The landing of Flight 1549 in the Hudson River was a stirring tale of heroism, but it was also a test. Communications and coordination in aviation events has been beefed up dramatically since 9/11. “An episode like this is a chance to check the wiring and see how things are working,” said Philip Zelikow in an insightful New York Times article on how everything worked during the Flight 1549 incident. The article describes the operation centers, open telephone networks, coordination committees and perhaps most importantly, the feeds from airborne cameras and telephone reports that helped managers get a grip on what was happening.
Do you have seldom-used emergency operations systems? How are they activated? How do you gather information to make good decisions? Most of us don’t have life-and-death responsibilities, but a test of the wiring would still be a worthwhile simulation of how well your organization collaborates when something out of the ordinary occurs.
