A fascinating reconstruction of the psychological dimension of this flight. Two Questions: (1) to what extent does exhaustion become a factor? Amelia and Fred had been in flight, mostly in the dark, in a cramped cabin space for going on 24 hours straight. Does fear override fatigue? Or does fatigue accentuate fear, in these circumstances? (2) To what extent does having other members in the group (i.e., Fred) mitigate the fear response? There's a scene in the novel "The High and the Mighty" about a damaged passenger propeller aircraft losing fuel through damaged fuel tanks, in which the formerly cocksure pilot panics and tries to prematurely ditch the aircraft in the ocean, in exactly the jumbled mental state that Dr. Ford has described. It falls to the co-pilot (supposedly a washed-up but experienced officer) to slap the pilot and snap "Get a hold of yourself!" After a period of detachment, the pilot's faculties come back to him, and he starts thinking straight to save the passengers and crew. Melodrama to be sure, but the author was an experienced pilot himself (I think his name was Gannon, without checking), and the description of the disintegrating psychological state of the fictional pilot and the effect of the co-pilot's intervention rings true. In our scenario of Amelia and Fred, does having another person in the group "balance" the psychological stress of Amelia?
Scott
R3292