Emergency Landing: The Flight Back

On my recent trip to Missouri to visit my Grandparents, I had quite an adventure traveling.  There were no direct flights to and from my destination, so I had to make a connection at O'hare, Chicago on the way to and from Missouri.

On the way home, I was sleep deprived after a wonderful night of staying up late, past midnight, catching up with my cousin and waking up at 3:00 am to leave for the airport.  I figured I could sleep on the plane.  The first leg of the trip went smoothly, landing in O'Hare and finding my connecting gate with plenty of time to stop and get a bite to eat for lunch.

We boarded the plane.  My seat was clear in the very last row in the back of the plane next to the bathroom. That was less than exciting, but I had the whole row to myself, so I figured at least I could stretch out and sleep once we took off.  However, a kind stewardess came to me before takeoff and suggested I move up, all the way to the first row of coach, because the bathroom gets to "smelling pretty bad."  I took her up on this offer.  It was a small plane, with two rows of seats on each side.  I had a seatmate, a young lady who looked about my age.  She was absorbed in her iPad and I had no plans to make new friends on this flight, only to sleep. So I closed my eyes and drifted off as they were shutting the plane door.

I woke up twenty minutes later to an announcement. "Ladies and Gentlemen," the Captain said, "There is a malfunction with our landing gear.  We will be returning to Chicago and making an emergency landing." Emergency landing? What did he mean...Emergency landing?? I sat up, tired no longer.  I looked around. The man across the aisle looked bored.  Others looked back with fear in their eyes.  Some people laughed nervously.  I turned my phone on.  I had to let Josh know, he would be leaving for the airport about this time, and I would not be there. And I was a little nervous. I texted him: "Making emergency landing. Something wrong with the landing gear. Going back to Chicago."  The message came back: "message failed."  Great. Now he would not know where I was or what was happening.  There had been some small measure of comfort in telling my loved one what was happening.

At this point the head stewardess began to make announcements.  She was reading from a thick manual. She instructed us to put everything away--cell phones, other electronics, and to make sure our carry-on's were securely stowed under our feet.  She told us to sit up straight and tighten our seatbelts. We did. "No, TIGHTEN them, as tight as you can!!" she enforced.  I tugged on the seatbelt until it felt I had almost no room to breathe.

"OK, Ladies and Gentlemen, in the event we will be jumping out of the plane, it is about a ......foot drop" Jumping out of the plane? HOLY COW. JUMPING OUT OF THE PLANE? The tension was palpable.  I can't remember all the things she said because after that, adrenaline started to really pump.  My knees were shaking together. I clenched them tight to stop shaking.  My seatmate was holding her hands suspiciously clenched in her lap, and I suspected she was shaking too.  The stewardess went on to recruit a hapless pilot who happened to be flying first class as a passenger to be the first one to jump out and catch people, "in the event it should be necessary." She mentioned the possibility of using the big yellow slides to exit the plane.  She told us to all look at our safety cards in the back of our seats while she reviewed them with us.  She told us to make sure to leave EVERYTHING on board when we immediately exited the plane.  Then she told us she believed that there "are angels all around this plane."

The announcements stopped as we perceived we were heading back to Chicago.  People began talking to each other.  I was very glad I had a seatmate at that moment and that I had moved up.  My seatmate's name was Sarah. She asked me to put her phone in my hoodie pocket, which I had also done with my phone. There was no way I was leaving my phone on that plane.  So I did.  She told me she just hoped we "didn't slide across the runway." There were lots of conversations like that going on in low tones.  "I just hope....X terrible thing doesn't happen...." The tension was thick.  The man across the aisle from me still hadn't said a word. He just looked ahead.  He still looked kindof bored. I wondered what he was thinking.  

The captain's voice came on the PA system. "OK folks, we do not know if the landing gear is up or down.  We are going to be doing what is called a fly-by, where we make a pass and fly very low to see if the tower can get a visual on the landing gear.  Then we will go back up and go around once more and brace for our emergency landing.  "

The stewardess then instructed, "OK, after we make our fly-by, we will all brace.  Everyone needs to bend over with your heads down and hold your legs.  DO NOT lift your heads up until we have instructed you to do so. I will be giving the instructions to brace."

More waiting. Some people were making nervous jokes.  Lots of people were just sitting quietly and clenching their hands together.

Then it began.  We lost altitude.  The airport came in view.  My heart was in my throat.  The final landing is coming and the outcome is uncertain. Would there be a fire? Would there be skidding? Would the plane flip over? How rough was it going to be?  Would this day end with me in a hospital in Chicago or....worse?

Altitude increased.  Someone shouted, "Well is it up or down??" The stewardess pointed two thumbs down, but the passenger could not see.  The plane turned in a wide circle. One last announcment from the stewardess, "If you believe in God, you will be OK. If you don't, you better start believing."
Altitude began to decrease.  Small buildings and cars that looked like ants grew in size as we descended.  The stewardess was strapped in her harness. She crossed herself.

"BRACE! BRACE!" She yelled.
  This is it, this is it!

Everyone bent over, hugging their knees.  From the back the other stewardesses were shouting at the top of their lungs, "HEADS DOWN! STAY DOWN!"

Bumps and jolts.
 "HEADS DOWN! STAY DOWN!"
Screeching.
"HEADS DOWN! STAY DOWN!"
Skidding.
"HEADS DOWN! STAY DOWN!"
The sensation of being stopped.
"DO NOT LIFT YOUR HEADS UP YET!"
A few seconds later, the captain,
"Ladies and Gentlemen, we have made a successful landing."

Everyone sat up.  The plane erupted in cheers and laughter, clapping and sobs.  The man across the aisle reached over and grabbed his seatmate in a big bear hug.   Sarah next to be began to cry.  The relief was so tangible.

All of the power in the plane was out.  The captain got on the intercom, "Well ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to Chicago.  They are sending a tow out for us so just sit tight a few more minutes and remain in your seatbelts until we return to our gate."

I looked past Sarah out the tiny airplane window.  A firetruck was wailing it's way down the runway...followed by an ambulence...followed by several police cars.  Holy cow! 

Naturally at that point, many began taking pictures, writing facebook updates and calling loved ones.  I called Josh.  He was more calm than I would have been if the situation had been reversed.  One of my text messages had gotten through.  Only the one that said, "Making an emergency landing." He had just left. He turned around and went home, logged on to "live flight tracker" and watched us make our emergency landing in real time.  He said said we had never left Chicago. The entire flight we were looping around the city.  He said the only reason he knew of flights flying in circles like that was to burn off fuel to meet weight landing requirments and decrease the risk of a fire.

After a while the Captain announced, "Well folks, there has been some damage to the tow hook on the nose of the plane so they are unable to tow us to the gate.  We will be deplaning with the stairs and be bussed back to the terminal."

Soon enough, from the distance we saw a line of busses making their way towards our plane.

Conversation turned to: OK, we are all alive....now how are we getting home??
Sarah was looking at the remaining flights to Pittsburgh from Chicago and they all looked pretty late in the evening and full to boot.  Once the busses arrived they put up an airstair, we were able to remove all our carry on luggage and get on the bus.  The bus drove along the maze of runways until we got to a terminal.  When we got off the bus, friendly attendants told us they already had a plane for us and we would depart as soon as our new crew and pilot were debriefed.  

While we were waiting they brought out chips and pretzels and sodas for everyone to eat.  There was an interesting dynamic in those of us who had been on the plane to hang out with the people sitting next to them on the plane.  New friends were made and information was exchanged to keep in touch.   When it was time to board our new flight, we were all assigned the same seats and it felt like "de-ja-voo," in some ways, however, most people had previously stated they were going to sit with the same person again regardless of what seat they were assigned. So it all worked out really.

The second time around, the flight continued without incident, although some rough turbulence mid-flight tweaked some anxieties.  When Josh picked me up, I'll tell ya what....I have never been happier to see those three precious faces in my entire life.