
I read an interesting piece of news, regarding the Captain of a King Fisher Airlines plane, disembarking an unruly passenger, yesterday.
A few years ago, on a trip back to India from Bangkok, I was seated beside a gent who took off with his liquor, as soon as the plane was airborne. He downed cocktails at the speed of light! Soon the chap was drunk & demanding more. When the cabin crew politely declined, he got abusive & demanded to see the "Pilot". The frightened girl called the flight steward, who tried to calm the situation down, even as the decibel level grew and the rarefied air was thick with expletives.All of a sudden, the cockpit door burst open & the Commander, a Brit, strode down the aisle and asked what was going on. After getting the full picture- he told the drunk passenger, that he would be clapped in irons ( hand cuffed ) and locked in a toilet. The silence that followed was deafening. There was no further issue & the rest of the journey was very uneventful.
A friend of mine, a erstwhile helicopter pilot, told of me of an interesting incident, when he was flying a senior politician. Prior to take off the weather turned bad & my friend refused to fly. The politician was furious and threatened the pilot with dire consequences. My friend stood his ground & still refused to fly. The next day the politician, invited him to breakfast & apologized for his unreasonable behavior!
The point I'm trying to make is that responsibility calls for authority.To handle great responsibility you need great authority. Many a time we are quick off the blocks to frame, rules & responsibilities, for our subordinates without giving them adequate authority to carry the responsibility.When they fail ( which they will ), we question their competence. There can be no responsibility without authority, is what you will find if you read the Japan Convention on Air Safety. On an aircraft the Captain's decision reigns supreme & the next time you have the urge to be naughty on an aircraft, watch your step.
The bigger picture is for managers, to exercise caution, before they delegate responsibility!Don't forget the authority part.....................