Dead Reckoning: Air Traffic Control, System Effects, and Risk

by Diane Vaughan

Vaughan unveils the complicated and high-pressure world of air traffic controllers as they navigate technology and political and public climates, and shows how they keep the skies so safe.

When two airplanes were flown into the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001, Americans watched in uncomprehending shock as first responders struggled to react to the situation on the ground. Congruently, another remarkable and heroic feat was taking place in the more than six hundred and fifty air traffic control facilities across the country coordinated their efforts to ground four thousand flights in just two hours—an achievement all the more impressive considering the unprecedented nature of the task.

In Dead Reckoning , Diane Vaughan explores the complex work of air traffic controllers, work that is built upon a close relationship between human organizational systems and technology and is remarkably safe given the high level of risk. Vaughan observed the distinct skill sets of air traffic controllers and the ways their workplaces changed to adapt to technological developments and public and political pressures. She chronicles the ways these forces affected their jobs, from their relationships with one another and the layouts of their workspace to their understanding of their job and its place in society. The result is a nuanced and engaging look at an essential role that demands great coordination, collaboration, and focus—a role that technology will likely never be able to replace. Even as the book conveys warnings about complex systems and the liabilities of technological and organizational innovation, it shows the kinds of problem-solving solutions that evolved over time and the importance of people.

Genres: Nonfiction

640 pages, Hardcover

Published September 30, 2021

Reviews

[Biblio Files (takingadayoff) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diane Vaughan is a sociologist who specializes in studying how organizations "normalize" deviance. Her study of the Challenger disaster illustrated the concept.

In looking at air traffic controllers at work in four facilities in the Boston Area, she was looking to find how controllers have avoided that trap for the most part. I found the book fascinating, but I was an air traffic controller from shortly after the strike of 1981 until not long before the events of September 2001. In her descriptions of controllers and their work, I recognized my old colleagues (not literally, I worked on the West Coast). How they work and how they describe their work brought back many memories. She was able to get the core of what controllers do and how they do it. They don't keep airplanes from bumping into each other, they keep targets a certain distance apart. Controllers have similar qualities, for better or worse -- they are decisive, impatient, orderly, and problem-solvers.

The section on what happened in air traffic facilities on September 11, 2001, when controllers brought some 4,000 airplanes over U.S. airspace in to land within hours of the attack in New York, was riveting. Just as engrossing was the story of what happened in the days and months following, when airspace boundaries and rules changed daily, and suddenly, a pilot who didn't respond right away was not an inconvenience, but a threat.

Professor Vaughan did most of her research in 2000 and 2001, but did come back in 2017 to see what promised technological changes had been made and how controllers were coping. What she saw was a mixed bag, and we can only hope that FAA suits and congressional lawmakers take note and allocate funds and direct training in ways that change the trajectory to a better outcome.

[Ethan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t finish but made it most of the way through.

The details were cool but I still don’t know what boundary work is

[Savannah Quick · Rating 3 out of 5]

The content is interesting and clearly very well researched, but the writing is long and winding.

[danah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has four core sections. The first chunk provides a historical foundation for understanding how air traffic control came to be. The second chunk goes deep into how air traffic controllers do their work - how they are trained, how they are socialized into the practice, and all of the cognitive tasks at play. Here you get a really thick description of what constitutes "ethnocognition" and the importance of this to the work. Then the story of 9/11 showcases how a resilient professional community responds to acute disruption. Finally, we get to see how the union battles and layoffs from the 80s come back to haunt the profession as mass retirement comes into fruition at the same time that technology is introduced purportedly to solve everything. (Oh, how we never learn.)

This book is ethnographic delight. Deep, thick description. Tons of quotes from informants. Analysis that builds through observations. It's not a quick read, but it is a rich one that will keep marinating in your head.

[Cassie T-Pederson · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF but read a few chapters. very interesting topic but the writing... felt like I was in a niche sociology seminar at br*wn wooof. this is Academia Writing for sure (/negative)

the author mentions the book was originally supposed to just be an article and for me personally i would have much preferred that

was interesting learning about the history of unions in air traffic control though.

also can i get a ELI5 definition of "boundary work" and "ethnocognition"? because I'm still confused

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little repetitive at points even given that it’s sociology; a few annoying formatting errors/typos. Did learn a bunch about 2000s ATC, though I think learning about how modern ATC works (and doesn’t) would be helpful in completing the puzzle

[Almad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superficially, a book about ATC. Underneath, a superb study of interplay between humans, systems, technology a culture.

What is missing for a five star? I find it strange that there were no perspectives from people designing the system (e.g. FAA representatives), only with people who experience its system effects. This made the book feel one-sided, and hard to connect the trade-offs involved in designing the causes of the system effect.

Also note that this is an academic study; while there was apparently a lot of effort into making it readable, it still is closer to an academic paper rather than "business book". I don't mind, but you have been warned.

A special note about a digital edition: I have a habit of trying to buy with a publisher instead of a proxy corporation like Amazon. DO NOT DO THIS FOR THIS BOOK. You'll be forced to use an abomination of an software called Adobe Digital Edition (or alternatives that for some reason look even worse). I didn't knew you can make so many mistakes when writing a software just that displays text, but I have been proved wrong. I'd wholeheartedly recommend using DE when interviewing candidates for a QA position, but otherwise, stay clear and prefer a corporation or a dead tree version.