Which incident is cited as an example of anger's effect on listening?

• A. Tenerife 1977
• B. Air France 447
• C. Express II Flight 5719 at Hibbing
• D. Colgan Air 3407

Answer: (C)

Anger changes how we hear. When someone is angry, attention tends to funnel toward the source of frustration, defensiveness rises, and important input from others can be ignored or misunderstood. In the Hibbing Express II incident, the crew’s anger impeded effective listening, so critical information from teammates wasn’t properly heard or acted on, leading to a breakdown in communication and poorer decision making. This illustrates why staying calm and practicing active listening—acknowledging what’s said, asking clarifying questions, and confirming key instructions—is essential in flight deck teamwork. The other listed accidents involve different CRM dynamics, but anger’s impact on listening is a clear, persistent risk demonstrated by this case.