Can Nathan Fielder Save You From Dying in a Plane Crash?

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The initial scenes of season two’s premiere of “The Rehearsal” deviate from typical comedy. Entitled “Gotta Have Fun,” it begins with a captain and first officer in a commercial jet’s cockpit, preparing for a landing in a foggy airport. The atmosphere is tense, as an instrument malfunctions, prompting terse conversations. Alarms blare. A robotic voice warns, “Too low! Terrain!” As farm fields emerge from the mist, noise and chaos ensue. Flames erupt and roar. The men in the cockpit are found motionless.

In truth, it’s more of a simulation, not actual death. The people you see aren’t real victims but actors portraying roles. The camera then focuses on Nathan Fielder, both the show’s maker and lead character, standing dejectedly outside the cockpit in a studio setting.

In an unconventional twist for comedy, Fielder isn’t your typical comedian. Known for his unique brand of humor, Fielder has made a name for himself through shows like Nathan for You on Comedy Central and The Rehearsal on HBO. His approach involves addressing real-life issues in the most complex and over-the-top ways imaginable, with solutions often far exceeding the magnitude of the problem at hand. For instance, in season one of The Rehearsal, he constructed an exact replica of Brooklyn’s Alligator Lounge, even reproducing the arrangement of spices in a tabletop spice rack, all to help a trivia night participant reveal his educational status truthfully to his teammate. The humor, while not for everyone, comes from Fielder’s relentless dedication to increasingly bizarre acts. However, this time, the implications are significant. As an aviation safety journalist, I can’t help but notice how frequent and deadly air crashes are. What if, in a change of pace, Fielder’s solutions mirrored the severity of the problem at hand?

As a passionate moviegoer and fan of ‘The Rehearsal’, I kick off this season by spotlighting a potentially lethal oversight in aviation culture: pilots’ struggle to communicate during emergencies, vividly illustrated in the opening scene and echoed in numerous real-life crash reenactments. In our quest for improvement, I’m eager to leverage the techniques introduced in the show’s inaugural season, particularly focusing on the practice of recreating and rehearsing situations.

In this season premiere, I catch up with John Goglia, a former member of the National Transportation Safety Board, and share with him a NTSB report from a 2009 crash suggesting that assertive communication exercises for first officers should be mandatory in pilot training. Regrettably, the FAA declined to implement this proposal. “For some reason, they’re hesitant to tackle this issue,” Goglia confides in me. I propose that with HBO’s financial backing and influential platform, we can rekindle this idea, potentially resolving this matter of life-or-death importance, and sparing countless lives from tragedy.

Initially, my instinct was doubtful towards Fielder’s project due to the intricate and intellectual nature of aviation safety, which is tackled by highly intelligent professionals. However, upon discussing it with industry experts, I found that there might be more depth to this seemingly absurd comedy series about a baby Sully being changed by a giant mom puppet, in terms of hazard mitigation or safety concerns.

Mark Noort, an organizational psychology professor at Leiden University in the Netherlands, shared with me his initial reaction after watching the show’s first episode: “For about five minutes after I started, I was utterly spellbound. It’s unusual to confess, but it stirred some emotions within me.” This program, he explained, delved into issues of cockpit communication that he has extensively researched. The opening scenes, which recreated a few crash transcripts he had previously read and analyzed, resonated particularly strongly with him: “It was almost as if someone was making an effort to show how these conversations actually took place. It hit close to home.

As a fervent admirer, I’d like to share my enthusiasm for Noort’s field, particularly Crew Resource Management (CRM). This fascinating study explores how teams can collaborate efficiently in high-stress, safety-critical environments, such as airline cockpits and operating rooms. The importance of CRM was underscored by the tragic 1977 collision of two Boeing 747s on the runway at Tenerife, Canary Islands – a disaster that remains one of aviation’s darkest chapters. A crucial factor in this catastrophe was the failure of one plane’s first officer to alert his captain about the other jet still on the runway before takeoff.

In the area of Customer Relationship Management (CRM), the term “safety voice” is used to describe individuals who aren’t afraid to voice concerns when they believe a critical situation is impending, as described by Noort. A study conducted in 2021 by Noort and his team analyzed transcripts from cockpit-voice recorders dating back six decades, focusing on instances where subordinates warned the captain of an immediate danger approaching. According to Noort’s findings, it is estimated that between a quarter and half of all fatal crashes can be attributed to communication breakdowns among the aircraft crew.

In a relatively niche area of study, safety voice, there aren’t many experts to count on one hand. However, Fielder’s work stands out remarkably in this field. Not only has he pinpointed an issue that only a handful of us in the field are aware of, but he’s also emphasizing the strategies we’ve found could be advantageous.

With CRM concepts permeating various sectors, such a dynamic within cockpits is becoming less common. As Noort puts it, “the method of interaction has evolved.” Essentially, we’re either eliminating the ‘cowboy’ approach or training it out.

A noteworthy event from 2022 underscores the advancements made within the aviation sector. An Alaska Airlines flight, bound for San Francisco from Washington, encountered an unforeseen situation when the captain and first officer had a disagreement, leading them to refuse flying together. The plane was then escorted back to the gate, causing a delay as the airline sought a substitute pilot. Despite passenger discontent, Alaska Airlines upheld their flight crew’s decision, acknowledging it for prioritizing safety. In their statement to Fox Business, Alaska explained, “Though this incident was regrettable, in the name of safety, the pilots took the appropriate action.

As a film enthusiast, I find myself intrigued by Fielder’s approach if he’s trying to mislead us into believing that his ideas are novel or groundbreaking. However, in many parts of the world, similar training methods have already been implemented, especially in aviation. For instance, European regulators demand airline pilots-in-training to undergo a course called “multi-crew cooperation,” or MCC, after they’ve mastered flying solo. Pete Legg, head of training at CRM Aviation Europe, explains that these trainees have never flown with another pilot before. Once they start the MCC course, they learn how to communicate effectively and work as a team. The course consists of 20 hours of classroom study and 40 hours in a simulator where students practice exactly the scenarios Fielder talks about. As Noort from CRM Aviation Europe puts it, “It’s crucial to live the experience, to feel what it’s like in real situations, so you can actually perform it rather than just talking about it.

In his days as an airline captain, Legg always implemented safety protocols before each flight. Moments before departing the gate, he would confer with his co-pilot on a pre-flight briefing. “I’d explain, ‘Although I have extensive experience, if there’s ever something you don’t grasp or feel uneasy about during our flight, please let me know,'” Legg recounts. “In case of an emergency, we both perish together. So, if you spot anything that doesn’t sit right with you at any instant, I want to be informed.’

In contrast to Europe, the United States doesn’t seem to fully comprehend or tackle the issue as effectively when it comes to CRM (Crew Resource Management). Instead, it is primarily discussed in academic settings. As Kimberly Perkins, an airline pilot and safety researcher specializing in safety voice, pointed out via email, the aviation industry lacks sufficient training in this area. Even when taught, pilots often forget the lessons due to outdated teaching methods and materials. To bring about real change, modernized techniques are required, such as immersive technology like VR (Virtual Reality) and role-play simulations.

Is there truly a significant number of lives at stake?

Since Fielder began compiling this season’s work, there hadn’t been a fatal airline accident in the U.S. for more than a decade – not just those triggered by safety procedures, but any accidents whatsoever. Given that I frequently discuss aviation safety, I’ve found myself using this fact often, making it a sort of habit. It seems like planes hardly ever crash anymore. Thus, when Fielder declared in the first episode that lives were on the line, my initial thought was: There are no lives at risk because flying is already incredibly safe.

Later on, a recollection from Washington D.C., specifically the incident that occurred on January 29, came to my mind. That day, an Army Blackhawk helicopter was on a training flight over the Potomac River, heading south along its eastern shore towards Reagan National Airport. Air traffic control warned them about an incoming passenger jet approaching their path, and they acknowledged seeing it. Unfortunately, the trainee pilot had strayed from the designated aerial route, climbing above the permitted altitude. The instructor advised her to move left towards the riverbank to avoid danger, but she didn’t obey. Instead of turning eastward or lowering her altitude, she continued on course. Tragically, just fifteen seconds later, the helicopter collided with the incoming passenger jet at around 300 feet, causing both aircraft to crash into the river and killing all 67 people on board.

Remarkably, within three months of a new TV series highlighting the perils of suboptimal cockpit conversation, the U.S. experiences its first deadly air crash in 16 years due to exactly this issue. Considering how often communication lapses contribute to fatal incidents, it’s likely that this theme will recur in future crashes as well.

Unless Fielder’s advocacy actually works.

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2025-05-19 16:54