ABSTRACT
What constitutes the overall characteristics of a leader? The ability to create an environment in which others choose to follow toward a goal that they believe is worthwhile! Another image of a leader that comes to mind is one in which a leader inspires others to be leaders. There are countless stories of pilots who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership under very stressful situations and certainly none are more evident than the events surrounding the three airline flights mentioned in Chapter one. In this chapter we will take a closer look at two of those flights, and review the remaining story in a subsequent chapter (Chapter 11). One of the two stories covered in this chapter deals with probably the most serious mechanical malfunction a pilot may ever face – the complete loss of all hydraulic flight controls caused by a catastrophic engine failure. The captain of the second flight was challenged by a completely different but equally serious threat – as he had to contend with terrorists, willing to sacrifice their own lives as well as everyone else’s for their cause. In both cases, the captains were called upon to exercise exceptional leadership ability, not only to save their own lives, but also to minimize the loss of life and injury to their passengers and crew. The captains in these two events exhibited characteristics that were developed over time and gained through experience.
