The DC-10 Case

A Study in Applied Ethics, Technology, and Society

Edited by John Fielder & Douglas Birsch

Subjects: Ethics
Series: SUNY series, Case Studies in Applied Ethics, Technology, and Society
Paperback : 9780791410882, 360 pages, July 1992
Hardcover : 9780791410875, 360 pages, August 1992
Out of print (Hardcover)

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Table of contents

Preface

Introduction

Ethical Analysis of Case Studies
John H. Fielder

HISTORY AND EARLY WARNINGS

1. Regulatory and Institutional Framework

2. High Risks, Sinking Fortunes
John Newhouse

3. Floors, Doors, Latches, and Locks
John Fielder

4. The 1970 Ground Testing Incident
Paul Eddy, Elaine Potter, and Bruce Page

5. National Transportation Safety Board Report on the Windsor Incident

6. The Applegate Memorandum
Paul Eddy, Elaine Potter, and Bruce Page

7. Fat, Dumb, and Happy: The Failure of the FAA
Paul Eddy, Elaine Potter, and Bruce Page

8. Compliance with Service Bulletin SB 52-37

9. Conclusions of the U. S. Senate Oversight Hearings and Investigation of the DC-10 Aircraft

THE 1974 PARIS CRASH

10. French Government Report on the 1974 Paris Crash

11. Engineers Who Kill: Professional Ethics and the Paramountcy of Public Safety
Kenneth Kipnis

12. Whistleblowing, Ethical Obligation, and the DC-10
Douglas Birsch

13. What is Hamlet to McDonnell Douglas or McDonnell Douglas to Hamlet?: DC-10
Peter French

Commentary
Homer Sewell

14. Statement of John C. Brizendine, President, Douglas Aircraft Company, McDonnell Douglas Corporation

THE 1979 CHICAGO CRASH

15. National Transportation Safety Board Report on the 1979 Chicago Crash

16. The DC-10: A Special Report
McDonnell Douglas

17. Two Models of Professional Responsibility
Martin Curd and Larry May

THE 1989 SIOUX CITY CRASH

18. National Transportation Safety Board Report on the 1989 Sioux City Crash

19. The 1989 Sioux City Crash
John Fielder

THE AVIATION SAFETY SYSTEM

20. Statement of Ralph Nader

21. Aviation Safety: Management Improvement Needed in FAA's Airworthiness Directive Program

22. The FAA, the Carriers, and Safety
Charles Perrow

23. International Airline Passengers Association Critique of the DC-10

24. Moral Responsibility for Engineers
Kenneth D. Alpern

Commentary
Andrew Oldenquist

Commentary
Samuel C. Florman

Selected Bibliography

Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Code of Ethics

Index

Description

Designed as a textbook for courses in ethics, this book provides the material needed to understand the accidents in which more that 700 people were killed — accidents that many believe were the result of unethical actions and inactions by individuals, organizations, and government agencies. An introduction to ethical analysis and discussions of the ethical responsibilities involved are also provided. The case study offers material for a sustained inquiry into every level of ethical responsibility reflecting the rich ethical complexity of actual events.

The DC-10 Case presents these issues through a collection of original and published articles, excerpts from official accident reports, congressional hearings, and other writing on the DC-10. The authors allow the readers to examine the ethical issues of airline safety as they actually occur, taking account of the circumstances in which they arise.

John H. Fielder and Douglas Birsch are both Associate Professors of Philosophy at Villanova University.

Reviews

"Ethics cases are seldom treated in sufficient detail, as this one is, to bring out the difficulties individuals in complex institutional settings face. The authors do address issues peculiar to the case (the FAA response) but the importance goes well beyond the case chosen. " — Robert G. Price, Pennylvania State University