ABSTRACT
One hundred ten miles off the coast of Scotland, the crew of Occidental’s Piper Alpha oil rig were victims of a fiery explosion that occurred when the night crew activated a pump taken off line by the day crew for repairs. Amazingly, most survived the initial explosion, but breakdowns in teamwork following the emergency sealed the fate of the 167 who died. Following the explosion, failures in team leadership, crew communication, and situational awareness delayed evacuation and the shutting down of key operations that would have limited damage (Cullen, 1990).
