Anyone who has at least a passing interest in aviation probably has encountered this stereotype: pilots are calm. They never lose cool or even raise a voice in extreme situations. They report an uncontained engine failure as if it was a daily occurrence, and ask for an emergency landing as if they were ordering their dinner. Nowhere is it as clear as in recordings of emergencies. Here is an actual recording of the so-called Miracle on the Hudson, an incident where after a bird strike and a double engine failure pilots had to crash-land their A320 in a river: How do they do that? What is their secret and can a regular mortal non-aviator learn it? Turns out, some things can be learned, while others cannot. Let’s start from the most obvious and the least applicable one:..
