Asoh defence

Infobox Airliner accident|name=Japan Airlines Flight 2
Crash

Date=November 22,1968
Type=Pilot error
Site=San Francisco, California
Fatalities=0
Injuries=0
Aircraft Type=Douglas DC-8
Operator=Japan Airlines
Tail Number=JA8032
Passengers=96
Crew=11
Survivors=107
Captain Kohei Asoh piloted Japan Airlines flight 2 on the 22nd of November 1968. The DC-8 plane was scheduled to land at San Francisco International Airport but Asoh mistakenly landed the plane in the waters of San Francisco Bay, two and a half miles short of the runway [ [https://www.abxair.com/flightweb/ABX%20Air%20History/abx_air/dc8_bay.htm The DC-8 that was too young to die] ] [http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR70-02.pdf NTSB Aircraft Accident Report AAR-70-02] ] . None of the 96 passengers or 11 crew were hurt and the plane was eventually recovered and refurbished for service. Asoh had almost 9,800 hours of flight experience at the time of the accident [http://www.airdisaster.com/reports/ntsb/AAR70-02.pdf NTSB Aircraft Accident Report AAR-70-02] ] .

A National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) hearing was called to investigate the reasons behind the bizarre accident. Captain Asoh took the stand as first witness and supposedly said, in answer to why he had landed in the bay, "As you Americans say, Asoh fuck up." [Senge, The Fifth Discipline: "The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization" (Doubleday, 1990) ISBN 0-385-26095-4, p. 301]

He took full responsibility for the accident and refused to blame anyone else or any other circumstances. Such a frank acceptance of blame has come to be known as the "Asoh Defence". It has been discussed in various books such "The Abilene Paradox" by Professor Jerry Harvey, publications [ [http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1540-6210.2005.00490.x?cookieSet=1&journalCode=puar Public Administration Review] ] [ [http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0001209207005133 Counseling: Establishing a Culture of Forgiveness] ] and in company training films [ [http://www.worldcatlibraries.org/wcpa/top3mset/3328d16bbd44b183a19afeb4da09e526.html The ASOH defense managing blame and forgiveness] ] .

References