I was in a commercial jet that fell from cruising altitude. It was a small jet flying on a now defunct airline.
We had just started the descent when the plane tilted and the dropped out of the sky. Nose was pointed nearly straight down.
I was sitting in the aisle. People were screaming, yelling out – but I can’t remember the words. All kinds of crap was flying through the cabin and the flight attendant was no where to be seen.
My brother and Dad were in the seats behind me. I remember thinking about how sad my mum was going to be. And then looking out at the window at the ground.
After what seemed like an eternity, the pilot was able to regain control and the plane started to right itself again…. for about 15-30 seconds, before starting another uncontrolled descent.
It was more terrifying the second time around – the ground was far closer. I was certain that I was going to die and looked over at a blonde woman about my age sitting next to me. We hadn’t spoken the entire flight, but I reached out in some impulsive desire for human contact at the end…and we held hands as the plane fell out of the sky. I can remember looking at her face briefly, she was crying.
As the ground started approaching and you could make out things like trees and houses, I felt a sense of peace fall about me.
Death seemed to be certain but I didn’t care. It seemed like it was going to be quick and painless – but I remember being surprised that it was going to all end this way.
Then we started to feel the pilot struggling with the plane and it started to right itself again…and for a second time the plane pulled out of the dive.
It was still incredibly bumpy and people were crying and screaming out at every round of turbulence – everyone was waiting for the next and final dive.
When we landed, the young woman and I were still holding hands. People were dead quiet.
What was surreal was that the flight attendant got on the microphone when we reached the gate and thanked us for flying on that shitty ass airline and ‘hoped we would fly again’.
They brought a bus out and one of the pilots came out with us. He didn’t say a word, but his knee was shaking uncontrollably.”
Theodore Lee is the editor of Caveman Circus. He strives for self-improvement in all areas of his life, except his candy consumption, where he remains a champion gummy worm enthusiast. When not writing about mindfulness or living in integrity, you can find him hiding giant bags of sour patch kids under the bed.