If something doesn't make sense, then you don't have all of the facts

 

My Dad used to be an air accident investigation officer for the RAF, at the end of the war. At home, we have an old biscuit tin, with copies of pictures of crashes he investigated.  I was fascinated by some of the stories Dad told me of crashes. Dad was a superb engineer and advised me that he never investigated a crash where there was a single point of failure. It was always the result of a culmination of events. He told me that flying is the safest form of transport, because every single crash is investigated and the results mean that every crash makes flying safer in future.

He said that it was almost always pretty clear what had happened and why. However, he recalled one crash, where a plane's engine blew up in mid air, resulting in a catastrophic failure of the airframe and the death of all of the crew. The crew were experienced, the maintenance records were spot on. The debris was scattered over a large area, but it was pretty clear that something had fundamentally failed in the engine. Examination of the recovered engine did not indicate a fundamental problem. It was not a new engine, but well within its operational lifetime and was a reliable model. The more Dad looked, the less sense it made. After a couple of days at the base, he'd made no progress. He knew he was missing something, but even though he was experienced, he didnt know what. When he retired to the officers mess for a beer at the end of the day, he noticed something odd. Usually people were more than happy to chat to investigators, especially pilots. They knew that a pilots life was dependent on good procedures and investigations. However no one was that keen to talk to him, apart from the base commander, who sat with him and chatted away merrily. Dad noticed that the other pilots were reacting in an odd manner, when they entered the mess and saw him with the CO. It was not the usual reaction. Dad was a good reader of people and body language. He also noticed that several pilots were having a drink and then leaving the mess. He realised they were not comfortable.

Dad was becoming rather suspicious, so after a few beers, he made his apologies to the CO and said he had an early start. He then went to the gatehouse and asked where the nearest pub was. He was told it was about 200 yards down the road. Dad took a stroll down and was unsurprised to find the pilots, who had left the mess, all having a beer. When Dad entered, they all did a double take. He explained that as an Aussie, he was not really one for drinking with the top brass and as he'd been an operational pilot, he always felt better in the company of aircrew. He bought a round and started regailing them with stories about his crew and his escape from the POW camp. After a while, he was accepted as one of the boys.

Once he had their trust, one of them said "You know this isn't the first crash here, I hope it doesn't get swept under the carpet again".  As Dad had suspected, there was an element to this he'd not been told. He didn't tell me what that was, but the crews told him of their suspicions,  what to look for and where to look. It became clear that there were serious issues with the way that the engine had been maintained. The CO had been complicit. I am not sure what happened to all involved, but Dad said it was not good.

Dad told me the story when I was quite young. When I was working for BT, I was having issues with my then boss. As he often did, he revisied the story. He explained another aspect to it. He said that the CO of the base sounded like my then boss. The base commander was someone who had favourites and protected them, whereas he was happy to shaft good people, who he didn't like. It turned out that when there had been a previous crash, he scapegoated someone he didn't like. The reason the crews were cautious of this, was because they knew. They were coming to the end of their time in the RAF and they knew he'd cause problems if they said to much.Dad then gave some very sound advice.  He said "If there is someone in the department who is not much good, but seems to be doing better than they should, be careful, as these sort or people thrive by having snakes in the grass". Dad also said "Whereever you work, make friends with the tea lady and the cleaners, they are the only people who really know what is going on, and those with arrogance and power ignore them". 

That conversation was 40 years ago. It has stood me in good stead. The number of times in my life I have been mystified by situatations, only to find the missing piece of the jigsaw, often from the cleaner or the tea lady. With all of the information, usually it all becomes blindingly obvious. Dad also explained that when shenanigans are going on, it is always for one of three reasons. Money, sex and power. People behave very badly if they get a sniff of any of these. If something doesn't seem right, ask yourself "Is money, sex or power involved?". Sometimes it might even be two or three of them. Once you figure that out, work out who is benifitting and how. It is quite sad really, how often so many horrible situations are created over such unimportant things, but that is life. This weekend, Poppies went on sale at The Mill Hill Services Club. I always think of Dad when I see them. He died nearly 40 years ago, I still miss him. I count mylucky stars to have had such wise council in my life.