Flight 4440
I now know what it feels like to use the oxygen mask on an airplane while the plane is rapidly descending much too soon to be arriving at our destination. Scary.
A split second that seemed like minutes passed before I grabbed my mask as I had seen so many times in the safety presentation.
A four year old boy didn’t want to keep his mask on. He was crying, desperately pushing his mom away as she tried her best to stay calm, talk with her mask on and get him to put his mask back on and keep it on. Two passengers leaned in and over to assist doing their best to help. After several tense minutes, the boy complied.
With little information about what the problem was, we sat there, strapped in tightly, trying with some difficulty to breathe slowly as reminded by the flight attendant. We checked on our seat mates.
After a safe landing in a small airport in Colorado we were diverted to, we laughed with relief and applauded loudly, grateful. We bonded with people who a few minutes earlier were nameless strangers. We helped each other off, thanking the crew for getting us down in one piece.
Flight 4440 from Salt Lake to Houston had a semi-serious cabin pressure problem last night.
Once we were in the terminal, waiting for instructions and after calling family to assure them all was OK, my next thoughts were “how could I have been better prepared? and “what do I need to do to prepare my family for an emergency like this?”
Personally, I will be much more conscious about knowing what to do, each step. And I thought I was pretty good about paying attention to the safety presentation. As a family, we’re going to discuss what it’s like to be in the chaos (it’s not easy to stay logical), to expect the rush of adrenaline and what to do in those precious moments. We’re going to talk about the meaning of an emergency, how to listen (not easy when you’re feeling panicked) and we’re going to practice what to do.
Hopefully, we’ll never be tested, but if we are, we’re prepared as best as we can be.
If you fly, be prepared and be conscious about what you may need to do.
