Can culture issues cause plane crashes? Yes, Malcom Gladwell thinks that there might be some aircraft accidents which (above all) are caused by cultural issues. Gladwell, a Canadian writer and journalist, believes that the most important factor is not the vehicle, neither maintenance nor time. The pilot’s cultural origin is indeed much more important. The ethnical theory about aircraft accidents is a very interesting chapter of his book Outliers: The Story of Success (Little, Brown & C., New York, 2008). Gladwell put his attention on two specific aircraft accidents (Colombian Avianca Flight 52 and South Korean Air Flight 801) For Gladwell, the accident of the Korean Air Flight 801 is the result of a succession of causal factors (the long flight length, tiredness, bad weather). These factors made the pilot make a mistake that the co‐pilot was not able to correct for cultural reasons. In particular, the co‐pilot was not able (“because unable or unwilling”) to express his opinion, in other words he could not assertively communicate regarding crucial aspects related to the flight management in a safe environment. This was related to the great importance that hierarchy has in Korean society. As in a quote from Gladwell: “Korean Air had more plane crashes than almost any other airline in the world for a period at the end of the 1990s. When we think of airline crashes, we think, Oh, they must have had old planes. They must have had badly trained pilots. No. What they were struggling with was a cultural legacy, that Korean culture is hierarchical. You are obliged to be deferential toward your elders and superiors in a way that would be unimaginable in the U.S. But Boeing and Airbus design modern, complex airplanes to be flown by two equals. That works beautifully in low‐power‐distance cultures like the U.S., where hierarchies aren't as relevant. But in cultures that have high power distance, it’s very difficult”. Therefore the aircraft accident was caused by several factors, and the high hierarchical distance between the captain and the co‐pilot was the most important factor. The thesis is quite daring and has generated criticism and debate.
www.fernandosalvetti.info
What is really important for us is that the low level of efficacy between the co‐pilot and the captain is a clear reference of the index that Geert Hofstede called Power Distance Index. This can be useful when trying to measure the “Hierarchical distance". In other words, to what extent the authorities are respected and considered within the cultural system (including institutional authorities such as family, school, colleagues within context the context of work).
Cultural systems with a high power distance, such as the Korean peninsula, are characterized by an attitude which is mainly "deferential towards authority". Therefore it is more common to see difficulties in suggesting alternatives or contradicting a superior. Therefore in a situation such as the Korean Air Flight 801, Gladwell thinks that it is a (little bit) more understandable that the co‐pilot was “unable or unwilling to speak up as assertively as he should have about safety concerns”.
Fernando Salvetti, anthropologist and executive trainer. Managing partner LKN-Logos Knowledge Network e and Professor at the LUISS Business school.