- By Charles Miller
What’s worse than when the propeller stops spinning? When it falls off!
In the quiet skies above rural New Zealand, a seasoned pilot experienced a sudden and alarming event.
While flying his single-engine plane near a small country airport, the engine began to shake violently.
In a matter of moments, the propeller detached and plummeted to the ground.
Despite this, the pilot managed to glide the plane safely onto the closest runway, avoiding any damage.
An exhaustive CAA investigation found that everything relating to the certification of plane and pilot was in order, with all maintenance and records up to date.
The incident was the result of a metallurgical failure, a spontaneous, unpredictable, “sheer”.
Remarkably, the errant propeller had landed in a garden without causing harm.
As the pilot exited the plane, he was greeted by the police, who had been alerted by the property owner, retrieved the propeller and were curious to see “if he had lost anything”.
Whilst this was a humorous moment, it could have ended quite differently and there are some learnings we can take.
A business, much like a single-engine aircraft, depends on a well-functioning engine to move forward or climb higher. If the engine fails, the only way is down.
In business the engine comprises people, systems, processes, and assets, and its health is essential to survival.
Business leaders and owners ignore the operational health of their ‘engine’ at their peril. Is the tank full for a start?
For a business this means a strong balance sheet, always maintaining short-term cash flow ‘headroom’, well-balanced working capital and a healthy pipeline.
For the team this means abundant energy, focus, expertise, and yes, mental health.
However, a full tank is not sufficient for flight. Systems and processes must be fit for purpose and be used.
Customer response time, follow-up, and sales disciplines at the front end are critical, and operational excellence that captures and applies metrics such as DIFOT, wastage, material consumption and direct labour costs are equally essential.
There is, however, another even more important learning here. My mate did not panic! He did not succumb to shock (the startle factor), but focused only on what was existential right then. He glided the plane onto the runway and landed normally.
The aircraft now has a new engine and is back in the air. In his humble, typically understated, words, he “has made that approach and landing hundreds of times”.
There’s a well-used aphorism; to achieve mastery in any field you need to have practised for 10,000 hours (ask Dame Lisa Carrington), and his calm presence of mind, and mastery underpinned a safe and remarkable end to a potentially tragic situation.
In the course of a life we’ll all come face-to-face with a split-second survival moment, personally or in business.
Push past the startle factor, do not panic, focus on what you know, and always look after your engine. Onwards and upwards.
