downwindabeam
For what it's worth -
AVIATE, navigate, communicate (ATC, Company, Cabin Crew, Passengers) is the answer
If I was to say it in one line – FLY THE AEROPLANE
Interruptions will be your biggest enemy. Remember every one wants into your cockpit and a piece of your action. Keep them out (until you are ready – protect your management/thinking time) - Remember, interrupted checklists, crew communications and thought processes kill.
Keep the atmosphere calm in the cockpit - the other crew will work better for you if they’re not stressed out and being overloaded (including by you) - in many places ATC can be the biggest workload provider. More than once I've actually had the fifty questions thing with a major failure - even after asking them to standby several times
I hated the Engine failure ECAM in the airbus - from memory about the third item after thrust lever close etc was - ATC ADVISE - Now from previous experience I felt this was a bad thing, consider maybe, but, and I know I'll get flack for this, they are not going to help you 400 feet above the ground heading for the mountain with the engine on fire. Many crews (in the SIM) took this ECAM message as an instruction and pretty much engaged in a conversation with ATC to the total exclusion of any action or attention to the emergency at hand. Please don’t get the idea I’m anti ATC but the standards vary across the world. I’m really trying to say that calling ATC doesn’t help much in most situations but can distract and up the work load. The ATC recording of the BA777 Heathrow crash is just an amazing example of ATC at its best !
On the workload thing - if your FO is flying and comfortable then leave it with him/her as long as possible. Make management time !
Also no rush, there really isn't 99.9% of the time - had some really bad stuff but the aeroplane kept flying - if it does, take your time. Order a cup of tea from the cabin - fantastic for slowing the brain and calming the entire crew down. One of the most amazing things I ever saw in my time was a video of myself and crew dealing with a major emergency (volcanic ash - all engine failure) in the SIM.... the most amazing thing was that whilst you felt that time had gone into warp speed the video showed a very calm crew and almost no indication of an emergency in progress - so the pressure and the time compression is really all in your head. I felt that that videoed sim session was one of the top five learning experiences of my career - the cup of tea is important.
I always felt that time was the biggest pressure and that it was important to know, as soon as possible, how much time you had to deal with the situation and what the tightest constraint was - most of the time, assuming your wing wasn't being burned off, it would be fuel - quickly calculating or understanding how much time you have can relieve a whole lot of perceived pressure.
Prioritising is key - each warning on the warning system particularly on an EICAS/ECAM electronic display screams for attention - 95% of these warnings are symptoms of the real problem and are a low priority. Don't waste time (for now) on this stuff or let it get you into unimportant niff naff or worse still, lead you down the garden path - I say this in the knowledge of company SOPs and that these systems are supposed to prioritise for you but in reality once you get into multiple warnings, its a dog's breakfast. In addition, keeping in mind your could be drowning in warnings, sometimes it is very difficult indeed, in an emergency, to know exactly what your problem is - take your time to understand exactly what you are dealing with - resist the temptation to charge on down a particular road before you are really happy you know exactly what the situation is.
Know how to cancel your alarms - you won't be able to think if they're going off continuously. I often get angry about the comments aimed at the AF447 crew - the one thing nobody realises on that one is that the level of noise in that cockpit from alarms that couldn't be cancelled would have been unbearable ... something that doesn't come across on a transcript or on a TV documentary.
In my experience people over think an emergency and have intricate/complicated multiple step mental procedures ready to deal with events - keep it simple - you'll already be a little stressed, you don't want to add to it E.g. depressurisations - first, you want the mask on and working STOP now we need to go down and not hit anything (aircraft or terrain) STOP
Never make a drama out of a crisis - i.e. don't make things worse by trying to be smart and don't do too many what ifs. You might not make the best decisions, you might get something wrong and be picked up by the Monday morning quarterbacks but don't second guess yourself - gut feeling is one of the most underrated senses there is. An undamaged aeroplane on the ramp disembarking uninjured passengers is a very successful outcome and is pretty hard to argue with. I was always a great believer in going ugly early !!
Finally – FLY THE AROPLANE – do not get clever and heads down on the FMS – the basic modes such as HDG, ALT and OP DES/FLCH on the MCP etc might be the quickest, clearest way of dealing with flying the aircraft on the automatics and very importantly, they don't need a heads down cross check from the other guy. I think the FMS is a threat in many ways – from heads down to adding to the workload - people cannot stop playing with it as the first … and last response to everything that happens in the cockpit (bit like smartphones) – after one severe engine failure at night in the climb with the FO flying I was doing the check lists etc and twice I had to stop him going heads down and playing/programming with the FMS – remember he was flying. One reason he gave was that we need to get the descent in for the approach for the return …. my response was we’re at 25,000 feet we need about 85 miles – we’re a hundred on the DME and it looks like 135 track miles minimum. When the DME says 85 we can go open descent - we've also got another 20-30 minutes to do it, should we wish ! Distraction, priority, workload – all three ???
Remember, if you really are under serious pressure and sh1t and fan are coming together get back to real basics - know your bottom lines - Declare a mayday and now you can do what you want - TELL ATC what you are going to do - know how to get the gear down on the emergency system, you could land with the flaps up (know a ball park speed for the approach and landing distance) and if you have to hit something then do it wings level. Knowing back stops will give you confidence.
Agree with BOAC ref. these mnemonics - REVIEW is the important thing
Jetsyndrome advice is excellent - the emergency won't necessarily come at you as you expect and in a nice mnemonic/SOP order - don't forget in an emergency priorities can change very quickly so you don't want to be mentally shackled.
Love coco-nuts' first two points
Mach E Avelli - brilliant and absolutely spot on
The above is offered under the following caveat:
SUNSCREEN (google it - great advice for life !!)
Wear sunscreen
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long-term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.
Advice is a form of nostalgia. Dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.
Apologies, didn't mean to write War and Peace - Best wishes