In case of an emergency, utilize all available resources.
We will face emergencies in our lives. It could be a horrific car accident, a family member who falls, breaks their hip, and is in critical condition, or a sudden loss of employment, leaving you unable to pay your bills, even held at gunpoint.
I have experienced all these events, including being held at gunpoint. Not one of these events could have been predicted. The question isn’t whether or not a catastrophic failure will lead to a critical spike in danger.
The question is, how will you respond.
On July 19, 1989, a DC-10 United Airline Flight took off from Chicago to Philadephia. The Captain was Al Haynes, who had flown a commercial jet for 29,967 hours. Every hour and every minute without an accident, let alone an incident.
Captain Haynes had been in control of a pressurized metal tube flying 500 mph for the equivalent of 749 forty-hour work weeks without any failure.
A DC-10 has three engines, one on each wing and one on the tail. On this day, the engine on the tail had a catastrophic failure. The metal jet engine has thousands of metal fan blades that blow apart. As these metal shards exploded, they ripped apart critical wires, tubes, and metal wires, and the pilots would need to be able to control the airplane.
Captain Haynes and the crew were four miles up in the air, flying at 500 mph, and had lost the ability to control the aircraft. The odds of this event were so small, far less likely than 1 in 100,000,000; Boeing did not even have a checklist procedure for this emergency.
I think about this event all the time in my life. There will be times when I will feel alone and without answers.
Facing imminent death and the death of the 296 souls on board, Captain Haynes could have resigned; he could have reacted, leading to a stall and nose dive to Earth. What he did was remarkable, and he is one of my heroes.
Captain Haynes remained calm and led the crew through a masterclass of problem-solving under extreme conditions.
He identified and used all available resources, synchronized the crew air traffic control, and controlled the aircraft using only the throttles of the two remaining engines.
The entire flight is recorded on the voice recorder for you to listen to. Captain Haynes even made jokes to keep the crew calm throughout the incident.
He knew they would not be able to have a safe landing. It would have to be a crash landing, but he knew if he could land at an airport, he wouldn’t endanger people on the ground, and the airport would have a fire department and emergency personnel to save as many people on board as possible.
They crashed and landed in Sioux City, Iowa, and the event is considered the most remarkable example of CRM Crew Resource Management in airline history.
Don’t wait for an emergency to rally your friends, family, and resources when you are fearful and scared without any answers to the problems you face.
Your ability to communicate and bring people together to solve a common problem is the answer.
Nick McLean
Nick McLean Real Estate
Cheplak Live Coach
Real Estate Greatness