Directions: For your case study occupation, find an article or personal experiencesummarize it and answer the following questions:

This comes from a Lockheed Martin video clip with notes at my workplace. Im sure these notes came from the accident report. I have the high def video, but it is very hard to watch. Im sure it is on Google, if interested.

On July 28, 2010 a C-17A crashed in Elmendorf, Alaska while practicing for an upcoming airshow. All four crewmembers were killed in this mishap. The plane crashed about 1 minute after takeoff. On board, there was the Aircraft Commander (AC), the Copilot (CP), Safety Observer (SO) and the Loadmaster (LM). The AC had a hotdog reputation and was known as a very skilled pilot. To many, he was the most experienced pilot on base. He was also known to push the envelope to please the crowd. The copilot had been flying the C-17A for about 2 years. The SO, put on the airplane to ensure overall flight safety, was a new C-17A instructor pilot with around 2,000 hours flying. The loadmaster was an evaluator loadmaster with around 5,400 hours. On takeoff, the AC had a 43 degree up pitch. This angle resulted in a climbout speed below minimum safe climbout speed computed in the Takeoff and Landing Data (TOLD). The pilot went to almost 900, then turned left at about 60 degrees of bank, then a 7 second wings level outbound leg. Then the pilot initiated a 60 degree right bank, but maintained a full right rudder through the 60 degree bank. Opposite aileron was input to stabilize the roll and which resulted in a side slip. The C-17 then decreased in speed while bank angle increased. At 190 KIAS (speed) and 65 degrees of bank, the aircraft stalled. The bank angle then went to 85 degrees. The CP tried to level the airplane, but it was too late given their altitude. The aircraft then impacted the ground.

What is a situation of yours in which decisions were made incorrectly and an accident or mishap occurred? The situation is a C-17A crashing killing 4 people. Why do smart, educated people make bad decisions? Use the decision model on Slide 7 of the Module 6 presentation slides to explain your answer. 1. The individual must evaluate several sources of information in assessing the situation or
understanding the current state of the "world. This pilot had pushed the limit before with good results. This time he assessed the information incorrectly. He believed the set airshow parameters were not crowd pleasing enough and that he knew the airplane could do more. 2. Cue seeking - searching the environment for critical cues. The pilot has banked and Im guessing overbanked before. He knew the environment and knew what it looked like in the aircraft. 3. Reconsider both the positive and negative consequences of alternatives originally regarded as unacceptable, before making a final decision. I dont think the pilot did this. The positive is that he would bank and please the crowd, the negative is that he crashes. In this case, the negative far outweighs the positive.

Do you think the cause of the situation was because of a distraction, poor decision making, or inadequate education/training? Numerous poor decisions here. Many higher ups knew about the ACs reputation, but let him fly like this anyway. The AC, CP and SO failed to comply with airshow parameters. The AC was overconfident in his abilities. Complacency and poor CRM. Bad in flight discipline.

If applicable, do you think more education or training would have helped prevent the accident or mishap? Depends on how you define education and training. The pilot was already considered one of the best pilots on base. Maybe they should have been more educated in the downfalls of hot dogging.