But here's the thing - you don't weed out the bad apples by drastic punishment alone. You weed them out by designing your processes so they get tripped up, and then simply eject them from the profession.
And it's not the bad apples that are the problem. You spot a drunk captain easily. It's the mistakes that are the problem. The worst aircraft accident in history? Caused by one of the most experienced and responsible pilots in the industry. As a result of a large chain of failures along the way.
And these kind of problems are fixed by systematic change, not by punishment. Tenerife (the accident mentioned above) led to a whole slew of regulation changes. It led to an entirely new approach to leadership and decision making - crew resource management.
And that's what's keeping the airline industry a fairly safe business, not just imposing penalties.
It has nothing to do with "having the wits of children". It has everything to do with accepting that we all make mistakes. Sometimes silly ones. And that we need to put systems in place to prevent them before they happen.
And it's not the bad apples that are the problem. You spot a drunk captain easily. It's the mistakes that are the problem. The worst aircraft accident in history? Caused by one of the most experienced and responsible pilots in the industry. As a result of a large chain of failures along the way.
And these kind of problems are fixed by systematic change, not by punishment. Tenerife (the accident mentioned above) led to a whole slew of regulation changes. It led to an entirely new approach to leadership and decision making - crew resource management.
And that's what's keeping the airline industry a fairly safe business, not just imposing penalties.
It has nothing to do with "having the wits of children". It has everything to do with accepting that we all make mistakes. Sometimes silly ones. And that we need to put systems in place to prevent them before they happen.