09/12/2025
In June 1990, British Airways Flight 5390 suffered an explosive cockpit decompression when a wrongly installed windscreen panel blew out. Captain Tim Lancaster was pulled halfway out of the aircraft at about 17,300 feet, but the flight attendants and the co-pilot Nigel Ogden grabbed Lancaster and held onto him for nearly 20 minutes. They feared his body might detach and strike the wing or be sucked into the engine. Despite severe frostbite, bruising, and shock, Captain Lancaster survived. There were no fatalities among the 87 people on board. The BAC One-Eleven required bolts of a specific diameter and length. The engineer mistakenly used bolts that were slightly smaller in diameter (about 0.026 inches thinner) and a few millimetres shorter. Investigators noted that the airline’s maintenance oversight and quality control were a systemic industry problem — there was no second check to catch the error. That error could have led to an aeroplane crash, but teamwork saved everyone. I flew for over eight years, and 29 years ago, flying was enjoyable. Although the work was hard, since it was not yet accessible to everyone, passengers were engaging, layovers were long, and we often had five days off at many destinations to do as we pleased. When I quit flying about 21 years ago, non-fringe airlines were just about taking off, and I was glad to be moving on. The skies have always called out to me, and even now I still think of Hamlet's wonder when he said, "What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty!" When I think of how amazing it is to have this massive jet lift off the ground. I know not many people think of flying as a miracle, and I'm not talking about the evolution of flight; I'm referring instead to the mundane experience of travel.
Perhaps the most magical aspect of flying is captured by the 3 of Pentacles. The 3 of Pentacles is about teamwork and skill, and the ability to look at the bigger picture. When you take the flight as a passenger, you definitely get the benefit of reclaiming time, be it for work or for leisure. And you, in turn, pay the airline and keep them going. When I flew for Lufthansa, we studied German Culture as well, and it is a big deal when your colleague allows you to shift from addressing them with, let's say, Ms Webber to Anna. However, when I was flying, we always addressed each other by our first names and spoke informally. The logic was that your colleague would be your teammate in saving your life in an emergency. We trained hard, and we had each other's backs because professionalism was the need of the hour. I have done emergency landings and detours and have been blessed to work with fantastic crews. But this synergy goes beyond the cabin. It's the ground staff, the catering, the baggage handlers, the check-in staff, the support staff on the ground, the HR team, the admin staff, the marketing team, the technicians, the engineers, and the regulatory bodies, all working like one well-oiled giant machine. But in flying, it's not just all this. It's even the manufacturers and the certifications that come into play. So even a small, humble bolt and the engineer tightening or installing it are part of the chain of magical teamwork that makes aviation safe.
The 3 of Pentacles, then, is about the professional relationships we have and about showing up with integrity and teamwork, each of us responsibly doing our part!! I find it interesting that the creator of this deck has placed the Moirai, or the Fates, from Greek Mythology as the team represented here. Here we see the teamwork of Clotho, who spins the thread of life and gives man his existence, Lachesis, who measures the string and defines the length of a man's life and Atropos, who cuts that thread at the appointed time, thereby setting the man free. This is the team in perfection, keeping the world spinning and determining a man’s life. I also think this calls to mind the fact that when we work with integrity, when we set out to create tangible or intangible realities, we, too, are in our dedicated synergy, gods of a kind.
Have a blessed day!!
