This week, an amazing thing happened. An airline passenger spoke up, raised a red flag, and saved the lives of nearly 300 people. It was an international flight from Chicago to Japan, and a passenger noticed a fuel leak on the jetliner. The passenger alerted a flight attendant but his concern was dismissed out of hand. The passenger, who also happened to be an Air Force sergeant and an air refueling boom operator, continued to watch and began video taping the fuel leak from his seat. Shortly thereafter, he spoke up again, this time saying: “Ma’am, it’s an emergency.”

With that, the flight attendant alerted the crew and pilot-who had been perplexed as to how they were losing 6,000 pounds of jet fuel per hour. The pilot diverted the plane to San Francisco and later admitted they would have never made it to Japan. The Air Force sergeant is today being hailed as a hero for averting disaster and saving the lives of ~300 people.

GOTJ tells people to do the same thing at work-when things don’t look right, speak up. Don’t let problems simmer; don’t put them on the back burner, assuming or hoping they’ll go away. Typically they don’t go away; they only grow bigger and more unruly.  If you see a problem coming down the pipeline, raise a red flag:

• Highlight the issue or flag the potential problem
• State your rationale-the reason why or way in which trouble is headed your way
• Propose a solution

Thankfully, for all concerned in today’s flight, the passenger and pilot had an alternative solution in hand-landing in San Francisco. You too could be the hero that saves the day at work if you speak up next time.

Aviation Buffs’ Bonus: jetfuel leak