Ethics: The Backbone of Aviation

 September 06 2021



    Our ethics are what make up who we are. Ethics help us every single day with our decision making and choices in what we do in life. We all come to the crossroads when we are called upon to make the right decision . It can be as simple as putting your grocery cart away, or as in depth as making an ethical call to ensure safety of an airplane and its passengers. Most of the time I have come to realize that the right decision is usually not the easiest one, but it is always the best one. In my profession having good ethics can mean the difference between life or death. In my unit we lost an aircraft because a few C-130 engine mechanics did not use good ethics. These airman called an aircraft airworthy even when it was not within the limits of the technical order. The Air Force Times reported on this event stating the four maintainers who worked on the plane “showed a distinct lack of motivation to ensure engine one was operationally ready for flight,”Losey, S. (2018, November 13). Having assisted the investigators with the break down of the engines flown on that plane, I got to see first hand how bad ethics resulted in 9 deaths. Having previously worked on that plane and seeing the people who were on that aircraft makes me realize how important making the right ethical decision can be. 




Losey, S. (2018, November 13). Report on fatal WC-130 crash reveals troubling maintenance, morale, discipline lapses in Puerto Rico Air Guard wing. In AirForceTimes. Retrieved from https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/11/14/report-on-fatal-wc-130-crash-reveals-troubling-maintenance-morale-discipline-lapses-in-puerto-rico-air-guard-wing/

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