I heard a story once (third or fourth hand) about a really hard landing that had the passengers whispering and asking if that was normal. The aircraft pulled off the runway and stopped for a minute or so. The co-pilot came on the intercom and announced that he was responsible for that less than smooth landing and ended by saying [you might have guessed that for the last 10 years I have been doing this on an aircraft carrier]. The story goes that the cabin broke out in laughter and some passengers even took the time to talk to the pilot as they were deplaning. Good way to end an uneasy situation I thought.

USMCFLYR