On the afternoon of July 19, 1989, Captain Alfred C. “Al” Haynes, together with his crew, faced one of the most complex in-flight emergencies in aviation history when his DC-10, operating United Flight 232 between Denver and Chicago, suffered a catastrophic explosion of its tail engine, completely disabling the aircraft’s flight control systems. With only asymmetric thrust available from the two wing-mounted engines, Captain Haynes’ crew—together with instructor Dennis E. Fitch (who was traveling as a passenger)—managed to maneuver the crippled wide-body aircraft, carrying 296 people, to a small airport in Sioux City, Iowa, where they miraculously achieved a controlled crash landing that saved the lives of 184 people.
To this day, the event is considered a prime example of leadership and teamwork, to the point that numerous simulator tests have attempted to recreate what occurred, none achieving a survival rate comparable to that attained by Captain Haynes’ crew. For this reason, the accident has been dubbed “the impossible landing” and is regarded as one of the most extraordinary landings in aviation history. In his post-accident analysis, Captain Haynes stated that the then-new concept of “crew resource management” (CRM), introduced by United in 1980, was crucial to the successful outcome. The captain was no longer a king or god in the cockpit, but rather a team coordinator who, while retaining final decision-making authority, used all available resources both inside the cockpit (the crew) and outside it (air traffic control, mechanics, dispatchers, etc.) to create a synergy that helped resolve problems collectively; in other words, the modern leadership profile in flight decks was born.
Definitions of Leadership in Aviation
Aviation is a discipline built around operational safety and teamwork, which is why leadership is fundamental to its proper functioning. According to the well-known Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger of US Airways Flight 1549, an aviation leader must:
- Be prepared and possess the experience required for the position. Leadership is not just instinct; it is the culmination of years of training, learning, and preparation.
- Manage their ego. While confidence is necessary to do what aviators do every day, ego must not block critical information or stifle the innovation of teammates.
- Foster psychological safety and teamwork, creating an environment in which the entire team feels able to share crucial operational-safety concerns.
- Be accountable and take ownership of their actions. When an aviator takes control of an aircraft, using the phrase “my airplane” denotes courage and responsibility in decision-making.
- Take action and make sacrifices. A true leader does the right things when they must be done, such as being the last to leave the aircraft.
Power Distance
“Power distance is the measure of the extent to which a society accepts the unequal distribution of power.”
— Geert Hofstede, Maastricht University, Netherlands.
Applied to teamwork, this concept evaluates cultural differences in how power is assigned within a group and the consequences this has for communication and teamwork. In other words, it is the distance between leaders and subordinates, or between people of different ages, created by a society’s culture. In this regard, Asian cultures are generally classified as having high power distance, with societies such as Japan and Korea among the highest. Latin American societies are typically considered medium power-distance cultures, while European and Anglo-Saxon societies are considered low power-distance.
In aviation, this had a direct impact on operational safety in countries such as South Korea in the 1990s, when—despite operating one of the most modern and best-equipped airlines in the world—their accident rate was so high that the United States required them to hire foreign pilots. It was not until Korean Air hired David Greenberg, former Vice President of Operations at Delta Air Lines, that it was determined that the primary cause of most accidents was Korean culture and its strict hierarchy driven by power distance. The corrective measure implemented was to switch from Korean to English in the cockpit, virtually eliminating the airline’s accidents.
This shows that the assignment of ranks or titles in cultures like ours tends to create distance and divide work teams, worsening communication and, consequently, group performance. Aviation professionals must work to avoid these barriers, and team leaders must focus on creating an environment of freedom of expression, where team synergy is the primary objective for operational safety.
This article was featured in the spanish aviation weekly column “hablan los pilotos” by Francisco Díaz, in the Diario Libre USA edition on January 15th, 2026, link: La importancia del buen liderazgo para todo sistema de aviación civil
