Left engine of the airplane blew
In under seven minutes of assent
A boom, ears ringing, fire ball out the left side of the window
I was sitting in seat 18C
The plane dipped to the left
A hasty decent
Tummy now in throat
Cabin filled with hazy smoke like flecks of pepper
Eyes, nose and throat burning
Stewardess ran down the isle screaming,
“We’re on fire, we’re on fire, we are ALL going to die”
Die? Right here, right now?
The hum of one engine struggled to keep the plane erect
Vibrating
Shaking
Sputtering
Die, in an airplane…
My throat constricts
I can not speak
Inside my head I scream,
“She’s three, God- she’s three. Three.”
Visions of her sweet eyes
Hair that smells like watermelon shampoo
Little hand holding mine
Sweet kisses
Cuddling hugs
I want to see her grow up
I want to be there for her graduation
Her wedding
I want to hold her babies in my lap.
Sobbing passengers are heard through out the plane
Tears pour down my cheeks
I am frozen
Dream of clawing my way out of a plane 20,000 feet in the air
Sputtering
Shaking
A stranger holds my hands and whispers,
“We are going to make it, we are not going to die”
In my head I can not form sentences
I keep thinking, “Angels, angels, send, send, send.”
The plane lands
Everyone let’s out a whoop of glee and relief
The pilot gets on the intercom and says,
“We’ve just had catastrophic engine failure of our left engine. We’re on the ground now, have a nice day.”
Angels deployed
I’m watching my little girl grow up
Jeni McCreary
Date of event: 10/11/2005
(attached is a picture of my boarding pass that I clutched in my hand. You can barely make it out from the sweat of the not letting it go during this event. I keep it as a reminder that life is too short and too precious. Embrace every day… every day)
strengthdefined 