Check in 16:45. 16:15 to be sure.
Flight departs 17:45, it’s 17:30 now.
EZY8948.
Security was easy.
I choose the furthest away staircase, knowing most people take the easiest route. I want a good seat. I manage to sit by the window even though I’m last on. Crying babies are at the front and rear so am happy to be by the wing – the usual case.
I see the safety precautions; the beautiful woman seems bored of the routine. I wonder what she’s thinking – perhaps about a timeshare apartment, or what tv she’s missing. I study her as she looks aimlessly, replaying her training. I wonder if she’d be good in a situation.
Out of the window I see the planes arm. It points to the glowing mild sun, rays reaching long over the tips. I see a lengthy black streak – ‘DO NOT WALK OUTSIDE THIS LINE’ written beside. Little yellow hooks are attached to the side of this for clipping into for mechanics. Shadows flip across as the plane starts to move. Into the sun we point as we prepare for take-off. I see a little plane waiting to the side in queue, lights flickering on and off.
18:15 the tip of the sun is just about to disappear. It lingers for longer than I’d expect. The plane must be high.
I hear a shout, a thud and then a bang. My air gets sucked out from within me. My eyes bulge as the plane takes a steep dive forward and down. My stomach lurches and my head hits against the side. I see someone fly up into the ceiling and slam to the back of the plane – the beautiful flight attendant.
I see a hole in the front on my side and some missing seats. My face is now engulfed with the oxygen mask but I see some have not found theirs. I try the person next to mine but they do not respond. I tighten my belt. I see a passenger to my left clutching their partner; her knees are tucked up to her chest. He looks at me and then to the front. The hole breaks bigger and we lurch further forward and down.
I’m not too sure what to do. I’m not a praying man. I have no friends or family to care about. I just wait. The hole beckons, it’s at aisle 11 now – I’m at 15. I undo my belt. I don’t want to be strapped to a seat when they find me. I peer out of the window, bits of debris fly past taking chunks out of the exterior. The wings outer shell is falling away.
A sharp roll and a break of the wing. It smashes into the side as the plane rolls and we are locked together for a brief moment. The hole rips across and I am out – falling. The wind is ice cold and it is blackening. I get kicked from behind with an enormous whip and I roll around and find myself momentarily facing the little yellow hook of the wing. My fingers trap themselves between them and I fall with the wing. It swoops to the left and back. Upside-down and breaking my weight with its force – it thrashes my arm and spine but I stay on.
The wing catches a sharp gust and swings up. I feel like I’m breaking away from my body. The wing spins and I am thrown up & off the little yellow hook. I feel stationary. The wind breezes across my face that lasts a lifetime. I see the wing break apart on the floor and the plane in flames a short distance across. I fall. My blood rushes to my head and my eyes become wide. I have tears running up my face. The ground is there. This is real. This is it.
Check-in 16:45
Flight departs 17:45
EZY8948
Security was easy.
You can read Little yellow hook #2 here