We saw the movie “Sully” this weekend. I wasn’t surprised that I really enjoyed it, because I have a weakness for anything about flying. The surprise for me was the pride in humanity it engendered. We are a really smart species when it comes to emergency procedures! The pilot and co-pilot are plying their checklist within a few seconds of losing both engines. The Brace chant by the flight attendants clearly focuses the passengers on assuming the brace position, despite the fears of both. The ferry drivers see a jetliner in the Hudson and make a Mayday call to the Coast Guard with barely a Look-at-That, then start the rescue in a methodical fashion. The scuba rescuers race for their helicopters practically while the call is coming through (apparently they wear wetsuits on duty). All the responders at the site are calming, efficient, and effective.
I was reminded of 9-11, not least because of the images of a commercial jet off-course in NYC. At some point that day, someone decided that all commercial planes should land, and issued the order, and all the planes landed. At some earlier date, someone must have decided we need a plan in case all planes have to land at once. That may have been based on an expectation of losing the air traffic control system, but for whatever reason, the plan existed, and when it was used, it worked. Pilots clearly know how to decide where to land and how to take turns landing when directed to do so.
My husband recently told me that the US military has an active plan in case of invasion by Canada. My first reaction was to scoff, and to opine that the group with that charter could be eliminated for cost savings. But after seeing this movie, I wonder how I would decide where to draw the line. I suppose a more malevolent foreign power could take over Canada and invade from there. Someone probably scoffed at the all-planes-land idea, too.
Training seems to be a huge part of the success of these efforts. When people have practiced what to do in an emergency, then that emergency happens, that’s what they do. This leads me to three unrelated thoughts:
- Perhaps humans are not good at reacting to or analyzing complex systems with interrelated consequences over the long term, such as climate change, because we can’t easily plan or train for those.
- The US must be doing something wrong in its training of police officers faced by unarmed black persons stopped for minor crimes or suspicion, an apparently routine situation that would surely lend itself to procedure. Prime directive: Don’t Kill Anyone Who is Unarmed.
- I need to unpack and review my copy of The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook.
Culminating Triad 
Whoops forgot to respond to your 3 points at the end:
1) Yes, it’s largely because the issues are complicated and there are many uncertainties. But we’re not even doing closer-in, more obvious things, so that is for other reasons.
2) The training for racism starts pretty early.
3) You should get acquainted with stuff to do in case of an earthquake. Turn off gas, store water and MRE or some such, designate one person out of the area to call immediately who will tell others your status (you will soon lose ability to make phone calls), etc.
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My parents were on a plane in the middle of the Atlantic coming from Germany when the pilot told them that “the entire North American airspace was closed.” My father, given his background, thought it probably meant a nuclear attack. The passengers gradually figured out via phones and laptops what there was to be known. They spent another night in Germany. Anyway, there’s something to add to your list of things you never want to hear.
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Checklists. So much of orderly response to the unexpected hats do with checklists for the protocols. Never underestimate the value of a simple checklist.
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Yes. Pilot checklists have been the inspiration for similar approaches in medicine, with impressive results, even though doctors scoffed at the idea at first because they felt it demeaned their professional skills (and pilots aren’t professionals?) See The Checklist Manifesto (book) by Atul Gawande.
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