On United 232, they followed the checklist, but the situation on their hands was not one the checklist was able to help. If you've never read Captain Al Haynes' talk, it is well worth it:<p><i>Anyone who has seen this video seems to have this one question
in their mind, and that is: how did anyone survive an accident of that
magnitude? I think there are five factors that contribute to the
degree of success that we had at Sioux City: that is, luck,
communications, preparation, execution, and cooperation. And I would
like to talk about those five things today.</i><p><a href="http://www.clear-prop.org/aviation/haynes.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.clear-prop.org/aviation/haynes.html</a>