Flying AA 1011. With Chop.

~ Live & Learn

1 hour out from DFW (Dallas) on flight back to NY. 37,000 feet up.

Heavy chop. Heavy.

Seat belt alert pops up.

Cabin is quiet.

Pilot comes on the intercom: “Flight attendants, please take your seats.” Never a good sign.

I close the lid on my iPad. I note that others around me put down their gadgets.

Captain is back on the intercom: “Apologize folks. Bumpy ride here. I checked with air traffic control. Heavy turbulence in both directions, at all levels. We’re over Nashville. Expect this to clear in 8 minutes. Please take your seats.”

8 minutes. Not: We expect this to end soon. Or: We hope this ends soon. Or: We think it will end soon.

8 minutes. God, I Love technology.

I look up the aisle. Left wing drops and then right side counters to stabilize. Back, forth, up, down. Replay. Over and over. How does this Bird not blow apart in pieces? Why is your head going there? How is that line of thinking helpful at all?

Pilot takes the plane up. And accelerates. Plane groans as it grinds against the headwinds. Oh I agree Captain. Too rough here. Let’s get closer to God for help.

Gratitude surges, for living, and for life. Just get me home. I promise I’ll be better. At every thing. A bloody saint. I’ll be nice to Sawsan, and Dale and Kiki. Maybe even throw out a compliment or two and pretend like I mean it.

I grab the loose end of the seat belt and pull it snug around my belly. I’m short of breath. Could I be hyperventilating here? I need to lose 10 pounds. I clutch my iPad with both hands. Can’t possibly damage this device. Hitting another passenger does come to mind, secondary concern behind damage to the iPad.

We’re 10 minutes in. He said 8 minutes!

We’re 14 minutes in. Chop continues to be heavy. But he said 8 minutes!

Pilot does not come back on the intercom. He does not offer: “only a few more minutes folks.” It’s silent in the cabin. I let go of the arm rest with my right hand, still griping with my left. Middle Age + and still needing my soother, I start gnawing on my nails, what’s left of them. Does Captain get anxious and bite his nails? No chance he’s nervous. Routine flight, this is. Totally routine.

16 minutes. This giant bird, 150,000 pounds, has beak, wings, but no feathers. She settles in to glide. Ryōkan’s “crane softly floating among the clouds.”

Gadgets come out. The seat belt sign turns off. There’s a bull rush to the Toilet and a line, a need to Empty. I sit calmly watching. They were rattled. Not me. No need. Look at me paging through Ryōkan’s Haikus from the 1600’s. I got this. A Rock.

I’m dragging my luggage down the aisle to exit the plane. There are four passengers in front of me, each being greeted by the pilot. His hat, his wings on lapel, gray hair, white guy, shortish, full smile. He’s thanking everyone for flying American.

Thanking me? Really?

I approach him. I’m one passenger back.

I wasn’t sure whether I should drop my brief case, drop my luggage, grab him by the lapels and give the little man a full on Mano to Mano hug. And then a smooch on his forehead, in case he missed my appreciation the first time. Or not. Of course not.

I smiled, thanked him and walked down the jet bridge.

Lighter. Joyous. Alive.

I’m sure I had my moment. No doubt whatsover. I saw Him. He got us home. Me home. He seemed so Human.

And, yet I felt a wee bit of disappointment.

I fully expected one of God’s direct offspring to be taller.

Photo: via Newthom

119 thoughts on “Flying AA 1011. With Chop.”

  2. Oh boy, Dave. Been there, too often. It’s only Devine intervention that gets the pilots to bring these birds back down. Hope you and the fam are well. Had lunch with Link a couple of weeks ago. Blessings. Clint

    Sent with BlackBerry Work (www.blackberry.com)

    From: [wordpress.com] Live & Learn <comment-reply@wordpress.com> Date: Tuesday, Apr 09, 2019, 5:36 PM To: Creado, Clint P [GCB-CCB] <cc95607@imcnam.ssmb.com> Subject: [New post] Flying AA 1011. With Chop.

    Live & Learn posted: ” 1 hour out from DFW (Dallas) on flight back to NY. 37,000 feet up. Heavy chop. Heavy. Seat belt alert pops up. Cabin is quiet. Pilot comes on the intercom: “Flight attendant please take your seats.” Never a good sign. I close the lid on my iPad. I “

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        2. No problem, Kiki.Wow! You slip up once they they fall on you like a pack of wolves. Good thing you’re Queen of the Wolfpack. Anyway, I didn’t mind the Angelo angle. I’ve been called worse things and anyway it sounds kind of angelic. (Dale and DK, you know this is just for laughs.)

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  6. OK… So. Now that you are safely on the ground (and I can HONESTLY say I am truly glad for it)… Imma focus on one little paragraph…(call me petty) ahem:

    “Gratitude surges, for living, and for life. Just get me home. I promise I’ll be better. At every thing. A bloody saint. I’ll be nice to Sawsan, and Dale and Kiki. Maybe even throw out a compliment or two and pretend like I mean it.”

    Imma let it slide, you being scared for your life and all that. All things considered, still luv ya.

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  8. There is an App out at present called “WeCroak” it simply reminds us everyday that we are going to die by sending us quotes about death. Apparently in Bhutenese culture we must contemplate death 5 times a day to be happy. Clearly for you, facing death, conjured up feelings of gratefulness, promises of change, weight loss and kindness. You just proved it works Mr K ha! Now you need to follow up on all your great thoughts, or just get reminded again and again 😛

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  9. This will take more than a few fingering on my smartphone✒! Stay tuned my friend!👍🏻 I’ll be back on my computer later 💻
    But already, for now, a bunch of love, simply for coming back…. 💓

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  10. Back with you, shaken and stirred high-flying traveller…. This was a horror story and I myself always was a very bad flyer in less then perfect conditions. Same with ships…. But I’m sure I never faced anything so bad and I feel with you. And I am truly thankful that you made it back to the soil in one piece.

    It’s good however to read that you wished to make amends with the shark trio we seemingly are (and which fits us so well)…. So be just very kind (and supremely boring) with us from now on or stay yourself and go right ahead with your continuous heckling 😉

    It’s quite interesting though that nobody dared giving a hug of thanks to the captain. Would that really be a no-no in the US? You Americans (and or two Canadians) usually are huggers, no?

    A stellar post in which I felt every detail of your terror-ridden flight, combined with an equally stellar photo. You get a 10+ for this (minus 4 pts for the heckling….)

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  12. Could you guys (and girls mostly!) out there try to give me your sentiments re this, my question, as it really is of some importance to me:
    It’s quite interesting though that nobody dared giving a hug of thanks to the captain. Would that really be a no-no in the US? You Americans (and or two Canadians) usually are huggers, no?

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  13. So glad you made it to your home safe!

    I’m sure it wasn’t funny up there but can’t stop laughing at this.
    Grateful for you just the way you are.

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          4. A lot of change was happening then. We were escaping one war, from Kuwait. And my thoughts were “Where on earth we’ll end up!”

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          1. Am trying to think what was on my mind 40yrs ago….. uuuuuh, how to raise a very small child who wd cry every waking hour? How NOT to get crazy completely (it was pretty wild) with lack of sleep, hardly any sane moments and no support? But also: Thinking of blissful moments during which we were NOT at home and said child was sleeping? Or smiling? Or laughing? Of finding out that we nearly killed ourselves living in a place of strong water veins as well as earth rays/radiation…. Our dog even wouldn‘t sleep at her assigned bed place and child & mother had every sleep deprived and mental problem one can imagine….. not good memories! Unless I went to the lake or my sister‘s place with baby and dog! NOT reassuring to a ‚young‘ mother.

            BUT after moving, the recurring worry was that my baby was dead in his bed, because he did NOT cry all the time…. he slept through the night after 2 1/2yrs of constant trial and pain. Yes, all that too – maybe we should think of what was different 30 yrs ago, or 20…. 😉

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          5. It takes a life to learn all of it; but I can claim to be some sort of a semi-expert by now – including to have realised that the house (wonderful stone house, surrounded by a huge garden) we lived in for the past 11+yrs is NOT good for me either and I shall be glad to sell it to someone less sensitive and to return to a home (hopefully….) where I‘ll be able to sleep! Maybe YOU then would have to change your header to I Can Sleep, together with me – I‘ll keep you posted.
            Fact is that the surely hundreds of our guests we had over those years ALL slept exceptionally well BUT ONE. Me….

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      2. Sawsan, aren‘t you a tad too kind on our friend here?
        Just asking….
        You have a reputation to defend, as the wolf‘s leader!

        But it‘s so reassuring to know Dave‘s blogging buddies were thought of in a moment of fear for his life. Gives me a warm feeling 🙂

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          2. Sawsan; maybe I’m less demanding than you and was just glad that someone would think of me (and the rest of the pack) in such a situation, lol… 😉

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          4. aaah, you gotta know he’s really just shy…. He can’t just blurt out how much we all mean to him – it’s a strategy (HH does it well too….)

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        1. OK, truth, of course….. you know E isn‘t my first language and I LOVE choosing my words – tale just sounds so much more … special?! But of course it IS the truth – you may stop crying now, Babe 😉

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  16. “Let’s get closer to God for help” … obviously, He did help! I’ve been on one or two flights like that myself over the many years of business travel. After your description of AA 1011, I think I would have hugged the captain, headed outside immediately, then dropped to my knees and kissed the terra firma. I do remember one flight when Brenda and I were going to Palm Springs for a winter holiday, the pilot tried to land the plane twice, and due to the heavy chop pulled up at the last minute both times. The wings were literally flapping like a seagull trying to make headway in a gale. After the second harrowing attempt, we diverted to LA and then the airline bused us into Palm Springs. I was NEVER so happy to see the solid ground as I was when we finally landed in LA, and never so happy to see a bus either! And to think some people were complaining that we had to ride the bus for a couple of hours to get to our final destination! The closer we got to Palm Springs, there were semis overturned on the highway. At least we arrived in one piece. Enjoyed your post Dave, and a great bit of heckling to your “shark trio!”

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    2. Keith, this resonates with me too. I probably would have sent a half-silent prayer up to our Maker as I now have a problem to stand up once I’m dropped on my knees – but the intention would be the same 😉

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      1. Haha … Imagine if the three of us were on the same flight, all hugged the captain together, then all went outside and dropped to our knees to kiss the ground! And Dave and I would help you up off your knees, Kiki …

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  19. You are a funny, funny man. Glad it sharpened your senses. Now go home and love up your family. And the trees and flowers. And the sky. And the sunshine. Even the rain. We are lucky to be alive on Planet Earth. Good to remember that, always. God is alive in these sorts of mundane everyday details 😉 xoxo

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  20. Great writing, David…and there is always something to make me laugh, like: “I fully expected one of God’s direct offspring to be taller.” Hey, who says you need to be tall to perform miracles? And, I can totally relate. I met a Facebook musician friend the other night (someone I only knew through Facebook)…and the first thing he said to me was, “You are taller on Facebook.” I get that a LOT because I’m barely over five feet tall…but guess I have a tall presence on Facebook. Sheesh. 🙂 Anyway, glad you made it home safely and thanks again for your words which always take us wherever you are.

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  21. Ohhhhhh noooooooo.

    I am a total weenie about turbulence and can take maybe 10 minutes of it, max, then I cry. Quietly. But I do and the hell with it. Here’s the only comfort and I hope it is….My NYT story about turbulence, written (very selfishly) to help me better understand it all and not FREAK OUT. My worst flight was 10 hrs, Taipei to SF, with flight attendants strapped into their seats for quite a while. UGH.

    I learned a LOT from deep reporting that I was not allowed to include (i.e. off the record/un-named sources) who were working pilots and FAs. I learned that there is a wide and deep network of support, weather and medical, on the ground helping pilots decide what to do next. That helped calm me a bit.

    NO airplane has gone down due to turbulence in more than 30 years and the planes are designed to withstand forces that do scare the shit out of us…

    Like you, I always keep my seatbelt VERY tightly buckled.

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      1. Thanks…I really really hate turbulence and I live to travel, so it’s a real toughie for me. I know you live in the air, so it’s got to be very tiring emotionally as well as physically.

        Instead of thinking “It’s just 2 pilots!” I know now there are others with a lot of additional insight they are in constant communication with. It’s much more of a team approach than I — or any non-aviation traveler — would know.

        Maybe they could make this better known for the nervous nellies??!!!!

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          1. Oh yeah. Every airline has a dedicated staff or meteorologists and a medical team on call to help them make decisions about whether or not to divert. Who knew????

            Pilots are also in contact with others in the same air lanes (or whatever they’re called); they only have so many options to move into another space.

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