N Cox

I was fortunate to spend New Year’s Day at the beach in Nicaragua this year. While sitting quietly and watching the sunlight sparkle across gentle lapping waves I had a thought, a theory began to form in my mind. The water cast shifting hues of turquoise and deep blue across my peripheral vision. When I entered the sea, the motion of the waves moved my body subtly but persistently, drawing me forward and back in a rhythm I did not consciously choose. I was being moved by the waves in a...

Aviation safety has progressed largely through the systematic reduction of technical failures and operational risk. Even so, despite remarkable advances in automation, aircraft systems, and flight crew training, the final safety margin in abnormal and emergency situations still rests with human performance under intense time pressure. In the multi-system failure cases I’ve examined, crews are often required to make sense of incomplete or ambiguous information, weigh competing risks, and...

"Don't run with the crowd; fly with the stars", Matshona Dhliwayo Across the global aviation network, a troubling pattern has become impossible to ignore. Viral videos, from major hubs in the U.S. to domestic terminals in India, show furious passengers surrounding airline counters, screaming at staff, and in some cases making direct physical threats, meting out physical abuse, and even tearing up or smashing equipment at the gates. Clearly, these situations are symptoms of a transition beyond...