In a previous article, "Crash Lander" said:
common sense or instinct to me. Maybe when you're faced with an engine
failure, common sense can sometimes go out the window in the panic.

That's why as a student pilot you're drilled on the emergency checklist
until you know it without thinking. I don't know about the plane you fly,
but on mine it's
1. FLY THE PLANE
2. Pick a landing spot
3. FLY THE PLANE
4. Everything forward (throttle, prop, mixture)
5. FLY THE PLANE
6. Everything up (flaps, gear)
7. FLY THE PLANE
8. Fuel pump on. Switch tanks.
9. FLY THE PLANE
10. Carb heat or alternate air
11. FLY THE PLANE
12. Make emergency radio calls
13. FLY THE PLANE
14. Prepare to land.

--
Paul Tomblin http://blog.xcski.com/
God is real, unless declared as an integer.