Here’s yet another case where routine became the enemy to safety protocol.
Air Force investigators found that a “lackadaisical” attention to detail in day-to-day operations allowed a B52 bomber armed with six nuclear warheads to fly across the U.S.
I understand how day-to-day routine can create a false sense of well-being, a sense that ‘nothing bad ever happens and therefore nothing bad ever will’. Policies are put in place so that, theoretically, nothing bad can happen. But they are only as good as the individuals assigned to follow them.
This one could have been extremely disastrous if that bomber had met with an accident. And everyone knows it can happen.
Policy is written for everyone’s safety, not just a routine that has become a nuisance and is interfering with your ‘free’ time. This happens every day in different jobs across this country. Countless manhours are lost due to someone somewhere ignoring a policy, or rule or law. Why do we think it is not necessary to follow them? Many hours have put applied by experts in their fields to write safety measures for our protection and yet we choose to ignore them. Are we stupid? Are we lazy? This is what I mean about how lazy we Americans have become. This laziness invites injury, death and destruction. Why do we ignore this?
Just because this incident did not result in disaster doesn’t mean it won’t in the future. Maybe personnel need to be rotated out of this job more often so that fresh eyes will follow procedure to the letter as it is designed to be.
Disregarding policies, rules, and laws endanger ourselves, our loved ones and strangers who do not deserve to die as a result of our carelessness.
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