Surviving a plane crash

I recently taught a firefighter safety program at the Utah Winter Fire School in St. George, Utah. To get there I flew Delta Airlines from Minneapolis to Salt Lake City and then SkyWest Airlines from Salt Lake City to St. George. I always scares me to fly on commuter planes. I know too much about airline safety and accidents. I know that many commuter pilots have far less experience on the flight deck than their seasoned counterparts who fly large commercial airplanes. I also know that lack of experience can lead to accidents (not necessarily on Sky West, but on commuter flights in general).

As we flew over the Dixie National Forest and Zion National Park, the landscape didn't change much - Lots of snow covered mountains, wilderness and frozen lakes. Once we crossed over the last plateau before St. George, the sun had just set and the lights of the city were in view. I could even see the airport off the port side (left side) if the plane. From the air, airports that land commercial airlines are not difficult to see. There is a large, rotating green and white beacon and there are strobe likes blinking in sequence to guide the pilot to the center of the runway.

There was no doubt in my mind that what I saw off the left was plane was the airport. Only problem is... we weren't turning left toward the airport, we were flying straight ahead. As I watched us lose altitude, I reasoned with myself that the pilot would, at some point, bank left and we would be on course to land at the airport. But that didn't happen. We kept going straight and we kept losing altitude.

Panic started to set in. Was I the only one that could see we were NOT landing at the AIRPORT? Should I depress my flight attendant call button and request she notify the pilots they we were landing in the wrong place? I held my composure, though I still contemplate if that was the right thing to do.

We were still several thousand feet above the city lights so, technically, there was still time for the pilots to turn the craft and land at the airport. Then... much to my startlement, we made contact with the ground. I about had a bowel movement right there in seat 3A. The pilots seemed to be in control of the plane. That is to say we were not tumbling tail over nose ala the United Airlines Flight 232 that landed in the corn field in Sioux City, Iowa in 1989.

It sure seemed plausible to me that we'd landed in a corn field. How could a small town like St. George, Utah have TWO airports? But, as I looked out the window, we did appear to be at an airport. There was a terminal and a jetway. I got off the plane and sent a text message to my host that I was ready for pick up.

When he arrived at the airport, the first thing he said was "I wasn't sure if I should pick you up at the old airport or the new airport." "New airport?" I inquired. "Yes" he replied. "It opened this morning. It was a big deal here. We even had the governor in town. Did you know we have a new airport?" the host asked. "I sure do and I even know where it's located."

There I stood... in the "old airport"... feeling stupid in my perspiration-soaked shirt... having survived the closest thing to a plane crash I had ever experienced.

Fire Chief (ret.) Richard B. Gasaway, PhD, EFO, CFO, MICP
http://www.richgasaway.com/

Hang up the phone and drive!

Just hang up the phone and drive! Yes, you live a busy life in a very busy world. You're rushing here and rushing there... Jimmy to baseball practice... Susie to gymnastics... and Joey to the scout meeting. There's dinner to cook, laundry to be done, the house to be cleaned, the yard to be mowed, the garage to be cleaned out, the vacation to plan and those phone calls that need to be made to coordinate the hundred other things you have straining your time. So you learn to multitask. There's only one problem. Multitasking while you are driving a vehicle is very dangerous... even if you think you're good at it.

There aren't many aspects of my life where I could say, with confidence, that I possess expert knowledge. However, if there is one field I feel I have studied extensively it's situation awareness and making decisions under stressful conditions. I've spoken on the topic a few times (even won an international research award) and written about it a few times. I even have written a book and made a video on the topic. Ok... I hope you're convinced I know a little about it.

The human brain is a wonderful creation. It has been estimated that an average person's brain has more capacity than any computer yet invented. Your brain, much like a computer, has two types of memory, the memory that stores the things you are currently working on. In a computer that's called RAM. In your brain that's called short-term or working memory. There is also a second memory for things you don't need to use right away so they're stored away for safe keeping. In a computer that location is called the hard drive. In your brain it's called your long-term memory.

Your short term memory has a limited capacity while your long term memory is much more expansive. The challenge comes when you are doing multiple things that require the use of your short term memory... like driving a car and talking on your cell phone. Back to the computer example. If you try to run two programs at the same time and their collective needs exceed the capacity of your computer's short term memory, you're going to see some undesirable things happen, like stuttering visuals or audios or the computer freezing up completely. You don't see this so much these days with modern computers that have multiple processors (two brains). But in the days of old when software was being developed faster than people were buying new computers to keep up with it, freezing and stuttering were common.

As you drive a car, your brain receives messages that are processed using the short term memory. There are visual cues like stop lights and other calls. There are sounds like your motor, other cars, and sirens. You physically feel things happening, like when the car speeds up or slows down or makes a turn. There are smells, like burning oil or overheated breaks. There is the sixth sense, intuition, that gives you certain feelings about things that may happen, like your ability to predict when someone is going to cut in front of you before they even start to and you just know it's going to happen. All of these things consume working memory.

As you talk on your telephone, your brain receives messages that are also processed using your short term memory. Your brain processes the things that are talked about and forms mental images of your conversations. You think about what is being said to you and what you are going to say in return. Your emotions are stirred by what is said. All of these things also consumes your working memory.

It doesn't take long for you to be overloaded or for your brain to give priority to the telephone conversation and your driving goes on 'autopilot.' The good thing about your brain is it remembers its lessons well and can draw on information quickly from the long-term memory when needed. Red light... brain tells you to stop... even if you're not consciously thinking about it. That's a good thing.

The problem is when you're talking on your phone you may not be capturing the cues and clues necessary for your brain to know 'automatically' what to do. Your brain cannot know, for example, the light is red if you're not looking in that direction.

The problem gets even worse in newer drivers because they have not developed their expertise at driving to those automatic responses that adults can develop with experience are missing. Even when they are paying attention, novice drivers are not as perceptive at capturing the subtle cues and clues. The things they are supposed to be looking for are not obvious and they don't know how to look seek that information yet. Or they may find it, but not know what it means.

I like to play a game with my teenager where I predict what other drivers are going to do before they even do it... a lane change... turning without a signal... a nose pick. It can be a fun game. My kids think my clairvoyant. I'm not... I'm just perceptive. I see things they don't. My intuition is well-developed and I can sense things that are going to happen. In Star Wars terms... I use the force.

Talking on your cell phone as you drive can be as dangerous as drinking while you drive. Both dull your senses in their own unique way. You've seen people driving like they're drunk... all over the road. And then you see they're not drunk, they're just talking on their cell phones.

Fortunately, most people know it's dangerous to drink and drive. Unfortunately, there are an estimated 1oo million people to talk on their cell phones while they drive... and we have the accident statistics that demonstrates the consequences too. So... hang up the phone and drive.