rhughes's blog

The Point of No Return, crossing the Rubicon

Submitted by rhughes on Mon, 05/14/2018 - 11:43

It wasn’t as simple as just crossing another river. By law, no Roman general could lead armed troops into Rome. So when Julius Caesar led his Thirteenth Legion across the Rubicon River and into Italy in 49 BC, it was an act of treason. The impact of Caesar’s decision was irreversible, generating years of civil war before Rome’s great general became absolute ruler. Still today, the phrase “crossing the Rubicon” is a metaphor from “passing the point of no return.”

Rogue Behavior

Submitted by rhughes on Mon, 04/30/2018 - 11:38

Hello All,

Rogue Behavior

Page 18 of this weeks issue of Aviation Human Factors Industry News, the United States Navy is citing pilot error for a military training jet crash in Tennessee last October that killed the two aboard, saying it was being flown for thrills and too low.

The report cited a "culture" within the individual training unit and Naval air training at large that allowed pilots to fly "beyond the bounds" of approved Naval Air Training Command curriculum. It also said leadership failed to ensure training operations adhered to approved publications.

A Valuable Lesson About Mistakes

Submitted by rhughes on Fri, 03/30/2018 - 13:35

One day, a school teacher wrote the following on a chalkboard……

9x1=7

9x2=18

9x3=27

9x4=36

9x5=45

9x6-54

When he finished he looked to his students and the class began to laugh.

When he asked them why, one student pointed out that the first equation was wrong.

The teacher responded by saying, “ I wrote the first on wrong on purpose to show you something very important.

This is how the world will treat you…..

You can see that I wrote 5 other RIGHT answers, but none of you gave me recognition for that.

A Friendly Reminder

Submitted by rhughes on Fri, 03/16/2018 - 09:09

Hello All,

A Friendly Reminder

The human error problem has been recognized as something very serious in terms of avoidable personal injury, aircraft damage, task rework and containing operational costs. The prevention of human error may seem to be a relatively simple task. With heightened awareness some improvements have been recognized, however, the industry’s search for reasonable, acceptable cost-effective solutions and countermeasures continues with ever-greater resolve.

The Last Will Be First

Submitted by rhughes on Wed, 02/21/2018 - 11:32

Recently I was among the last in line to board an aircraft with assigned seating. I located my seat, mid cabin but the only spot for my carry – on luggage was the overhead compartment by the very last row. This meant I had to wait for everyone to leave before I could go back and retrieve it after landing.