http://www.examiner.com/airlines-air...rgency-landing (..least ad-ridden story-link.. )
Yeah, so I'm sitting in seat 2C, just dozing-off (...after having been up thru yet another all-nighter..) when, thru closed-eyelids, I 'see' glints of light / flashes in the windowsill - kind of like when, as you are ascending, often the wing-lights will generate 'flashes' off the clouds, and they enter your window...except, even thru my lids, I perceived these flashes were orange, not the familiar-white...
So, I open my eyes, and turn to find the source - and look directly into the left nacelle to see that it has basically turned itself into a blast-furnace - the thing was fully-involved, inside!... but my first-reaction wasn't feeling scared - I was irritated / incredulous - "..I can't even freakin' believe this!!!.." But, in spite of the alarming-sight of the engine, spewing 50' of flame behind it, juxtaposed against ~5000' of airspace between it and the city lights below...after a few moments, when the engine did not 'fall-off' and / or we did not plunge-down or spiral.. I relaxed a bit, and realized that I could now-stop trying to figure out 'how best-to roll myself into as tight a ball as-possible', and started just 'talking the pilot thru it'... "...that's it, nice and easy, keep that bank nice and slow, keep it steady..." (of course, the only 'pilot' that could hear me was me and the freaked-out lady next to me...
And as we were expertly turned around, and gradually came in - smoother than even many 'routine' landings - and landed with an abrupt, almost screeching-halt, it was only-then I began to feel a bit, uh, 'worried' - you know, as the foam-trucks were still getting in position...yet, here we all are, 'sitting ducks', with this engine - still on fire, inside - with, ya know, 1/2 of the 48,000 lbs of Jet-A sitting above it... it was, yeah, a little 'heartbeat-elevating' at that moment...
But, once the guys had the foam-pumping steadily, and I saw no more orange-glow, when they blew the doors / slides, 'EMT-mode' kicked in, and I stayed in front to help 'usher' the panicked people to 'WALK' and LEAVE YOUR BAGS!! (!!!) and come to the front-door, where the Attendants were yelling for people to come (I guess they felt it was best for them to exit furthest-away from the center of the plane / nearer the wings...made sense...)
So, I ended-up being the 4th last person out (two flight attendants and the Captain were last) and cause I had told one Attendant earlier, was immediately wisked to help some older lady with 'chest-pains'.. (was just a panic-attack...) and talked to her / helped her calm-down till the EMTs got there...But it felt good to do 'something', ya know? Much better than just standing there, broiling in thought about how 'things could-be very-different right now...' Especially, after then-seeing a good-portion of the rear-cowl blown-open / off (??) - that was, again, a 'bit unsettling'... sheesh...
I mean, when you go thru something like this, yeah, it shakes you a bit, but you have to 'put it in perspective' - we face death every single day - driving on the road (..all that really 'separates' you from injury / death is, basically, two painted-yellow lines, right?...) or walking under an overhang or eating grapes or working on HV power supplies for CuBr's etc... So, you know - you just 'move on'...
But I will say, I spent an extrordinary amount of time hugging my Wife and Daughter yesterday... and that felt really good...
NOW BACK TO WORK, JON - THIS... IS... SPARTA...!!!
Sorry, just had to vent a little... Thanks for 'holding the bucket'... Any other crazy PL-family plane-scares?
peas..
j