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Alan McDonald, the subject of this thread, is clear proof that this is obviously false. The fact that so many people believe this is true, however, is why avoi
by simonh 6y ago
Alan McDonald, the subject of this thread, is clear proof that this is obviously false.
The fact that so many people believe this is true, however, is why avoidable accidents like this happen. Being willing to compromise your ethics isn’t bravery.
- jiofih 6y agoIs it though? The company demoted him and his career was only saved by direct intervention from the congress.
- geofft 6y agoNot a single person with McDonald's sense of ethics had the authority to scrub the launch. And multiple ICs, not just McDonald, had serious reservations. If you want to say that my "You don't" is technically false because, if you listen to your conscience, you might get proven right after seven people die and a major investigation happens that remains world news for decades afterwards, and even then you'll get demoted and sidelined until the US Congress intervenes, then ... yes, you can. I will rephrase to "You usually don't." (But even so, that just gets you promoted at Thiokol, and my statement stands for NASA.) Why didn't anyone scrub Columbia's launch? Why did the investigation board say that NASA had most of the same cultural and leadership flaws that the Rogers Commission had raised concerns about? The SREs have a saying, "Hope is not a strategy." You can hope that the person you promote will have a sense of ethics, and maybe they will, but that does nothing to ensure that you'll have ethical decision-making.
- ClumsyPilot 6y agoIt it were true, the management would face consequences and McDonald would have been put in charge, instead he was sidelined. How many people do C-levels have to kill for heads to roll?