Chapter 10 — Before takeoff, I refused to sign the order for the plane to fly

Someone bowed their head and took notes. It's Han Ve Dong's turn to work. He frankly admitted that his first visual assessment relied too much on experience.

"Scratches on the paint layer are a very common thing. That day the flight pressure was too great, my first reaction was to let the plane take off first and deal with it later."

He stopped for a moment.

"It's the paralysis caused by too much reliance on experience."

He continued:

"Only when Lam Ha reminded me that there were absolutely no scratches last night did I go back to check again."

The working session with Co Thua Trach was the shortest.

"Did the flight crew pressure the technical department to sign the plane for takeoff?"

"No. We have never asked for a signature until the review was completed."

"Did the flight crew ask when the plane was allowed to take off?"

"Do you know the pressure from passengers and the working hours of the flight crew?"

"So why is it clearly stated in the captain's report that the flight crew never asked for a signature?"

Co Thua Trach calmly replied:

"Because I don't want someone to turn mining pressure into errors in personal judgment of technical staff in the future."

Afternoon. The preliminary investigation conclusions were announced. The structure near the rear cargo door frame needs to be removed for further inspection and repair. The aircraft was not qualified for the initial flight. The collision height of the ground service vehicle, the location of the scratches on the outside and the signs of abnormalities in the internal structure all basically coincide. Determined that there was a behavior of not reporting a ground incident. Determine if the handover record has false content. Determined that the on-duty manager did not follow the correct procedure without notifying the technical department to re-check. My refusal to sign triggered a re-examination process, in accordance with safety guidelines. However, the act of tearing up a photocopy of the pre-filled test form is not in accordance with the procedure and will result in a written warning. I looked at that conclusion for a long time. Every line of text... Is as heavy as lead. Not everything that is right... Will be written as a compliment. Sometimes, all that remains are a few short lines: In accordance with the principles. But the handling process is not correct. As the meeting neared its end, the Quality Safety department played another recording. That was the call between Trieu Minh Vien and Lieu Cuong in the early morning of the incident. Lieu Cuong's voice rang out:

"Manager Trieu, it seems like the trailer brushed against the plane a bit, but it looks okay."

Trieu Minh Vien replied:

"If you don't see obvious damage, don't make a big deal out of it."

"Have you taken pictures yet?"

Lieu Cuong replied:

"It's raining so hard."

Trieu Minh Vien says:

"So just hand it over and there will be no abnormalities."

"Tomorrow morning, if the technical department detects it, it will be handled according to the surface damage process."

The recording ends. The investigator looked at Trieu Minh Vien.

"Manager Trieu, please explain."

He sat still. After a long time, he slowly spoke up.

"At that time I thought..."

"If someone finds out the next morning..."

"...there's still time."

I raised my head to look at him. He didn't look at me. That statement... It's harder to hear than any excuse. It doesn't sound like a lie. It's exactly the same thinking that appears before many accidents. Don't make a big deal out of it first. Let's wait tomorrow morning and figure it out. It probably won't matter. It will happen anyway discoverer. I just cleverly became the person he had hoped for. Three days later. A safety review meeting is held. No live streaming. No press conference. There was no applause. There are also no banners. There were more than fifty people in the meeting room. Maintenance department. Mining operations center. Ground service unit. Quality department. Safety department. And also the training center. The first page on the screen has only one headline:

"Summary of unusual incidents in ground service work and detection of damage before signing the takeoff order on July 18."

Trieu Minh Vien sat in the front row. Lieu Cuong was not present. He has been suspended from work to facilitate the investigation. The driver that day was also suspended. The outsourced ground service unit was temporarily suspended from guaranteeing part of the flights to reassess its capacity. The meeting is chaired by the Safety Director. He did not begin with any admonitions. Just ask the investigator to restate the entire incident in the correct chronological order. Each truth... is presented very briefly. And behind every truth... is a corresponding responsibility. The ground service vehicle crashed but did not report it. Responsibilities: Vehicle driver serves and manages the scene. The handover record is false. Responsibilities: Manage ground service department. After learning of unusual signs, the mining operations manager did not notify the technical department to re-check. Responsible: Trieu Minh Vien. Photos taken after the flight do not match the status during transit inspection; Initial on-site assessment did not fully consider new damage factors and structural locations. Responsibility: Line maintenance team needs to increase training. The line technician discovered new damage and refused to sign, thereby triggering the re-inspection process. Conclusion: In accordance with safety principles. Tear off the photocopy of the pre-filled check sheet during the processing process. Conclusion: The handling was not done according to the correct procedure and was given a written warning. The crew report prepared by Co Thua Trach faithfully recorded the boundary of responsibility between the operations department and the maintenance department. Conclusion: Documentation is complete. I sat in the last row.