Vance is a black woman who was targeted by a privileged white passenger. She fought back and won. It's a story of empowerment. It is, Akaman agreed. But that is a story for the sociology department.
We are in the business of business. And in business, empowerment is a byproduct. The engine is leverage. Let's analyze the two principles. On one hand, Mark Harrington, at the time of the incident, he controlled a fund with a nominal value of $2 billion.
He owned 8% of the airline he was standing in. By any definition, he was a powerful man. He had wealth. Aan paced his eyes scanning the room. On the other hand, Dr.
Emily Vance, her personal net worth, while considerable, was not the weapon she used. Harington looked at her and saw in his profoundly limited worldview a target, an individual. He failed to see that he was not in a dispute with a person. He was in a dispute with a system. Dr.
Vance, Akaman said, tapping the screen, didn't own the airline. She enabled it. She was not a passenger on the plane. She was the keystone of its very existence. Harrington had wealth.
Dr. Vance had leverage. His power was static. I own this. Her power was dynamic.
I control this. He thought he could bully a fellow passenger. He did not realize he was in fact attempting to bully the very laws of physics that kept his plane in the air. The arrogance is staggering, yes, but the stupidity is what's truly educational. A hand went up.
Professor, but the Vance protocol, it was for technical failure. Using it for this, wasn't it a breach of contract? Wasn't it an abuse of power? Professor Akaman smiled. It was a thin academic smile.
Ah, the abuse of power question. This is the genius of the case and the part that I hope you will all take with you when you leave this room. Dr. Vans did not abuse the protocol. She redefined it.
For 50 years, operational safety in the aviation industry meant one thing, mechanical failure. Is the engine on fire? Is the landing gear stuck? Is the software corrupted? Dr.
Vance, in one 5-minute phone call, looked at a 2,000page contract and found the one brilliant, irrefutable word that bridged the gap. Integrity. Her contract stated that Vance Aeros Systems guarantees the operational integrity of the avionic suite. She argued successfully, I might add, as Apex Air's entire legal team folded that this integrity is not just mechanical. It is systemic.
It includes the human factor. She proved in a way the market could not ignore that a crew that is too intimidated, poorly trained, or culturally conditioned to stop a Catherine Harrington cannot be trusted to handle a catastrophic. Engine failure. She proved, Auran said, his voice dropping for emphasis, that bigotry is not just a moral failing. It is a financial liability.