The most infuriating thing about being witness to another’s life, real or fictional, is knowing what the ‘correct’ action or decision is in every situation. If a train is coming, don’t stand there—step to the left. 

It is very easy to theorize about how one would react in any given situation, but it is impossible to predict how someone would truly react until they are thrown into an unexpected and startling experience themselves.

This dichotomy, action versus non-action, is at the core of discussion and analysis swirling around a situation that occurred on a JetBlue flight March 27. According to CNN, the pilot, Capt. Clayton Osbon, lost control of his grasp on reality and his adherence to his duties as pilot, abandoned his post and endangered the lives of the 141 people onboard a flight from New York to Las Vegas.

Luckily, the co-pilot was able to take over and retain control of the airplane, thanks largely to the quick thinking of a few stewardesses who locked the cabin so the main pilot could not reenter to assume control in his unhinged state. 

This presented a problem though, as it gave the passengers of the flight a front-row seat to watch the terrifying spectacle of a man, who is supposed to be flying their plane, shouting about bombs and terrorists, running up and down the aisles and attacking the locked cockpit door.

For the most part, many of the passengers treated the situation as a show — shocked into inaction, watching events unfold without intervening to try to diffuse or calm the situation. Even though the co-pilot and a flight attendant made a call for passengers to help restrain the pilot, only four got up to help, according to CNN. 

True, there is the argument that it would not take more than four reasonably fit men to subdue even a wildly thrashing outlier and any other helpers would simply be getting in the way. Still, one would expect there to be more than four passengers to at least stand up and start heading toward the captain.

These men’s heroic actions seem like the obvious course of action from 40,000 feet below, but studies suggest that the majority of people would be like the majority of the plane passengers: frozen and inactive.

Especially in groups, people tend to sit back and keep quiet. Termed ‘pluralistic ignorance,’ people notice others’ inaction at an uneasy situation and assume that because they are the only one concerned, there must not really be a problem. 

The fear of stepping into a situation where intervention is not needed is too great for many and results in whole groups passively watching threatening or dangerous events unfold.

Studies of the ‘bystander effect’ have shown that only subtle differences separate the bystanders from the heroes. Generally speaking, the role taken by any particular person depends on the details of the situation.

If that is the case, then people should take it upon themselves to prepare for out of the blue occurrences where some quick-thinking and a small dose of bravery can go a long way in ensuring that the end result will be a positive one. Two of the four passenger responders were trained to react to crisis — one was a former prison guard and one was a former New York police sergeant.

Self-defense classes, CPR training or even just mentally reviewing various scenarios to understand what the best recourse is can go a long way in helping one fall into the active, not passive, reactionary category. It’s one thing to assume how we will react, but another thing entirely to mentally prepare with the tools, confidence and mental awareness that provide the guts to stand up and get involved.

The four passengers who stepped up potentially saved lives, and all it took was a willingness to try to fix what they knew was wrong. More people should be willing to take action instead of a population waiting for somebody else to save the day. 

Superman won’t be sweeping in to save the day anytime soon, but that’s okay. People are generally skilled and level-headed enough to take care of most situations, as long as they have the bravery to do so.

Allana Wooley is a freshman anthropology and history double major from Marble Falls.