Those of you who frequent FB might have seen my quick post about my arrival into the airport on Tuesday night. Let's just say it was not the smoothest landing I've ever experienced. I am sure we were never in real danger, or in any more danger than one can be in metal box zipping around the clouds. That said, I do remember my brother telling me, many years ago when he first worked for British Airways, that the best ways to lose your fear about things was to discover how they worked. A lot of wisdom there, along with my personal belief that there is a serenity that also comes with being very observant, if for no other reason than having an eye out stops you from having nasty surprises sometimes.
Both of these things were true on Tuesday night, as the landing gear came down and we made our final approach to the runway in front of us. I always book the window seat because I love watching what is going on below, above, and beside me. There is something breath-taking about seeing the Rockies, the Amazon, or the Grand Canyon from a bird's eye view, and that's largely why I do it. As we were descending, though, my eye was drawn to another flight on a parallel course to my right, slightly below us, but on a similar track for a different runway. Suddenly, its nose went up and it started to climb, and my brain immediately wondered what was up. Of course, less than five seconds later, our slow glide down was reversed, thrusters went to full-throttle, and we went up,up, up as well. Technically, this is not the safest thing to be doing when your flaps are likely already dragging and slowing you down, although the pilot's banking as we climbed back to what Austin later told me was 4 000 feet (amazing what info you can get from iPhone GPS trackings) is a smart way to minimize the risk of an engine stall. Passengers looked around at each other, visibly nervous, scared, and wondering what the hell was going on. I was too, but just for a quick minute, until I remembered how the landing/take-off sequences work and quickly reasoned that someone below us in a cross-runway had likely missed their cue to take-off and caused this hiccup. Toronto, as it turns out, is the 18th busiest airport in the world, and 7pm is the rush hour of flights outbound for Europe, and inbound from all directions. There just wasn't enough distance between the arriving and departing planes to allow us to keep landing, and an instant decision had to be made for us to abort and try again. My head figured that out, and I calmed down immediately.
Once you figure out how traffic control works, you can go through harrowing moments without the need to scream and panic. I long ago also reasoned out that each pilot must be trained for all kinds of emergencies, including the possibility that the plane right in front of him or her could crash upon landing or take-off, which would mean a reversal of course for any aircraft just behind or crossing. Decisions like that need to be made instantly, as they were on Tuesday night, and I'm willing to bet they happen more often than we might suspect, all with great skill and professionalism. That's not to say that I wasn't relieved when the wheels finally did kiss the ground, but I think I was a lot calmer than some of my fellow travellers. They say curiosity kills the cat, but I think it also soothes the mind.
7 comments:
You're obviously living right! Glad you arrived home 'safely' and able to play Words with Friends!
sometimes flying gives you quite the experience AM.
Glad you are safe, kissing Toronto's ground :).
I remember one time in Australia, flying Quantas, jaunting from Sydney to Cairns, the plane lost it's brakes....ooh ooh.
Bet you and Whiskey had tail wags and licks for a happy homecoming.
xx
You are one cool customer [passenger] :) !
Me, I've worked on the design of several aircraft including Concorde and I only use them when absolutely necessary, I prefer to travel by sea or overland.
Good points on knowledge and fear AM! I have had a couple of 'rocky' journeys via flight; I think we know something is possibly bad when the flight attendants start telegraphing physically. Glad to hear you're safe!
Good for you, Anne Marie! I think I might have been one of the gibbering ones! That said, I had the marvellous experience of having a flying lesson last week. A rather delayed birthday present from my daughters, but one that was worth waiting for. It also helped to know what was going on in that situation too.
I would have been gripping my pillow tight ...
Yes, indeedy! Scared out of my wits, and offering up a prayer to anyone who might listen.
You are a brave soul, as I've often felt that being in the dark about certain things has worked better for me.
And, once more, I applaud the pilot, as well as the air traffic controllers!
xx
Way to be rational! Someone told me that pilots who are working on getting certified for flying bigger planes sometimes have to do touch and goes to prove themselves. I try and keep that in mind as we approach.
(I always book a window seat too.)
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