On the morning of February 13, 2018, Captain Christopher Behnam was the first officer on United Airlines flight 1175, flying a Boeing 777. He and his crew were on a routine flight from San Francisco to Honolulu when suddenly a loud noise, accompanied by several warning signals and severe shaking of the aircraft, was heard. It soon became clear that they were facing a catastrophic engine failure, losing half of their propulsion power, along with significant drag caused by damage to the aircraft's structure. They were hundreds of miles away from their destination in the Hawaiian Islands. The story that follows is a direct account of how he and his crew managed to safely land the damaged aircraft with 381 people on board. As they descended through thick clouds, barely able to read the instruments, the crew somehow communicated with each other in a way that, unfortunately, other crews in similar incidents had failed to do in the past. But this story is not only about a miraculous recovery by a well-trained crew but much more than that. It is a story of the kind of opportunity Churchill referred to as something very special, unique to them, and fitting for their talents. As you will soon learn, Captain Behnam had seemingly gained all of his life experiences for this very moment.
