Seeing the Crash at Dover Air Force Base
I think those of us who travel a lot sometimes get spoiled by how often travel works for us. Even with delayed flights, lost luggage, rude (or simply weird) encounters with others, we fail to marvel at the miracle that a machine takes us in the air, and gets us from point A to point B in a safe and usually quick fashion.
I have been flying for (incoherent mumble) of years and I have two days forever burned in my brain, that someday when I’m old and senile, this will be the stuff my nightmares will be made of when I can’t remember anything else.
The first one is 9/11 and I won’t sport with your intelligence by telling you my story. I don’t think much can be added to the stories of many that have been revealed over the years.
The second was when I was working at Dover Air Force Base. At the morning meeting we hear a call over the radio that one of our C-5s “landed short” of the runway. My mind assumes it’s on a taxi-way or some other road, and for some mechanical reason, could not make it to the runway. Until we get the call that the plane is on a field, off base. What the??? Along with my boss and several others we jump in a truck and head over there.
Driving up we can see it. And I hope and pray I never see something like this again in my life.
Luckily everyone on board survived and only three crew members had any substantial injuries. We still had to go back to the site day-after-day. People had to unload the aircraft, pieces could not be moved until the investigations were done. Pallets and supplies were taken away, but the aircraft was still there. It eventually had to be taken apart to be completely to be removed from the site.
At times when I start getting my panties in a bunch because we’re late, our bags got lost, or they ran out of food on the plane, I take a deep breath, and try to put everything in perspective. I think of these incidents and remember “we sure are lucky sweetheart”.
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“At the morning meeting we here (sic) a call…” Hmmmm.
I was there, on the flight deck. Crippled for the rest of my life.