Straight Talk with Mark Bouris #222 Richard de Crespigny: The Pilot Who Saved 440 Qantas Passengers
Dec 17, 2025
Richard de Crespigny, former Qantas A380 captain, shares his harrowing experience from the cockpit of Qantas Flight 32, which faced a catastrophic engine failure shortly after takeoff. He delves into the themes of leadership and teamwork, detailing how decisive action averted disaster. Richard introduces concepts of micromorts to compare aviation risks with everyday activities and emphasizes the importance of resilience and thorough training. He also discusses the evolution of aviation technology and the critical role of trust in automation.
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Motorbikes Built Early Resilience
- Richard traces his resilience back to childhood motorbike adventures in a 300-square-mile state forest.
- Those experiences taught repair, risk recovery, and pushing physical and mental limits.
Know Which Black Boxes To Turn Off
- Know your systems down to critical controls even if you don't understand every black box.
- Learn which system to turn off and how to do it when automation misbehaves.
Stress‑Proof Through Deliberate Practice
- Practice deliberately and stress-proof the hardest scenarios until they no longer trigger fear.
- Use demonstrate–direct–monitor training and repeat until responses are reliable under pressure.