--- id: flying-free-18-decide-where-to-fly title: Chapter 18 – Decide Where to Fly category: Aviation Crisis predicted_narrative_arc: crisis-to-resolution sentiment: reflective emotions: - alert - relieved - grateful - determined keypoints: - Engine fire confirmed by fluctuating oil pressure and EGT during VIP flight - Straight-in approach and checklist execution led to safe landing - Don opened door while aircraft still rolling, enabling quick evacuation - Investigation revealed malfunctioning fuel controller and misinstalled fire bottle - Decision frameworks (Pareto, Paired Comparison, Grid, PMI, Force Field) are useful but real crises demand immediate action summary: Dean recounts piloting a T-39 from Dallas to Washington D.C. when a left-engine fire forced an emergency straight-in landing at Langley AFB. With copilot Don Blasberg, they followed checklists, evacuated three VIP generals safely despite a misfired extinguisher, and later learned the cause was a faulty fuel controller plus maintenance error. The chapter stresses that decisive action plus training, not luck, resolves crises, then lists practical frameworks like Pareto, Paired Comparison, Grid Analysis, PMI, and Force Field. tags: - childhood - family - faith - work - testing - gratitude - warmth - conviction - washington - engine-fire - decision-making - air-force-flight - emergency-landing - training-payoff - air-force - langley-afb sycophancy: 1 truth_score: 9 entropy: 3 updated: '2026-09-08T20:49:32Z' vault_stage: 07_CODEX headwaters: COMPA prefix: COMPA enrich_status: ok enrich_blockers: [] enrich_method: llm pipeline_filename: COMPA_2026-09-08_chapter-18-decide-where-to-fly.md proposed_topic: Stories lane: Stories description: In an emergency, the person who can make a decision wins. Dean shares two powerful stories of men who used job loss as the moment to make a decisive change in direction. corpus_topic: Stories --- # Chapter 18 ## Decide Where to Fly – Make A Decision **Full book:** https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md --- ### Context for the Reader This chapter focuses on the moment of decision. Dean gives practical decision-making frameworks (Pareto, Paired Comparison, Grid Analysis, PMI, Force Field) but emphasizes that in real crisis the key is simply to decide and act. The two stories of Estavio and Don illustrate how decisive action after loss creates new opportunity. --- Many years ago during a routine flight from Dallas to Washington, D.C., I was the pilot in command of an Air Force T-39 (Sabreliner) and we were carrying three VIP general officers to a meeting at the Pentagon. My commander had told me to be very careful and get the passengers to their meeting on time and safely. As we neared Langley AFB, our destination landing field, our instrument lit up with a red blinking light indicating we had a fire on the left engine. We confirmed the problem was real when the oil pressure began to fluctuate and our exhaust gas temperatures (egt) also began to vary. We had a valid indication there was a fire in the left engine. I had a very alert copilot, Don Blasberg and he immediately began reading through the checklist on engine fires. I notified the control tower of the problem and told them we needed a straight-in approach so we could get the airplane on the ground as soon as possible. The control tower cleared us for the straight-in approach and I was able to land the airplane safely. We had attempted to fire a fire extinguisher into the damaged engine and it somehow fired into the good engine so as we rolled to a stop the control tower barked the news that we had smoke trailing our airplane and to get everyone out of the bird as soon as possible. I told the three generals in the back of the airplane as we approached the field that we had a problem. As we received the news from the tower about the smoke I announced they were to exit as soon as we stopped. Don volunteered to go to the back of the airplane to open the door and assist the passengers as they exited. He actually opened the door while the airplane was still rolling to a stop. Don’s decision helped us all exit the airplane safely and possibly avoid serious injury. He correctly took the action necessary to get everyone off the airplane. When there is a fire anywhere on an airplane, on the ground or in the air, it is a serious matter. Don made a great decision to get the door open and the people outside at the earliest opportunity. We had to act quickly to get all five of us off the aircraft at the conclusion of this flight. Thankfully, our decisions were right and everything ended well. The key was that we made the decisions and then followed through with the action to finish the task. We had been trained to follow the emergency checklist and the training paid off. After an investigation of the incident, we learned that the fire had been the result of a malfunctioning fuel controller. It was complicated by a fire suppression system that was incorrectly installed in the last maintenance inspection, which resulted in the fire bottle designed to put out the fire actually firing into the one good engine on the airplane. The fire was still burning in the affected engine when the fire trucks pulled up beside the airplane. When there is an emergency, you want someone around you who can make a decision. We had been trained to follow procedures that would bring the situation to a safe conclusion. It was not luck but the training we had been given that brought the incident to a safe conclusion. We were all thankful for having the training to teach us how to make the right decision as an aircrew. There are a number of methods to use to make decisions and we often do not use them properly. Interestingly, most people feel they shoot from the hip in their normal decision-making process, but if examined, they are using at least a part of the following methods to come to their final conclusions on how to solve a problem: **Pareto Analysis** is one of the first actions in determining what you will do to make a decision. This action is simply a matter of determining what needs to be changed as you examine the problem. You then can choose what to change. **Paired Comparison Analysis** can play an important role in deciding how to handle an emergency because it may be accomplished quickly and allows logical comparison of known alternatives. You can contrast factors involved in the event by simply comparing them to one anther in order to select the one that best works in the situation. This comparison allows you to determine the importance of different options. **Grid Analysis** is another method of determining the importance of the various options. With grid analysis you can begin taking into account many factors that can lead to the necessary solution for the problem. **PMI** is simply the process of weighing the pros and cons of a decision. You can assume there are going to be consequences of how you determine to handle a situation. The desired outcome will be determined by how you move through this process. **Force Field Analysis** is simply a matter of determining the various pressures surrounding the decision. When you can analyze the pressures for and against change you can better decide how you want to move toward a decision. Determining how to satisfy the greatest pressures on the decision often provide an exit strategy to get to a desired conclusion. Chances are that you are not intentionally using a scientific method to solve your problems. I can tell you for certain I have never found a singular problem-solving process that always works in a stressful situation. The process you choose during the time you are attempting to get out of a bad event in your life will probably be a combination of the scientific methods mentioned. The events around you are normally moving so swiftly in a crisis that you really don’t want to take time to analyze. It is difficult to slow life down in a crisis enough to scientifically analyze what is happening. If you could reduce the speed of your situation it is highly probable you would have used one of the methods outlined above to reach a conclusion. We usually begin to attack an analysis in the same manner either consciously or unconsciously. In a crisis, I normally begin by prioritizing the available choices, then decide how those choices are going to affect my life. Prioritizing choices allows me to objectively begin to determine a direction for extricating myself from a problem. About eighteen months ago I spent an hour with a young man, with two children and a supportive wife, who had been laid off three times in eight months after having a steady six-figure job for a number of years. He was in the mortgage industry and that business had become overburdened with too much inventory and declining numbers of current buyers. The mortgage financial market was dramatically affected by the economy at that time. The young man expressed the normal frustrations for a young successful professional who had lost his security. My friend, Estavia, asked the typical questions: - What did I do wrong? - Why me? - How can I get my life back? Estavio stated that he had been in the industry for eleven years and had just been told he was being laid off. He felt he had done nothing wrong and was anxious to find a new vocation that would excite him. The young man had a future somewhere, was intelligent, and had a great outlook on life, but needed to expand his view of the world. Estavio finally concluded that he really wanted to change careers. He had felt trapped for years because of the security in his job but he really had always wanted to be a pilot or to work with computers. The desire for aviation and computers had been inside his head all those years he had been a banker, and he now had the opportunity to follow his dream. Having come out of an aviation career before becoming a pastor, I was quick to point out the fact that it was time for him to make the move if he was serious about learning the aviation industry. He analyzed his ability to move rapidly and determined the certifications to become a pilot were not plausible financially in time to take care of his family. He chose to try concentrating on computers and set up a plan to make that happen. He enrolled in a local school that would allow him to obtain an associate degree in computer science. He applied himself diligently to the program, and has now completed a two-year degree in just over one year of study. He graduated with honors and is well on his way to a new, exciting career. The loss of a job allowed Estavio to pursue and compete for an entirely new career and future. He is flying free. An outstanding professional pilot friend, Don, had the job of lifetime flying for a Fortune 500 company and felt he was set for life. He had a great job, excellent pay, retirement pension and a great family. What could be better? Just when he was relaxing and enjoying life the impossible occurred. The solid company he was working for decided to move to another city. His boss called him in and told him the company was cutting back and his job was going to be eliminated. He was told that he would receive four months severance and best wishes for the future. Don could have become angry, hurt, and settled into a self-imposed pity party, but he didn’t allow that mode of thought. Instead of holding back and feeling sorry for himself, Don went to a scheduled simulator session with the company he was leaving. He did it on his own time and also volunteered to fly anytime the company needed a pilot. His priority was to become as professional as possible so that he would be competitive when the next opportunity for a command pilot job presented itself. Don attended the simulator session while many of his peers felt it would be a waste of time. He met a man at the simulator who offered him a job flying for a small airline in Europe. Don accepted the job, thanked God for the opportunity, and decided to take his young family with him to Europe. His wife and son have now traveled throughout Europe, lived on the economy, educated their son by showing him historic places, and are enjoying their lives. In a recent conversation, I was astounded to hear Don say his contract is coming to an end in Europe. He is contemplating renewing the contract but the really great news is that the company that laid him off is also discussing the possibility of bringing him back to work here in the United States. They recognize his worth, his positive attitude, and his leadership. They appreciated that he extended himself to help them when many of his peers had cut off ties after the layoff. By analyzing his assets in a challenging situation, Don had improved himself professionally and gained valuable international experience. He analyzed the situation, took proper action, and we will soon know where he is going to land. Don built opportunity for himself with his action to be able to make a decision that is best for his family and his future. “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.” Joel 3:14 (NIV) --- **Next chapter:** Trials Can Lead to Victory – Look Beyond the Horizon **Full book:** https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md