I was involved in an incident (September 2003). United Airlines MD 80 and little olde me in a MD 520N were put into the same place in space and time by Burbank Tower. NASA was impressed enough about the two reports filed that they put me and the pilot the the MD 80 in touch (something they are not supposed to do). When I talked to the other pilot we each had different recollections of the exact moments of the incident. I know it happened at 150 feet, the MD 80 thought it was 25 feet... Amazing story, and and the old time I ever met an angel. But then again, it only takes one meeting to know for sure...

On Saturday, February 13, 2021 at 8:00:44 AM UTC-8, wrote:
On Friday, February 12, 2021 at 11:06:29 AM UTC-5, wrote:
A really important message in Dave's excellent (though frustratingly inconclusive) PPT from P1 and P2: post accident, write down EVERYTHING you can remember ASAP.

In my experience, spectators should do the same. I don't care how observant and resilient and aware you think you are, you'll start forgetting things and molding facts to fit into theories almost from the beginning. Especially if others witnessed the same accident, write down what YOU saw--in detail. You can flesh them out and organize them later and even compare notes--which may not agree completely with others' accounts--but keep your ORIGINAL observations. Our minds work in mysterious ways.

Chip Bearden
JB
And don't be surprised if your recollections a few days later differ from what you initially wrote down. Police involved in deadly encounters are usually not required to submit to a formal interview for at least 48 hours. Studies have shown that, when facing life threatening situations, memories are more accurate after two sleep cycles. They have also shown that every time we recall an event, we change the memory a bit. Mysterious indeed. Of course, the consequences for a cop having inconsistent statements are quite different than the survivor of a bailout.