This.

I know 2 candidates who had the same (very minor) circumstance in their past. Both were asked about it. One got defensive and the other remained calm and answered the question smoothly. Only one got a job offer and it was the latter. This should suprise no one.

Some get all wrapped around the axle at the most obvious (and the most minor) of "bad cop" interview vibes or anything said to "deduct points", not to mention totally suprised and almost situationally disoriented by it. I bet that is viewed as a less desireable characteristic than the easy alternative of remaining calm and rolling with it.

Having a helmet fire in an air conditioned room at 1G and zero knots over a routine and expected question (that you can easilly turn into a growth arc "teachable moment" that actually benefits you as an applicant) just might correlate to a downline predictor of how someone handles an actual stressful moment in a more relevant environment.

Same for some of the "Kobayashi Maru" flying scenario questions. Much of it is how you handle it, not just if you come up with the one and only one perfectly scripted answer.

Or maybe not. Maybe its all just interview gamesmanship. Cool. All the more reason to know its coming and roll with it, and those who don't clearly show they are unprepared at the very least.