Richard De Crespigny: Flight QF32
Tue Jan 27 2026
Richard De Crespigny is an expert in leadership, decision-making, and human performance under pressure. He is best known as the Captain of Qantas Flight 32, the Airbus A380 that suffered a catastrophic engine failure shortly after takeoff from Singapore on November 4th, 2010—an event that has since become one of the most studied and finest examples of effective CRM in aviation history. He has over 45 years of experience in aviation and his book, QF32, is a powerful exploration of leadership, teamwork, communication, and calm thinking when the stakes could not be higher.
What makes the story of QF32 extraordinary isn’t just what went wrong—but how a team came together, how decisions were made in uncertainty, and how human factors, not heroics, made the difference to effect a safe and successful outcome.
In this conversation, we go beyond the headlines to explore what QF32 teaches us about crew resource management, cognitive load, emotional regulation, communication and leadership when suddenly faced with potential catastrophe.
Richard's books:
QF32Fly! The Elements of Resilience
Richard's website: https://qf32.aero/
Richard's podcast, FLY: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/qf32-the-inside-story-from-the-flight-deck/id1832400848?i=1000723751309
(Episode photograph supplied by Richard De Crespigny used with permission)
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Richard De Crespigny is an expert in leadership, decision-making, and human performance under pressure. He is best known as the Captain of Qantas Flight 32, the Airbus A380 that suffered a catastrophic engine failure shortly after takeoff from Singapore on November 4th, 2010—an event that has since become one of the most studied and finest examples of effective CRM in aviation history. He has over 45 years of experience in aviation and his book, QF32, is a powerful exploration of leadership, teamwork, communication, and calm thinking when the stakes could not be higher. What makes the story of QF32 extraordinary isn’t just what went wrong—but how a team came together, how decisions were made in uncertainty, and how human factors, not heroics, made the difference to effect a safe and successful outcome. In this conversation, we go beyond the headlines to explore what QF32 teaches us about crew resource management, cognitive load, emotional regulation, communication and leadership when suddenly faced with potential catastrophe. Richard's books: QF32Fly! The Elements of Resilience Richard's website: https://qf32.aero/ Richard's podcast, FLY: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/qf32-the-inside-story-from-the-flight-deck/id1832400848?i=1000723751309 (Episode photograph supplied by Richard De Crespigny used with permission) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.