Sooner or later, most of us have to deal with the dire - something so egregious and hopeless that we feel completely out of control. Layoff, bankruptcy, divorce, death or serious illness can all leave us with a feeling of hopelessness. But the way you respond to the situation can make the difference between winning or losing it all.
Indeed, one of the objectives of introducing you to the people in this audio book is to learn and benefit from their winning (and sometimes losing) experiences. The United predicament was chosen because the situation was about as crazy as it gets. The fate of everyone on board appeared doomed, and from all indications, there was nothing the crew could do to change the outcome.
But sometimes, contrary to indications or probability, you have to buck the odds. To insist that somewhere, somehow, a solution exists. It may not be obvious or even what you originally envisioned as an acceptable outcome, but the solution is out there.
The next time you want to throw in the towel and walk from an untenable situation, stop and ask yourself the following question: If I knew a solution existed and my life depended on it, would I have a better chance of finding the answer? Of course you would, because now you’d have two powerful agents on your side – expectation and incentive.
History is replete with examples of people overcoming incredible odds. In many cases they simply had a high degree of motivation.
Like a truck driver who lifts the car off a trapped motorist, or the mid-life mom who beats terminal cancer, something inside us kicks in when the chips are down, just like it did with the United crew.
That is why it is so important to hang in there when the odds are stacked against you – to stay loose, seek a solution, and take strength in the fact that you will find a way. Like Harriet Beecher Stowe says, “When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you cannot hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn.”
Keep in mind you are going to face situations in your life where you will be pushed beyond your perceived capabilities. Where everything will appear hopeless, out of control and so screwed up that you’ll want to pack it in and quit. But that is precisely the time you must hunker down, hold on and fight. In other words, don’t give up. Life has an odd way of taking us right up to the edge of the cliff, and just as we are pushed off, we get wings.
Think of it this way: Each time you are pushed off that so-called cliff, you log “flight time.” You may have to flap like hell, but sooner or later you discover you can fly above the chaos.
With that thought in mind, let’s briefly return to Flight 232 and gain some insight. With the dilemma that faced them, the crew certainly needed to net extraordinary results.
The situation was much more serious than most modern-day flight system failures. The reason is simple. The manufacturer of the DC-10, considered the loss of hydraulics so remote that nothing was written in the manual to resolve the issue.
However there was one item that gave the crew the ability to overcome an impossible situation. Their mindset. Giving up simply wasn’t an option. Maintaining control of the airplane was their singular concern – and that commitment provided extraordinary results.
When you care about an outcome so much that victory is your only viable option, self-empowerment comes to your aid. Energy is no longer expended on self-doubt. You no longer “hedge your bet” with a barrage of excuses in the event things don’t work out. In a word, you’re committed. The moment you reach this level of purpose, you tap into strengths and abilities you didn’t think you had.
Let’s consider the following blow-by-blow account of Flight 232 as an example.
Soon after the catastrophic engine failure, the DC-10 begins an uncontrolled descent. With no pitch control, the aircraft enters into a phugoid oscillation – a series of climbs and dives that give the airplane an uncontrollable, roller coaster-like behavior.
The enormity of the crisis now becomes obvious as the jet begins to have a mind of its own. Three separate times the DC-10 nearly goes over on its back. With no hydraulics an inverted roll will be an automatic death sentence for the lumbering jet. But something remarkable begins to transpire in the cockpit. An incredible display of teamwork and raw determination are coming together. The cockpit becomes a beehive of ideas. What if we try this? Do you think this will help?
An off-duty instructor pilot asks one of the flight attendants if he can give a hand. Haynes accepts. He directs the instructor to control the throttles so as to free up the captain and co-pilot to work the control wheel.
Through a system of trial and error, the crew work their magic. Al Haynes, Bill Records, D.J. Dvorak and Denny Fitch feverishly but delicately baby the big jet to behave. The crew devise a crude but workable method of manipulating engine power to control the direction of the plane. Still, the nearest airport is Sioux City, Iowa, some 75 miles away and, as Haynes quipped, “we had absolutely no idea how we were going to get there!”
Forty-five minutes later, the crew miraculously lines up with Runway 22 at Sioux City. Although the runway length is hopelessly short for a DC-10, it’s their only option. The crew knows at best they’ll blow through the end of the runway and skid into a corn field. The worst…isn’t contemplated.
With the aircraft now at the runway threshold and mere seconds from touchdown, the DC-10 is cursed with another phugoid oscillation. The jet begins an uncontrollable nose-down pitch as the ground proximity recorder blasts a warning, “Pull Up…Pull Up!”
A split second later, the plane begins to roll to the right. A crewmember begins to holler, “Left! Left! Left!” Just then the aircraft’s right wing digs deep into the asphalt.
…As the world witnesses the spectacular fireball on TV, few people comprehend the miracle that has just taken place…… controlled flight was maintained all the way to the runway threshold. By the book, this was patently impossible. In fact to this day, flight test crews have been unable to maintain control of a DC-10 when the situation is duplicated in a flight simulator.
By all accounts, the United jet should have spun-in from 37,000 feet. As anyone in aviation knows, a graveyard spiral from seven miles in the sky all but guarantees a 100% fatality rate. However because the jet was relatively slow and in landing configuration, the crew and the majority of passengers lived through an otherwise unsurvivable accident.
A number of factors contributed to the high survival rate of this flight. But the critical component was the mindset of the crew – packing it in just wasn’t an option.
The next time you feel you’re “going down” remember this story and apply the following four “flying lessons”.
1. Regardless of your circumstances proceed as if a solution exists…no matter how hopeless things seem.
2. Train to gain. Peak performance occurs when you are prepared, expectant and highly motivated to net a successful outcome.
3. Establish a crisis management plan that allows you to tap your team or other resources on a minute’s notice. Be flexible and open to any and all ideas.
4. Above all else, visualized a successful scenario. See yourself cool, calm and in charge, then make that scenario a reality. Should you find yourself in a situation that appears patently impossible, ask yourself this question: Could my assessment be patently wrong?
