Category Management
Byron Bay Writers’ Festival
The beautiful coastal retreat of Byron Bay means two things to me: A week after the QF32 event, when I was exhausted, my friends Simon Ford and John Connolly took me to Byron Bay to help me relax, escape the media and to try to teach me how to surf! Byron Bay has […]
QF32 and the Golden Circle
In relation to the actions of the pilots and cabin crew, the final ATSB report provides excellent detail about most of WHAT happened. The critical “HOW they happened” and even more important “WHY they happened” were not included in the report as the outcome was already known and the investigators believed that these analyses would […]
Social Media kills the Golden Hour
Crisis, Social Media and Citizen Journalists There is a saying that if the media is reporting your story, and if there is a hole in the story, then someone else will fill that hole if you don’t. And if someone else fills it, then they’ll own it, forever. Many crisis managers take advantage of […]
Back Story – Air Traffic Controllers
20 October – International Day of the Air Traffic Controller Today is the International Day of the Air Traffic Controller. I would like to acknowledge the contribution of the profession of Air Traffic Controllers to the safety of our aviation industry. Throughout my career I have trained, developed and worked along side this band of […]
Back Story QF32 p 124 – Chesley (Sully) Sullenberger
I have just added one more memory to my list of life’s great experiences. I spent many hours yesterday with Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the captain of US Airways flight 1549 that successfully ditched in the Hudson in 2009 and the captain who saved the lives of 155 passengers and crew. Sully is a quiet […]
Photos – Mentors, Friends & Legends (not in the QF32 book) – John Bartels
John Bartels (QF32 page 27) John – the Captain of QF30 that suffered an explosion of the oxygen cylinder on 25 July 2008. John and his technical crew were faced with about 30 checklists to complete. He diverted to and made a successful emergency landing at Manila airport. How did he manage this unprecedented event? […]
Back-story QF32 p 340 – Chinese Symbol for the word ‘CRISIS’
I received the following correspondence from Dr Derwyn and Carolyn Jones – passengers on QF32. In the spirit of the “glass being half full, not half empty”, I echo their thoughts and share them below: “When written in Chinese the word ‘crisis’ is composed of 2 characters. One represents ‘danger’ and the other represents ‘opportunity’. […]
Back-story QF32 p 141 – Michael von Reth
Introduction (by Richard de Crespigny) – 31 July 2012 Michael is a humble and self effacing man who shies away from being held up for accolades. A man I hold in the greatest of respect (Susan Rice, Cabin Safety Specialist, CASA) It is rare that I find myself in absolute awe in the presence of […]
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