Flight From Atlanta To Seattle - 10.21.2013 It’s not the first time I’ve been involved in an emergency landing. My neighbor-in-travel, Donna and I had agreed to go to the washroom at the same time, about 10 PM, to minimize the discomfort of getting in and out of seats. I have a lovely stream of urine flowing when it occurs to me, “It feels like we’re falling!” Then the flight attendant announces, “I’m sorry, the captain has requested that we shut down all services.” I had never heard that before. We get back to our seats and give each other mystified looks. She had felt the same falling sensation. After 10 minutes the captain comes on the intercom, “We have an overheat light in the cargo bay. We’re going to make an emergency landing in Pasco.” The anxiety and tension suddenly become palpable, and I feel inspired to tell Donna about the time on an intercontinental flight that I saw the fuel being jettisoned. THAT was scary! So, just like the time in England, we approach the runway and see a LOT of fire trucks and ambulances, lights flashing, poised for disaster. Meanwhile, any bump in the air or abnormal sound elicits a faint gasp from Donna. She’s obviously flustered. I tell her I’m not worried at all, because I don’t believe a plane crash is the way I’m going to go. The landing gear drops....OH MY GOD! People are clearly upset. We finally land. Captain says, “We’re going to park here in the runway while the fire crews check us. If all looks OK, we’ll proceed to the concourse.” They never do find a problem, and now, at 2:38 AM somebody has made a bunch of sandwiches. I choose ham and cheese... man I was hungry! About half the other 182 people from this flight are asleep - sprawled bodies in odd positions, strewn around the concourse gate like unpopular rag dolls. Since there aren’t a plethora of jets sitting around the Tri Cities Airport, Delta is flying one in for us. We’re scheduled to leave here at 4 AM, for a 4:45 arrival in Seattle. Looks like I’ll miss my morning dental appointment.
Posted on: Tue, 22 Oct 2013 10:07:53 +0000
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