[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 33 (Tuesday, February 27, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E413-E414]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING CAPTAIN HARRY W. ORLADY'S CAREER AS A PIONEER IN AVIATION 
                          SAFETY HUMAN FACTORS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES L. OBERSTAR

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 27, 2007

  Mr. OBERSTAR. Madam Speaker, I rise to honor a true pioneer in 
aviation safety and human factors, on his distinguished career of 
service to the safety of world-wide aviation. Captain Harry W. Orlady 
passed away peacefully in his sleep on February 7, 2007 at age 86. A 
memorial service and reception will be held on Friday, March 2, 2007 in 
Los Gatos, California.
  Captain Harry Orlady was a pioneer in the area of aero medical 
research and aviation human factors. He had a lifelong passion to 
improve aviation safety in order to, in his words, ``make the system 
better for people who use it.'' He wrote and delivered more than 100 
papers and presentations, conducted studies on medical disabilities, 
pilot incapacitation, and flight crew complement. He was the originator 
and principal developer of United Airlines' Flight Safety Awareness 
Program, the fIrst formalized and effective non-punitive incident 
reporting system, which was the model for the NASA Aviation Safety 
Reporting System. Captain Orlady initiated work on pilot incapacitation 
research at United, and he was the originator of the ``two 
communication rule'' that has been a mandatory procedure for years at 
most of the world's airlines.
  Harry Orlady initiated ``human factors'' research and practices 
before the importance of those concepts was understood and widely 
accepted in the aviation industry. Prior to that time, the aviation 
community was apt to label most accidents as ``pilot error'' and simply 
move on without understanding how the system and the equipment 
contributed to these errors, which were the primary cause of aircraft 
accidents.

[[Page E414]]

  Harry Orlady served as a mentor to numerous young researchers at NASA 
and at the nation's colleges and universities. At a time when the 
airlines did not take human factors principles seriously, Harry Orlady 
worked tirelessly to provide access to these young researchers, with 
the result that human factors principles would ultimately become part 
of the standard curriculum at all major airlines, worldwide, and they 
remain so today.
  As a direct result of Captain Orlady's tireless efforts to raise 
awareness with senior aviation decision-makers, training concepts such 
as Crew Resource Management (CRM) became recognized and accepted as an 
essential element of all military and civilian flight training 
programs. Human factors training programs are now required by the 
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and by most of the world's civil 
aviation authorities, as well as in International Civil Aviation 
Organization (ICAO) Annexes.

  Captain Harry Orlady was active in the Air Line Pilots Association 
serving multiple terms on the Negotiating Committee, System Board, as 
Chair of Council 12, and was founder of the Medical Committee. He 
strongly believed that pilots should not have to retire at age 60. To 
support that belief, and he completed the Honolulu Marathon at age 59 
in 4 hours and 36 minutes.
  Retirement from United in 1980 did not slow Harry Orlady down. He 
counted among his post-retirement contributions: 9 years as a senior 
research scientist with NASA's Aviation Safety Reporting System; an FAA 
consultant in the certification of the B747-400 and MD-11; and co-
author, with his daughter Linda, a B767 Captain at United, of a well-
received book Human Factors in Multi-Crew Operations, which has sold 
more than 4000 copies.
  Captain Orlady received numerous awards for his hard work including 
United's W. A. Patterson Award, the Aerospace Medical Association's 
Harry G. Mosely Award, induction into the Wisconsin Aviation Hall of 
Fame, and as an elected Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association. 
However, Harry Orlady would tell you that the main satisfaction of his 
work came from his peers, from people who told him that he made a 
difference, and most of all, from watching those whom he coached and 
mentored make contributions to the industry.
  Aviation aside, Harry Orlady's main interest was his family. Harry 
met the love of his life, Ellen, when she was a stewardess for United 
during the DC-3 days. At the time, stewardesses were required to be 
registered nurses and also could not continue to fly once married. 
Harry and Ellen were blessed to share 59 years of marriage. Besides 
Ellen, Harry is survived by 4 children: Roger and his wife Nancy; Sue 
and her husband, John Brown; Linda and her husband, John Cirino; and 
Craig; as well as his ``bright lights,'' grandchildren: Stephanie, 
Steve, and Scott Brown.
  Madam Speaker, Captain Harry Orlady's contributions to aviation 
safety will be long remembered and carried on by his many colleagues 
and students. He will be gready missed, but his momentous contributions 
will live on forever.

                          ____________________