My Brain

35 she/her

[neurotypicalabusesurvivor]

This is a friendly reminder that none disabled people often do benefit from the same accommodations disabled people benefit from.

[yeahokayillreblogthat]

Yeah okay I'll reblog that!!

[multishipperpirateking]

My dad used to work for Vodafone and likes to tell a story about when he was working on a voicemail transcription service.

And there was a woman there who was some form of disability advocate (it was the 90s so her existence in the company was a minor miracle) and apparently she completely blew his mind on that project.

See, he'd imagined that this service was exclusively gonna be for deaf people. Obviously very useful for the very small number of people who couldn't hear their phone, but why would you even own a mobile phone if you couldn't hear?

But she described to him all the times he might want to read a message instead of listen to it. Maybe he was in a loud football crowd. Maybe there was important info that he needed to copy down that was spoken too fast. Maybe he was holding his sleeping newborn (me) and didn't want his phone to be loud and wake them up.

This doesn't feel as revolutionary as all that to those of us that have only ever known phones with the ability 'send text message', but given the timing and placement of this conversation I wonder if this woman and this project is *part of the reason text messaging exists*. The first text (SMS) message was sent by Vodafone UK in 1992 - where + when this conversation was happening - and then for a long time it was supported exclusively for 'messages from the carrier', and this project was an early potential extra use of the SMS protocol.

So Yeh, building for disability is kinda handy..

[the-fallen-blue]

can you imagine how often you would use sign language if everyone knew it

[victusinveritas]

Please go learn how time works.

[sproutamous]

Fanfic too! I went on a rant about this to my friend the other day 😭

[tinylilemrys]

When Shane joins the centaurs, Ilya arranges it that he gets the locker next to his. He's not passing up the chance to flirt with his half-dressed husband before and after games. Being captain comes with perks.

"You're lucky to get this locker," he tells Shane before their first practice. "Everyone in this room is always fighting to get it."

"Why, because it's the one next to yours?" says Shane, tugging a curl at the back of Ilya's head just hard enough to pull his head back playfully.

"Well, yes," laughs Ilya. "But this is also the magic locker."

Shane has that look on his face that Ilya knows means he's not sure if he wants to laugh or roll his eyes.

"The magic locker?" he says with a skeptical eyebrow and a fond smile. "I'm scared to ask what that means."

"You'll see. Is very mysterious. Science cannot explain it. You will soon see its power for yourself."

And Shane's laughing now.

"How about you get dressed so that you're not late for practice, Cap? The only power I want to see right now is your ass on the ice."

And Ilya has this stupid grin the whole way through practice that only gets wider when Shane gets back to his locker to find his favourite post-practice protein bar and an ice-cold can of ginger ale. There's a small post-it stuck to the protein bar that says "Welcome to the team, Hollander. Love, the magic locker elves. xx" It's unmistakably Ilya's handwriting.

"See?" says Ilya, delighted at how much Shane is smiling. "Mysterious."

"Super mysterious," he says, pressing a small kiss to Ilya's cheek. "Tell the elves I say thank you."

And every practice or game after that, there's always something small waiting in the locker for Shane. Because his locker is magic.

[honeyxmonkey]

Okay, so this post always makes me giggle

But I was thinking just now...

Literally no one in the friend group aside from Aang knows Zuko was the Blue Spirit

So do you think... they're just hanging out in the palace post canon all piled up in one of the rooms reserved for when the royal family wants to chill—and Zuko is voicing his (extremely reasonable) upset about his father for one reason or another

And Sokka just says something like, "So are you gonna just leave him to rot in jail for the rest of his life, or are you gonna give him another punishment?"

And Zuko goes quiet. Thinking. Then he says, "Maybe I should send him on a quest to capture the Blue Spirit to regain his honor"

And Aang just fucking loses it

[morganbritton132]

Steve falls from the top of the popularity ladder, hits every rung face first on the way down, and has no one to sit with at lunch so...

"No."

"What do you mean no?"

"I mean, no," Steve says, opening his locker. "No thanks. Go away."

Steve Harrington looks like someone tried to kick his face into the back of his skull. He looks like he can't take a deep breath without getting a glimpse of the afterlife, and yet. He's saying - "No. No??? No thanks, he says. I asked if you wanted to sit at my table at lunch and you say no? What the fuck does that mean?"

"That's a great grasp on the English language," Steve says, hobbling off to eat lunch alone. "I can see why you're repeating senior year."

"Dick."

All anyone can talk about the next day is how Steve is no longer on the basketball team. Eddie asks again because, "It's prime real estate, right there. At the best table in town."

"You think the best table in town is a wobbly cafeteria table that's permanently sticky?"

"I meant to eat at."

"The best table in town is in this school?" Steve clarifies. "Not at like, Enzo's?"

"Sit at my table during lunch."

"Sure," Steve says easily and then goes to eat in his car.

The next day, he's not at lunch. The day after that, he's not at school. Back in his car the following day, and then - "Get your ass off my hood, Munson."

"Come sit at my table," He demands, not moving from the hood of the car. "You're not better than us and you have no friends. Those are the only qualifications you need so let's go."

Steve doesn't bother to give him a response, just unlocks his car and slowly, very slowly lowers down into the driver's seat. He's speaking through his teeth in a pain-laced voice, "Do I look like I need friends, Munson?"

"Yeah."

Steve rolls his eyes, "Wasn't aware you hated the friends you have."

"I don't-"

"Because otherwise, it's pretty shitty that you're trying to make them targets by inviting me to hang around," Steve says. "In fact, maybe you should thanking me that I’m taking all the loser attention off you and your...loser friends."

Eddie tilts his head, let's what Steve said settle between them, and then grins, "Awe."

"You care about us," Eddie coos. "Steve Harrington: Nerd Protector. You're trying to keep us safe, cute."

Steve doesn't respond.

That title is weirdly accurate and he doesn't know how he feels about it so, "Get out of here."

"Sure, Harrington."

The next day, Steve walks out to the car with his lunch and...There are four nerds hanging around his car.

"Told the guys why you're being difficult," Eddie says when he gets closer. "We voted on it and you lost. Welcome to Hellfire."

[eriquin]

@morganbritton132 tag preservation squad: #Steve does not need any more nerds in his life#but much like the last time he does not get a choice#Also much like with the party he is bitching at them to stop sitting on his goddamn car

[thatwasthenightthingschanged]

I’m convinced if ppl on this site knew how crappy gifs look before you color them properly, they would appreciate editors more

[thatwasthenightthingschanged]

for context reasons, this is how a gif I used in a recent gifset looks like without any adjustments/coloring whatsoever:

and here it is afterwards:

[5ummit]

I truly don’t think people realize how dingy and dark most movies and tv shows actually are so they can’t appreciate the work and skill it takes to make gifs look the way your brain “remembers” it looking.

Another before and after example:

This gif needed 6 different adjustment layers, not including the sharpening process, which is its own separate challenge. The blue window was also changed to green to keep the palette more consistent and to reduce the range of colors needed, because a wider range of colors generally results in worse gif quality since gifs only support a max of 256 (compared to the millions your monitor can display).

[uuuhshiny]

yeah…

[headspace-hotel]

[oh-great-authoress]

I was already going to reblog this because gifmakers need all the love, but the little lambie made sure that I was definitely going to do it.

[arcanegifs]

dark scenes are truly the bane of every gifmaker’s soul

[aha-my-villainous-thoughts]

The ecosystem of tumblr fandom relies on gif makers - put some respect on their names!!

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

[teaboot]

Do you think Clark Kent's first few major articles were about the continued presence of lead pipes in parts of Metropolis' water system

[teaboot]

(Average Metropolis reader after investigative reporter C. Kent's 452nd article on yet another case of landlords/business owners/factories' continued use of lead pipes/paint/gas/glass knowingly exposing the public to dangerously toxic lead levels) what the fuck happened to this guy

[teaboot]

One day Bruce Wayne mentions in an interview that heroes like Superman are overrated, as the most effective way to reduce crime is to provide public resources and improve local infrastructure, then cites how neighboring city Metropolis has effectively lowered their violent crime by 13% after addressing their outdated water system and investing low income housing. the reporter conducting the interview suddenly starts looking a little uncomfortable

[teaboot]

To be clear, Clark is still a fantastic investigative reporter. He still has to track down the sources to prove all this shit

[teaboot]

"Who, Clark Kent? Yeah, we're pretty sure he's a Meta. Is he a superhero? Like what, "Lead-detector guy"? "Captain pipes?" Don't get me wrong, he's a great guy and it's a handy trick, but it's lead detection, not laser vision. He's not about to go running around in tights any time soon."

[sindri42]

I just love the idea of a cape maintaining their secret identity by pretending to be a completely different and less impressive kind of parahuman.

[roach-works]

everyone assumes that kent is so squirrely around superheros because he’s just desperately hoping not to be conscripted to the JLA to fix their plumbing

[teaboot]

Local Metropolis Reporter Publically Recognized For Contributions To The City; Awarded Medal Of Distinction

[championofdnd]

They tried to get superman to present the medal but he was offended at being called "overrated" in comparison to Clark so he declined

[teaboot]

Counter offer: Bruce Wayne disguised as Superman

[teaboot]

beating this dead horse with memes

[buddieloustat]

We have lost the meaning of queerbait

[buddieloustat]

Just because what you wanted didn't happen, doesn't mean it's queerbaiting. It is now being used an excuse when the ship you want didn't get together. Queerbaiting has to do with marketing.

[shamebats]

Queerbait: A cookbook that you learned about from ads with pictures of people eating tasty looking soups and the author's social media posts about how soup lovers are going to love it, proves to have no soup recipes.

Not queerbait: A cookbook has no soup recipes. You assumed there would be some based on vibes and wishful thinking. No soups were ever advertised or promised.

Also not queerbait: A cookbook that was advertised as containing soup recipes has soup recipes but not for the types of soups you like.

[depsidase]

[atomictourists]

Piping hot take: I don't give a shit if straight actors play queer characters as long as they do so with empathy and authenticity. When you say shit like "only queer actors should play queer characters" what you're actually saying is only OUT queer actors should play queer characters. If you're assuming an actor (or anyone else, for that matter) who hasn't declared their sexuality is straight, you are participating in heteronormativity.

[justagirlthatreadsbooks]

They Gave Us Love and This Is How You Repay Them?

I don’t even know where to start, but this needs to be said clearly and without sugarcoating: what’s been happening in this fandom lately is vile.

Group chats circulating racism toward Hudson, homophobia toward Connor, and even escalating into criminal behavior, like attempting to contact his ex for revenge porn, is not “drama,” it’s abuse. It’s harassment. It’s dangerous.

These are real people. They are not characters you can twist, punish, or weaponize because you’re bored, angry, or chasing attention online. There is absolutely no justification for racism. None. There is absolutely no justification for homophobia. None. And there is never any justification for trying to solicit or spread intimate content without consent. That crosses from fandom toxicity into something genuinely harmful and illegal.

What makes this even more upsetting is that Hudson and Connor have consistently shown nothing but appreciation and love for this fanbase. They’ve shared their work with us, engaged with us, and trusted this  fandom to be one where that connection could exist. They gave us something meaningful, a gift, and this is how some people are choosing to respond?

If you claim to care about them, about this fandom, or even just about basic human decency, then this behavior should disgust you as much as it does me.

Call it out. Don’t participate. Don’t excuse it as “just how fandoms are.” It’s not. It’s a choice, and it’s a harmful one.

Fandom should be a place for creativity, joy, and community. Not a place where people are dehumanized, targeted, or put at risk.

Do better. Seriously.

[beritybaker]

You're Staring

for @steddiemicrofic march 2026 prompt, "short"

Rating: T | WC: 321 | ao3 Tags: eddie has a crush, flirting, short shorts

“Jesus Christ…”

“Are you kidding me?”

“He can’t be serious.”

The boys’ voices all overlap, along with a subtle ringing in Eddie’s ears as he stares from the bleachers. With spring on the horizon, and the first warm-ish day upon them, Eddie and his friends decided to spend their lunch period lounging by the football field. They weren’t the only ones; plenty of other little pods of Hawkins High students are scattered about.

Eddie isn’t concerned with them. He’s far more interested in the figure who just jogged out onto the track in the single tiniest pair of running shorts Eddie has ever seen.

“Eduardo,” Gareth says, clapping to get his attention.

“What?” Eddie snaps.

“You’re staring, dude,” Jeff hisses.

Wait. Shit. I am. Eddie yanks his gaze away from Steve Harrington’s powerful thighs, the ones he so desperately wants to feel under his fingers, wrapped around—

“I still can’t believe you’re into that,” Gareth adds, shattering Eddie’s daydream. “What happened to standards?”

“Shut up, Gare. You had a crush on Tammy Thompson.”

“That was before she opened her mouth!”

“She sounds like a Muppet, right?” another voice puts in, and Eddie’s blood runs cold.

His head whirls around, and he sees that Steve has stopped to stretch just a couple yards from them.

Eddie eyes him, suspicious. Up close, it’s easier to see the smattering of moles and freckles dotted across Harrington’s legs, all the way up to the hem of those ridiculously short shorts of his. It takes every bit of willpower Eddie has to look him in the eye instead of watching the constellations on his skin shift each time he flexes a different muscle.

“You eavesdropping, Harrington?” Eddie says. He prays Steve didn’t overhear too much of the conversation.

Steve chuckles and shakes his head. “You guys are louder than you think.”

Eddie swallows. “You, uh…how much did you hear?”

“Not much,” Steve says. He winks. “‘Eduardo.’”

[letmegrabyourcuteass]

It was by pure fucking luck that Eddie had come across the house right when Earl and Bonnie had been called in to work. A huge bus had stopped by, and the place was packed full.

Buck winces, feeling the burns on his thigh and his face. His leg twitches. He wimpers as his body twitches from the stun baton.

He must be out of it. He can hear banging, and then a voice.

Buck blinks, not realizing he passed out.

"Hello? Anybody home?!" Eddie asks.

Buck stills.

Hope surges inside.

"E-Eddie?!" Buck shouts.

"Buck?!" Eddie roars. "Where are you?!"

Buck scrambles up, stumbling when his legs won't cooperate. He grits his teeth, letting out a shout as he forces himself to stand up. He goes to the window, pounding and tapping at it the best he could.

"Eddie! Eddie, I'm in here!" Buck cries. "Eddie!"

It was a few moments before he heard footsteps running. He jumps when the man pops up in front of the window.

"Buck!"

"Eddie, get me out, please. I don't wanna be in here anymore," Buck sobs out.

"I'm here, Buck. Don't worry, I'm gonna get you out."

Buck would be more impressed by Eddie's ability to break into a home swiftly, but his nerves are dialed too high right now.

"Freeze! Put your hands in the air!"

Eddie growls, raising his hands. He turns and spots the sheriff pointing the gun at him.

"Breaking and Entering, huh?"

"My friend that's missing is being held captive here!" Eddie shouts.

Buck takes that as his cue.

"Help!"

The sheriff glances at the officer next to him.

"Non-lethal only. Keep an eye out," The sheriff says. Eddie steps to the side. He's twitchy, he's in pain, and he needs his hands on Buck.

The sheriff does a sweep inside the house.

"Hello?"

"H-Help! Please, I need help!"

Jesus Christ, the sheriff thinks when he sees the security door trapping the man inside.

And Woodson has known the couple for a long time. Knows the tragedy of what happened to the old couple's son.

Those pajamas belonged to their son, Derek.

And inside is the supposed dead or missing partner that the suspect, Woodson, had thought had been desperately trying to find.

He watches the kid walk up, a relieved smile on his face as soon as he sees his partner running inside.

"Buck!"

"Ed--"

Woodson hears a buzzing. When he finally spots the contraption connected to the steel doors.

"Kid, wait!" he shouts, but he is too late. The blonde grabs the door, and suddenly his whole body locks up.

He shouts in pain from being electrocuted, and all but slumps to the ground.

"Dispatch, I need fire down at Earl and Bonnie's residence, now! Male, early thirties. down from electrocution--" Woodson shouts into his radio.

"Buck!" Eddie shouts in horror. He gets yanked back before he can get closer. "Let me go--"

"You're going to get electrocuted too! He let go, paramedic units are coming--"

"--You don't understand!"

"I know, seeing the love of your life like this hurts--" Woodson tries to calm the man down.

"No, he got shot by lightning a few years back! His heart can't--" Eddie chokes up.

Fuck.

"I need that unit, now!"

"Copy that. ETA five minutes."

"He doesn't," Eddie shakes his head. "The power, wheres--"

"Can't."

Woodson and Eddie turn their head to the other deputy that tagged along with the sheriff. Woodson approaches the other bedroom.

"Jesus Christ," he says, seeing Derek hooked up to monitors. He turns to Eddie, who sees inside the room.

Lost, but then sudden determination flares through his eyes.

Eddie runs out of the house and climbs into the old, beat-up car. He starts the car and backs up.

Woodson steps out of the house, eyes wide.

"Kid, wait!" he shouts, but the mad man floors his car and rams it into the side of the house, taking out the barred windows and the wall with it.

"Fucking crazy!" the deputy shouts out.

The car then suddenly reverses out, debris tumbling down and being dragged out with it.

Eddie grunts as he scrambles out of the car and into the gaping hole in the house.

He stumbles on the glass, pulling the drawer that he flung with the car out of his way.

"Buck!" Eddie sobs out when he can't feel a pulse. "No, no, no!"

Eddit attempts CPR, but cries out in pain. His arm is for sure broken.

"No--hey, HEY! HE NEEDS CPR!" Eddie shouts. He hears keys and stuff jingling towards him. "Christ!" Woodson says as he dips down into the gaping hole. He starts chest compressions.

"Please, Buck. Please don't leave me," Eddie cries out.

Lights flash, the sirens booming as they approach the house.

"Hands in the air!" Eddie hears from a distance.

"No! My son--my Derek! He needs me! He just came home! I didn't do anything wrong!"

"You're being arrested for kidnapping, attempted murder--" a deputy shouts.

Eddie ignores him as he watches people flood in and start working on Buck.

He flinches when someone crouches down in front of him.

"Sir? Do you need--"

"No, I-I'm fine. Buck, please--" Eddie stares at the paramedic pleadingly.

"They're going to take good care of him, but you're bleeding from your head pretty bad."

"I got a pulse!" someone shouts.

"We'll take good care of your husband. Let's take care of you now, okay?"

[helpwhatsthis]

Gareth who's on Eddie's ass for MONTHS once he starts dating Steve.

He laughs at him all the time for falling for The Hair. He says Eddie is a poser for falling in love with a jock. He makes a ton of jokes about how Eddie is gonna end up as a miserable suburban housewife.

It's starts out funny, but slowly turns into a real fight between the two of them.

By Dustin's birthday party, they're giving each other the silent treatment.

Cut to the next day: Gareth shows up at Eddie's door pleading for both his forgiveness and his help because he realized last night he was in love with Chrissy The Princess Cheerleader Cunningham.

Steve watches him grovel from behind his coffee mug with a smirk on his face, but he doesn’t dare to tell him that Chrissy called earlier to ask how to woo a metalhead. He's gonna make the nerd work for this.

[bardic-tales]

Be careful of the double-speak in the Update Post.

Staff has officially posted an update regarding the reblog decoupling, and while they are reversing the change for now, we need to look closely at the language they are using. This is a classic example of corporate "double speak" designed to de-escalate a PR crisis while keeping the door open for the same harmful features later.

The Post: Reblog Update: We’re Reversing the Change

The Red Flag:

"We still believe there's a better version of how reblogs can work. One that gives every voice in a chain the credit it deserves. But we want to get there with you."

The Breakdown: When they say they want to give every voice the credit it deserves, they are still justifying the decoupling of notes. They are framing the destruction of the original creator's attribution as a feature for the rebloggers or the loss of community. Their goal hasn't changed. They just realized their current execution was a technical and social disaster.

They also mention working "directly with some of you." This often means selecting a small, curated group of "power users" who may not prioritize the accessibility or safety needs that we have been fighting for.

Viral Hell & The Power of the Call to Arms

To my friends and followers: my condolences for going viral are accepted. I love you. Let’s look at the numbers. My original post on this has cleared 24,000 notes. This is exactly why a Call to Arms was necessary. When we first saw the decoupling, we saw the immediate theft of credit.

In my case, over 10,000 notes were stolen or hidden by the uncoupling before I even realized the extent of the damage. This isn't just a UI preference. It is the systematic erasing of a creator’s reach and legacy.

Why we cannot stop now:

Staff’s reversal is a tactical retreat, not a surrender. Their language proves they still intend to push for a version of decoupling in the future. We forced their hand because:

The volume of feedback was undeniable. 24k notes on a single advocacy post is a massive indicator of user dissatisfaction.

Emails and Support Tickets work. They specifically cited emails as a reason for the reversal.

Public pressure creates friction. By making this a PR nightmare on Bluesky and X, we made the cost of the update too high for them to maintain.

The Mission Moving Forward:

We have won the first battle, but the Double Speak in their post tells us the war isn't over. They are going to try to rebrand a change like this in a few weeks or months.

Keep the pressure on: Continue to reblog your concerns when they surface.

Stay Vocal: They are betting on us getting tired and going back to business as usual. We need to show them that our safety and our creative credit are non-negotiable. Continue to voice concerns when they surface.

We’ve seen that we can move the needle. Let's make sure they don't try to move it back when they think we aren't looking.

[hamletthedane]

I think about British Airways Flight 5390 a lot

[hamletthedane]

OKAY STRAP IN because this is one of the WILDEST stories in aviation history.

In 1990, a British Airways BAC One-Eleven, captained by Tim Lancaster and co-piloted by Alastair Atchison, was cruising at 17,000 feet.

Around 15 minutes after take-off, flight attendant Nigel Ogden entered the cockpit to bring the pilots something to drink. One second everything was fine. The next second, the pilot's side window blew out from the force of the pressurized cockpit. Even though he was strapped in, the force of the explosive decompression ripped the captain out of his chair and pulled him though the window.

The flight attendant immediately leapt forward and grasped the captain's belt. The force was so strong - due to the plane's speed - the captain slipped and was pulled almost entirely out of the plane, but the flight attendant caught his leg. The captain laid on the roof, then the side of the fuselage (the above image is an inaccurate recreation - the side window was smashed) and the flight attendant's entire arm was soon outside of the plane, gripping him.

(Recreation from the show Mayday at the point of decompression)

At the same time, the event caused the autopilot to disengage, and the captain's body hitting the flight controls caused the plane to enter into a deep dive. The throttle was set to full power and could not be accessed due to debris, meaning the plane was descending rapidly. The co-pilot, experiencing hypoxia, fought to control the plane's dive while allowing it to continue descending to a level the passengers/crew could breathe at. He attempted to contact air traffic control, but the wind made communication impossible, so he broadcast a mayday signal. Finally, he was able to re-engage the autopilot and level the plane out at a breathable altitude.

Soon, the flight attendant's entire arm was burned from wind shear and frostbite, and his grip began to slip. The other attendants entered the cabin to see what was wrong and took over holding the captain's body. Seeing the blood covering the windows from the captain's severe wind sheer burns and frostbite, the attendants and co-pilot knew he was dead. However, they could not let his body go because it could smash into the wing, horz stabilizer, or engine, and bring the plane down.

For 30+ minutes the co-pilot flew a jet plane with an OPEN WINDOW and his co-worker's body hanging along the side of the plane. Finally, clearance to land from ATC came across over the sound of the wind and the flight attendants were able to dislodge the captain's ankles from the flight controls without letting him go. The co-pilot successfully landed the plane.

(tw below for blood)

(Taken same day as the incident)

BUT HERE'S THE KICKER: when they reached the ground and evacuated, they realized THE CAPTAIN WAS NOT DEAD.

He SURVIVED being outside the fuselage of a jet airplane traveling 550mph at 17,000 feet. His only injuries were extensive - but mostly superficial - frostbite and windshear burns, bruising, fractures in his hand, and shock. He has since stated that he remembers the event and was conscious for much of the time he was outside of the fuselage. The only other injury was the flight attendant's frostbitten/windshorn arm. Captain Tim Lancaster returned to flying five months later.

(Captain Tim Lancaster in bed several weeks after the incident, with flight attendant Ogden (+ Ogden's wife) above him and co-pilot Alastair Atchison to the far left, along with the two other flight attendants)

Why did this occur? Because the plane had received maintenance the day before, and the maintenance supervisor did not check he was using the correct screws in re-installing the windscreen.

(Recreation)

So yeah: you can apparently survive clinging to the side of a jet airliner traveling 500+mph at 17,000 feet.

[hamletthedane]

Wow! Didn't expect this many likes for an aviation post.

Just a note that I was wrong - it was the front pilot's windscreen, not the side-window! I'm used to looking at Boeing windows with different positions :)

If y'all want the full story & more analysis of what exactly went wrong, Mayday: Air Investigations did a pretty decent special on the incident. It's free on YouTube here (and here on dailymotion if you're outside the US).

[desmoscatghost]

Adding some stuff:

The ‘maintenance supervisor did not check the bolts’ is technically correct but ignores the amount of stuff that had to go wrong for that to happen.

1: the supervisor was the one doing the bolts (I think there was a staffing issue) and so did not have to check the work that he did

2: the window was not on the list of vital components that need to be checked by someone else even if the supervisor does it.

3: the parts store where he had to go to get the bolts was badly lit and had bolts in the wrong drawers.

4: the wrong bolts and the right bolts are almost indistinguishable by sight.

5: the correct tool to put the screws in was not available so they had to do some lite bodging to get the screws in. By this I mean it was still a torque wrench and they checked it released at the right point but the correct socket did not stay in place or something like that.

6: any slight differences between the right bolts and the wrong bolts were hidden because of the tool they were using (which would have worked perfectly if they were using the right bolts).

If one of those things had not happened then the plane would have had the right bolts when it took off.

[hamletthedane]

^ absolutely critical edition and a great example of what’s known in risk analysis as the Swiss Cheese Model.

From Wikipedia:

“The Swiss cheese model of accident causation illustrates that, although many layers of defense lie between hazards and accidents, there are flaws in each layer that, if aligned, can allow the accident to occur. In this diagram, three hazard vectors are stopped by the defenses, but one passes through where the "holes" are lined up.”

Accidents in complex systems are very rarely one person’s fault and my original post indeed oversimplified the incident for the sake of telling a straightforward story. This was not the case of one bad maintenance worker; this was a systematic failure. The holes lined up and a tragedy nearly occurred because profit (short staffing, poor maintenance facilities, poor training and tools) was prioritized over safety at several layers. Any additional degree of safety would have prevented this from occurring.