The crash of Air Florida Flight 90 into the Potomac River is cited in chapter 4 of the book "Intelligent Disobedience: Doing Right When What You're Told to Do Is Wrong " as a case study. I was on the ground in the DC area on the day of the incident in 1982 and read later on the a.r.s. newsgroup that the captain (Larry Wheaton) was a Scientologist.
Apparently the airline had previously corrected some deficiencies in Wheaton's skills as a pilot, a key data point in understanding what happened that fateful day. The book uses his interactions with a copilot as an example of the need for intelligent disobedience, where a difference of opinion in the cockpit should have been escalated into tactical adjustments that might have avoided the crash and loss of life. But would this have been enough?
I have to wonder if Larry Wheaton's training in Scientology impacted his ability to assimilate contradictory (to him at least) information being given to him in the precious seconds before the plane hit the bridge and fell into icy waters. It is speculative to say that in this case the practice of TRs and other drills might diminish one's cognitive abilities. As a long-time Scientologist, Wheaton would potentially have had many hours of drilling and auditing as well. If this conditioning is a factor in life-or-death situations, it needs to be considered in attempts to mitigate the negative aspects of their behavior.
[This Sun Sentinel article gives a recap of the story. They don't mention the OTVII in the captain's seat. Crew Resource Management aka CRM seems antithetical to Scientology training.]
Apparently the airline had previously corrected some deficiencies in Wheaton's skills as a pilot, a key data point in understanding what happened that fateful day. The book uses his interactions with a copilot as an example of the need for intelligent disobedience, where a difference of opinion in the cockpit should have been escalated into tactical adjustments that might have avoided the crash and loss of life. But would this have been enough?
I have to wonder if Larry Wheaton's training in Scientology impacted his ability to assimilate contradictory (to him at least) information being given to him in the precious seconds before the plane hit the bridge and fell into icy waters. It is speculative to say that in this case the practice of TRs and other drills might diminish one's cognitive abilities. As a long-time Scientologist, Wheaton would potentially have had many hours of drilling and auditing as well. If this conditioning is a factor in life-or-death situations, it needs to be considered in attempts to mitigate the negative aspects of their behavior.
[This Sun Sentinel article gives a recap of the story. They don't mention the OTVII in the captain's seat. Crew Resource Management aka CRM seems antithetical to Scientology training.]
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