How Swift Starting Action Teams Get off the Ground

Abstract

In 1989, United Airlines Flight 232 survived a catastrophic in-flight engine explosion because of, in part, the crew’s ability to communicate while under crisis conditions. Drawing on the experience of Flight 232, other flight deck crew research, and the authors’own flying experiences, the authors develop a descriptive, proposition-based model of the communication process dynamics found in such groups, which they call swift starting action teams. They argue that swift starting action teams, composed of highly trained strangers within one organization, must use communication processes that enable them to perform well immediately and manage crises in high risk environments. These processes depend on each team’s use and awareness of communication values and communication interactions. The authors discuss the communication dynamics of swift starting action teams and the implication of considering such teams in future research.