Many people respond ineffectively to emergencies by going into something close to panic. As a pilot in the military we were trained to respond as calmly as possible and complete even a basic check list calmly, sometimes you had to do it quite rapidly but usually you have time so take a breath and read on. This basic idea can be applied to many business or personal situations and is a way of getting everyone on the same level of understanding of the problem at hand. Of the many mnemonics I learnt the best was on helicopters, courtesy of Squadron Leader Mike ‘Stan’ Laver and his team of instructor pilots at 60 Sqn, RAF Shawbury – the mnemonic was WADFIR
BANG - something happens. On an aircraft you may even get a warning light.
DON"T PANIC!
Warn Crew
"Captain to crew. We have a master caution Fire warning light on number 1 engine, stand by..."
Warn your immediate team and allow them to begin to confirm your initial assessment
Achieve a safe flight configuration
Level off, perhaps climb away from the ground or land immediately, set a safe speed and head in a safe direction, away from weather or obstacles if possible. FLY THE AIRCRAFT.
In business: Warn your Team. Achieve stability in other activities. Don’t drop the other balls. Take some time here, but only what you must.
Diagnosis and Immediate actions.
Immediate actions are required from memory and only for certain specific and urgent problems. Notice that Immediate actions only follow a successful diagnosis that is either agreed or decided on by the captain based on certain clear facts. The captain is accountable after all.
"Captain to crew. We have Master Caution and a Fire warning on the number one engine, I can see flames coming out of the number one engine. I diagnose a number one engine fire. Do you concur?
Crew agrees or disagrees.
In this case some ‘Immediate actions’ from memory do apply, and is probably to identify and pull the number one engine Fire T handle, which will set off a sequence of automated actions.
In business: Diagnosis and consultation. Less likely to be life threatening but livelihoods matter too.
A wrong diagnosis may be critical so it is important to get this right.
Flight Reference Cards
FRCs are then used to confirm ‘Immediate actions’ and the follow up actions for Number one Engine Fire.
Things should really start to calm down about now
In business: Process may be a more appropriate word. If you have a process or Management System to handle this problem, or parts of it, then use it as far as it works. Check what has been completed was correct, note any deviance and address as required.
Intentions
“I intend to make a precautionary landing in that field, shutdown the aircraft and request assistance.”
Crew assists with this action.
In business. Intentions are critical, especially as this is an unexpected change of plan. Express your intentions and seek confirmation of the validity of them. Last chance to speak up before further actions begin.
Radio Call
Fly the aircraft first. “Mayday, Mayday, Mayday…” to Contact Air Traffic Control to let them know some of what is happening.
Note this is last and this is because while it is nice for ATC or other management to know they cannot really help much yet, there are more important things to do like flying the aircraft. You may have the luxury of giving this job to someone else to do in parallel, and this may be a good thing to do if only to keep them calm and occupied.
In business: Report. Now tell other people what has happened, what is being done, your further intentions and request any additional assistance.
So you survived an emergency situation. In aviation there will be some kind of investigation and maybe the chance to learn some lessons. In business this should happen too. Does it? Well that may be up to you.
If you want to learn more about how to reamin calm and resilient in the most difficult, to trust and empower your team then book a clarity call and learn how to Lead with EASETM