Emergency in Mid Air

Humans are not designed for flying. Had that been the case, we all would have hollow bones, feathers, tails with weight one fourth of our current selves. But humans will be humans. They will try everything to get what they want. And then over the years they have been quite successful. From helium fill balloons to propeller aircraft and now the current jet engine which flies at 35000 ft. Of course, if you keep on outdoing things that you are not supposed to, there are bound to be risks. Although the risk now is lower than the nascent times in flying, you can’t wish it away and all those who have been in the air have surely lived through a few uncomfortable  instances.

Ask any mechanical engineer about  an aircraft and he will tell you all the things that can possibly go wrong. Right from the air conditioning to hydraulic/instrument failure/wing icing  etc. Also there have been recent strange instances that have happened to crafts with a few of them vanishing, aircrafts catching fire, mid-air collisions and what not. No one knows about all the aircraft issues in the air force and army because they usually do not see the light of day.

So…have you ever been in a flight which went not exactly as you planned it would. i.e ending with an announcement telling you which belt your luggage would be. And you felt as helpless as the passengers in the ‘ The Burning Train’. Well, I have been on exactly such a flight…..

It was  flight I took some time ago and this particular day, the one and half hour flight from Hyderabad to Mumbai was nearly over. As usual, the captain announced the decent to Mumbai and crew got busy preparing for landing. Then the uncomfortable period of time commenced when the cabin lights dim out and the flight starts to align itself to the runway swaying just a wee bit here and there and you force yourself to look out of the window as looking inside the aircraft can make you more anxious with everything not as aligned. Knowing that landings are one of the most difficult maneuvers operationally and pilots taking a lot of time learning that skill does not make it any easier inside the contraption filled with recycled air and Aviation Turbine Fuel.

With all that on the back of the mind, a loud noise is the last thing anyone wants to hear.  About 8-9 rows behind, a few people started shouting and before you knew it, there were a few people running on the aisle towards the front of the plane. As  I was in an aisle seat somewhere in the center of the flight, I stood up instinctively and turned back to see what was wrong. To my horror I saw ( and I will always clearly recall the view ) two three large flashes and billowing smoke. This flashing appeared  like an electrical fire (I’d witnessed one earlier) near the window seat. OMG… I involuntarily said in a real life- ‘Dukh mein sumiran’ position. The smoke that billowed out of the said fire was dense and it was like one of the diwali sparklers smoking up if you light them up during the day. There was a curt sounding announcement advising everyone to get back to the seats immediately as the flight was  about to land.  That was for at least 10-15 people standing in the aisle who were in no mood to get back to their seats in a rush and  they just clinged on to what ever they could. I remember offering my arm to hold on to a person standing next to me. As he  grasped it tightly, I still remember the nod he gave to me. The plane landed smoothly which I feel was a commendable thing for the pilot to do under those circumstances as he was aware of the emergent situation inside the cabin. This was obvious when the plane reduced speed,around 2-3 fire engines lined up beside the plane.

The situation that followed that moment was totally unexpected. A group of guys (mostly foreigners from Africas, Hispanic and Far East Countries) started to celebrate impromptu. They took pictures of nearly all the people in the scared shitless poses…and it was something that did lighten the mood of everyone around them. Maybe they’ll skip bungee jumping now or whatever adventure they had planned for the next one year. The celebration was cut short by an authoritative lady voice on the com advising everyone to be calm and use the handkerchiefs on the noses. At the same time, a crew came rushing with a fire extinguisher which I thought looked like the police coming in at the end of the movie when all the action was over.

There was a lot of smoke around and since the source was unknown, the instinct was not to breathe in as the fumes could be toxic. The flight stopped and everyone was more than happy to get out of the flight. No one looked back even once.

I came to know about the cause of fire when I read the newspaper the next day. Holy smoke..I thought to myself…this was serious enough to come on the front page. A passenger had unknowingly kept small amount of chemicals together in his handbag  which got leaked and reacted causing the fire and smoke.

Well, this mid air crisis surely reminded everyone on that flight that there are times in life when you just have to sit tight and say OMG…because that’s the best one can do. Well, considering the history of man,  humans don’t tolerate that stuff for long. So enjoy the good airline  food and inflight movies while you can because someone, somewhere, is going to get really pissed off and one day invent antigravity or better still- teleportation. If Star Trek had cell phones and they are a reality now, how far in time can teleportation be ? Captain to Enterprise…Energise !!