James Robinson writes:

Consider that the plane was probably cruising along on autopilot, when
the autopilot shut off and the plane went into a sudden dive. The pilot
would be shaken out of lethargy ...

The pilot's first mistake is to become lethargic. If she had nothing
else to do such that she was getting sleepy, then she could have spent
her time watching the behavior of the autopilot to see if it was
struggling to maintain the attitude of the aircraft. This is
especially true if autopilot movements are reflected in movements of
the controls.

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