4 ms·

captain: "Can i play it safe on the way back?" boss: "Yes, authorized." NTSB: "What do you mean authorized? It's not your decision. Did the captain ask you if

by tomn 9y ago

captain: "Can i play it safe on the way back?" boss: "Yes, authorized." NTSB: "What do you mean authorized? It's not your decision. Did the captain ask you if he could go the safe way on the way out?"

dwighttk 9y ago
I guess I still don't quite understand the importance of "authorized" since the captain wrote: >Question I would like to transit the Old Bahama Channel on our return northbound leg He was clearly asking, not informing.
- tomn 9y ago
  That could be interpreted as "will it cause a schedule problem", or "is there another option I should consider" or "might this make it worse". Ultimately he never actually asks a question, just says what he's thinking about doing. To me it reads like the captain is keeping his superiors in the loop, but still has controll. The problem with the response is that it has clearly been treated as a request ("diversion request heads up through Old Bahama Channel understood and authorized") that could have been denied. It's obviously not an admission of guilt, but a red flag that's worth investigating.
  - dwighttk 9y ago
    thanks... I'm finally getting all the bubbles in that thought smoothed down.
- JshWright 9y ago
  > He was clearly asking, not informing. Right, that's the problem. It implies the captain was not free to make the decision himself (as he should have been).
- oldmariner 9y ago
  As another said, the Captain didn't specify what the question was. Saying "authorized" was a big mistake. I work somewhere now where I have to be careful using that word because it implies you're taking on the responsibility, and if something goes wrong through no fault of your own, the blame now lies on you where as it wouldn't have if you just simply acknowledged receipt of the question/statement. Stupid, but that's the world we live in.

4 ms·

captain: "Can i play it safe on the way back?" boss: "Yes, authorized." NTSB: "What do you mean authorized? It's not your decision. Did the captain ask you if

by tomn 9y ago

dwighttk 9y ago
I guess I still don't quite understand the importance of "authorized" since the captain wrote: >Question I would like to transit the Old Bahama Channel on our return northbound leg He was clearly asking, not informing.
- tomn 9y ago
  That could be interpreted as "will it cause a schedule problem", or "is there another option I should consider" or "might this make it worse". Ultimately he never actually asks a question, just says what he's thinking about doing. To me it reads like the captain is keeping his superiors in the loop, but still has controll. The problem with the response is that it has clearly been treated as a request ("diversion request heads up through Old Bahama Channel understood and authorized") that could have been denied. It's obviously not an admission of guilt, but a red flag that's worth investigating.
  - dwighttk 9y ago
    thanks... I'm finally getting all the bubbles in that thought smoothed down.
- JshWright 9y ago
  > He was clearly asking, not informing. Right, that's the problem. It implies the captain was not free to make the decision himself (as he should have been).
- oldmariner 9y ago
  As another said, the Captain didn't specify what the question was. Saying "authorized" was a big mistake. I work somewhere now where I have to be careful using that word because it implies you're taking on the responsibility, and if something goes wrong through no fault of your own, the blame now lies on you where as it wouldn't have if you just simply acknowledged receipt of the question/statement. Stupid, but that's the world we live in.