perceptions from reality, and the value of direct interaction to accurately assess and resolve issues.
Ultimately, the author reflects on these incidents as ongoing lessons in improving leadership and communication skills within the high-pressure environment of aviation.

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From my peripheral vision, I caught a glimpse of our flight engineer using his thumb repeatedly to push on an amber press-to-test light. I turned in my seat and looked directly at the engineer panel, taking note of the area causing concern. The area was the hydraulic system. One of the B-pumps appeared to be inoperative. That was a no-go item on the 727. And we were in Santo Domingo — not a major maintenance base. Great.

My copilot informed operations of our plight via the radio. I unbuckled from my seat and wandered outside onto the ramp. A mechanic had already opened the hydraulic access panel on the underside of the fuselage. After a brief conversation, he confirmed that indeed the B-pump had failed. Miraculously, a replacement was available, but it would be at least an hour before the task was completed.