robthree

A long, but worthwhile read. The Master of the El Faro once lost his Captaincy for making a safe, but expensive call. Maybe that made him a little more apt to stay on schedule, or not deviate as far, or accept a ship with a normally minor defect - a broken anemometer - and take it too close to a hurricane. All hands were lost with the ship. Maybe because the Captain's Authority wasn't really absolute.


https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2018...ter-in-decades

"It is unlikely that Davidson ever fully understood that he had sailed into the eye wall of Joaquin, but he must have realized by now that he had come much too close. As is usually the case, the catastrophe was unfolding because of a combination of factors that had aligned, which included: Davidson’s caution with the home office; his decision to take a straight-line course; the subtle pressures to stick to the schedule; the systematic failure of the forecasts; the persuasiveness of the B.V.S. graphics; the lack of a functioning anemometer; the failure by some to challenge Davidson’s thinking more vigorously; the initial attribution of the ship’s list entirely to the winds; and finally a certain mental inertia that had overcome all of them. This is the stuff of tragedy that can never be completely explained."

PowderFinger

Great post. Great read.

ClearCreek

The author of this piece is a fantastic long form author. Most of his pieces are transport industry related. He’s covered a bunch of aviation and maritime accidents. Do yourself a huge favor and start reading:

www.longform.org

Search for William Langewiesche

Enjoy!

skretter

I’ve lurked for a long time, but don’t post; but this quote from the article is chilling,

“It has been reported that a major merchant ship goes down somewhere in the world every two or three days; most are ships sailing under flags of convenience, with underpaid crews and poor safety records.”

oldmako

Another. Regarding the decline of the US Merchant Marine.


https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nyti...phee-ship.html

PowderFinger

He is a great author. He is a pilot and for a time did write for Flying I believe. His father is Wolfgang.

FloridaLarry

Dad is the author of Stick & Rudder. This classic was first published in 1944 and is still in print. The best explanations of why airplanes fly. Your public library probably has a copy; worth re-visiting!

Airway

WL is a great writer and superb storyteller (this piece no exception), and noted pilot basher. I read his stuff, anyways, but in this piece, he curiously makes a lot of excuses on the captain's behalf for a disaster that appears to be the epitome of poor leadership. If this were an article about a plane crash, the tone would be quite different, as would his treatment of the crew.

Be that as it may, here's a great example of what could happen if or when the flag of convenience model takes over aviation. The deterioration of the safety first model and the increase in pressure on the crew to focus on business over safety.

T28driver

“Davidson’s caution with the home office; his decision to take a straight-line course; the subtle pressures to stick to the schedule; the systematic failure of the forecasts; the persuasiveness of the B.V.S. graphics; the lack of a functioning anemometer; the failure by some to challenge Davidson’s thinking more vigorously; the initial attribution of the ship’s list entirely to the winds; and finally a certain mental inertia that had overcome all of them. This is the stuff of tragedy that can never be completely explained.”

THAT is the only thing that really counts in that paragraph.

I personally believe the shipping industry is still in the dark ages when it comes to CRM, and that the El Faro sank as a result of that. Nothing more, nothing less. That personal belief comes from 4 years at a maritime academy (1 at sea as a cadet on commercial ships) followed by another 6 years of sailing as a professional mariner.

If you have any interest in the subject, I encourage you to read the actual VDR transcript and come to your own conclusions. It’s a LONG read, far more than we ever see on CVR’s. It’s a fascinating tragedy.

https://dms.ntsb.gov/public/58000-58...116/598645.pdf

The US Flagged maritime industry is tiny. I didn’t know anyone personally on the El Faro, but had it been a different ship I could have known all of them. This sinking rocked the US Merchant Marine to its core.

The fact that pilots are looking at this and going “how can we learn from this” is incredibly encouraging and a reminder of why I’m in aviation now and not on the sea.

Aero1900

For those with a short attention span, here is a shorter article. It's a good read

www.google.com/amp/s/www.mensjournal.com/features/the-last-voyage-of-the-ss-el-faro-w495797/amp/