at the tail end of the flight from Nasville to Houston, there were three pings that alarmed in the cabin. the flight attendants rushed up front. i sat at the very back of the airplane. i could see others also were cocking their heads like me to see what’s happening.
After a few minutes, the pilot announced that there was mechanical failure. the front slats of the wings did not deploy. he alerted Houston International Airport and we will have an emergency landing.
the captain was very calm and said we will have a landing that is a little forceful and that firetrucks are now deployed. the huge Houston airport has been declared a stoppage. no flights can land and get off until we land safely.
i saw the flight attendants go from row to row to talk to the passengers and assuring them. one passenger is pregnant. the flight attendant said “we are all in this together. we will land safely.”
they asked us to turn off our gadgets. store them properly underneath in front of us. the flight attendants checked all the overhead bins and secured the items there. as we sat fastened to our seats, the flight attendant announced in the intercom, “if you are seated next to a stranger, this is a good time to talk to each other and, you know, see if that person is alright.” i sat next to Michael, an Australian, who is more worried about missing his connecting flight to Melbourne.
then, i fell silent. I just thought to myself, if ever this is my time to go, then, thank you, God, it was a great life. i just wish i could reach to my phone and hopefully send a message to my mother that I love her. But the cynic in me said “nah, you’re not going yet! you have some more suffering to endure in this life.” and i chuckled.
We could see the lights of Houston become bigger. we are landing. all heads were cocked to the windows. we landed and it was a jolt and we were frightfully speeding down the runway. those slats that failed to open were supposed to slow down the plane. since it couldn’t slow down, the runways were closed just for our plane to run its course until the pilot can control the speed adequately.
applause broke in the cabin and the flight attendant announced, “let’s give our captain a hand. that landing was beautiful.”
it did not occur to me how truly serious it was until i spoke to the flight attendant. since i sat at the back, i am the last one to deplane. the flight attendant hugged me “it’s not yet our time!” she then said in all her thirty years, this failure of the slats is the first thing to happen to her. and the captain did amazing. as i walked down the cabin to the exit, the pilot stood outside the cockpit greeting the passengers. the lady before me gave him a high five. i shook his hand.
i must have looked dazed when i got out the plane that a stranger came up to me and helped me where to go next. the people waiting at the gate knew what happened.
I went to my terminal for my next flight to Lubbock. i have a three-hour layover. saw a guy eating burger and i told myself: “I NEEDED A BURGER, MAN.”
i saw the burger joint and just lined up. there was a hold up on the queue because of technical malfunction of the cash registers. the people in front of me grumbling and scoffing at the young African American lady who truly looked lost. she was calling the manager to help her, but nobody came. the couple in front of me were irritated and just blew off despite the cashier having keyed in their order. i smiled and asked if they had a bacon cheeseburger. the young lady smiled sheepishly that there is cheeseburger but no bacon. i just said, “i’m good with that” and smiled. she smiled back and started tapping at the register. it did not work. she went to another, still did not work. went to the other one, all registers fail. the only one that was functioning was the one with the keyed in orders of the couple before me that stormed off.
i said, “i’m ok. i can wait.”
she said, “i’ll ring in your order and you can eat it there but you have to pay later when these things are fixed. manager’s on his way.” i said sure. i grabbed a bottle of coke zero and told her “i’m getting this, too.” the young lady waved me off and said “y’all can take that” and smiled.
the lady behind me said “i’ll have a burger, too, and fries.” i smiled at the lady behind me and we waited. she made small talk and i told her about the emergency landing.
the young lady at the cashier said, “you know..... that’s the order of the couple that left. y’all can just pay for it, if that’s ok.” i said sure. i was about to hand in my share and the lady behind me said “you know what, i’ll pay for your cheeseburger. you’ve been through a lot today.” i insisted that i pay for mine. the lady was adamant, “no! besides, it’s just four dollars? i got this.”
i thanked them profusely and found me a seat at the corner, ate with gusto. i was trying to figure out what the hell the past one hour means.
I am still in a daze, so that’s why i had to type this down to gather my thoughts. in a few hours, i will be back in Lubbock, Texas and have more questions about my life but i still chuckle at how things unfolded.
To think i told Gugu that my flight to Houston last August literally flew into a storm cloud and the plane violently shook. i was just then about to start my PhD in Texas Tech. you guys know me about my dark humor and I thought “what if this plane crashes BEFORE i can even start my PhD? I would be laughing at the massive joke as i plunge into death.”
so, yeah, my hands are still shaking and morbid thoughts are still here, but, God damn it, nothing tastes as good now as a free burger.