ROGER BOISJOLY'S ATTEMPTS TO AVERT THE CHALLENGER DISASTER

What do safety problems look like to the engineer who encounters them? What are good ways of responding to such problems at each stage of their development? Much can be learned from the attempts of Roger Boisjoly, an engineer at Morton Thiokol, to avert the Challenger disaster in January 1986. His care in coping with the uncertainties about the nature and extent of the threat to the shuttle and his courageous persistence in raising issues exemplify responsible engineering behavior.

Like others who have spent time with Roger Boisjoly I find him an exceptionally sincere and forthright person who is not only truthful with others but also honest with himself about his feelings and motives, a person not likely to fall into self-deception. His integrity and openness make his personal account of events especially illuminating.

MORAL LESSONS FROM ROGER BOISJOLY'S RESPONSE TO SAFETY PROBLEMS

In hindsight, ascribing blame for accidents and disasters based on the outcome is tempting. Any action that would have prevented the fatal Challenger flight, for instance, may seem justified; any failure to take an action to stop the flight may look like a mistake. But this view is superficial. Judging actions solely by their outcomes omits consideration of the other harmful consequences such actions risk and tells us nothing about how to act in situations in which we cannot perfectly foresee the outcome – the kind of situation in which we usually find ourselves.