And as more details of the emergency have been revealed over the past couple of days, the story has just become more compelling.

A constant theme, though, has been the widespread praise for the 23-year-old pilot who calmly brought down the plane en route from Bankstown to Cowra.

The young man was just putting in a regular day’s work when his world was turned upside down.

Recordings of his discussion with air traffic controllers reveal the chaos in the small cabin as the elderly passenger, allegedly, tried to seize control of the small plane.

Charges have now been laid in relation to the incident, and it will be up to the courts to determine the facts surrounding the case.

But for one so young to maintain his composure in such stressful circumstances, and to land the plane with virtually no damage, speaks volumes for both his training and temperament.

And the young man’s performance might serve as a reminder that today’s oft-maligned young people aren’t all bad.

But this story also gives us all the chance to ask how we might react ourselves in such a situation.

Few of us, thankfully, will ever face a life-threatening situation but we must all wonder what might happen if we did.

Would we step up to the mark and take control of the situation as the young pilot did? Or would we fall in a heap?

Would we maintain our composure, or would we buckle under the pressure?

Training can only prepare us for so much. After that, instinct takes over.

We’d rather never be in a position where we have to sit a test we can’t be sure we’d pass.