Hijackers of Flight 961 who demanded the pilot fly them to Australia — from the Comoros Islands, over the Indian Ocean — while ignoring his warnings that there wasn't enough fuel. The plane crashed, killing 125 people.
Highlights
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The Dunning-Kruger effect — incompetent people can't recognize their own incompetence
The hijackers were so ignorant of aviation that they couldn't understand the pilot's warnings about fuel. Their incompetence was too profound to recognize its own limitations.
Overconfidence kills — and it's hardest to challenge in hierarchies where power outranks expertise
The hijackers had guns (power) but no aviation knowledge (expertise). The pilot had expertise but no power. When power and expertise are separated, catastrophe becomes likely.