I’ve spent six months in airliner jumpseats observing flight crews, recording their threat and error management behavior during three separate Line Operations Safety Assessments (LOSA). And I never saw a perfect flight.
There is no such thing. I watched some master aviators come close, but we all can do more, do better. I’ve become resigned to the idea that I’m not perfect. In reviewing these hundreds of hours aloft by high-time professional crews, it’s clear that no one ever has a perfect flight.
I just found a great explanation of not only that idea, but the bigger idea that expecting perfection is bad. In this 3-minute video Goldie Hawn talks about a third-grade dance recital and the lasting lessons of a teacher asking for ‘perfect’.
“Even today, I don’t like anything perfect. It’s sort of [like] being encaged with a concept. Living in fear of not being perfect is something that actually can destabilize us and narrow our scope of life experience. The idea that we walk around with the idea of perfection? Nothing is perfect.”
So let’s get out there and fly a not perfect flight!