As promised, a week or two after my in-flight engine failure, I got back on the horse.

My view from the pilot seat before my “re-do” flight.

I expected to feel anxiety during the flight, but I really didn’t. Yes, my ear was highly tuned to any unusual sound from the engine. I was extra alert on my first few takeoffs, but overall I felt fine.

I attribute this lack of long-term effect to good processing with supportive friends following the scary incident. If we deal effectively with an emotionally significant event at the time, it doesn’t have to become a long-term problem. If I had brushed it off, I bet I would have felt a lot more anxiety on that first flight back.

During this flight, my instructor demonstrated and had me practice the power-off turning and power-off landing techniques I would have needed to handle the engine failure situation on my own. This was the coolest thing. When I put the plane down on the runway a few times, after a turn without power, I felt an incredible sense confidence. It was actually much easier than I expected. Knowing I was now prepared to handle the emergency I had encountered was huge.

I think this is how confidence works in the aftermath of a significant event. We can never convince ourselves the odds of it happening again are too small to worry about. Our brains don’t understand a 0.0001% chance of dying. They just hear “chance of dying”. Our brains do understand ability to handle a situation. “If that happens, I can deal with it safely.”

I am really glad I got back on the horse. In hindsight I can tell my confidence would have been permanently dented if I hadn’t.