jay: (sunglasses)
[personal profile] jay
I nearly didn't make it here, tonight... severe wind shear in a thunderstorm caught our 737 on final into Atlanta and slammed us down toward the ground. The pilot reacted and hit full throttle... we were tail-down and the engines were shaking and some people were screaming... we popped out of it. My guess is that it knocked us down from about 500 feet AGL down to 100-150. We were off-line for the runway, way too low and engines high, so we did a go-around. First commercial go-around I'd been on in a few years. We were also down to our last half-hour of fuel, given lots of in-flight holds. Just as well that we weren't heavier, I guess (wry grin). ATC turned the approach directions around 180 degrees, and when we finally landed (much better, still gusty) the passengers broke out in cheering and applause. We'd dodged one... I congratulated and thanked the co-pilot on my way out.

We were already 3+ hours late leaving San Jose.... I was supposed to have been here at 8:30pm. So I'm tired, besides coming down off of near-miss adrenaline. Dinner was a cookie and some mixed nuts.

Otherwise... Easter was good, at home. David and Kevin hunted candy and plastic eggs that I'd hidden the previous night, [profile] patgreene made a nice breakfast, and church was overflowing, probably 300 at the 9am kid's service. I missed having traditional hymns.... needed something more joyous and symbolic. Bubblegum second-hand Christian-rock is OK for outreach and ordinary time at an informal service, but IMO is just too surface-level, too shallow for Easter.

Date: 2005-03-28 07:51 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] mactavish.livejournal.com
Wow, I'm so glad you had competent pilots.

Date: 2005-03-28 08:08 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] hopeforyou.livejournal.com
Fuck.

Glad you made it!

Date: 2005-03-28 08:24 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] who-is-she.livejournal.com
wow, that sounds scary, and I dont know if it was better or worse that you knew what was going on!

I'm glad you're ok.
!
hugs

Date: 2005-03-28 10:34 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tenacious-snail.livejournal.com
*tight hugs*

I am very, very glad to know you arrived safely, and both relieved and scared to have the more details on the "nearly crashed" version of your flight. LIke [livejournal.com profile] who_is_she, I wonder whether your knowledge of flying makes this more scary or less scary than it is for other people.

incidentally, did I tell you that for years, I was in a church where the tradition was to do an Easter sermon of St. John Chrysostom's responsively? It was weird the first time, but I grew to really, really love it. Easter is a great time for smells and bells, and that bit was great for it.

Date: 2005-03-31 04:21 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] brian1789.livejournal.com
Actually, a responsive service sounds like fun. :)

I don't know if understanding what's happening is more or less scary, but I prefer knowing to not-knowing, generally...

Date: 2005-03-31 05:20 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tenacious-snail.livejournal.com
Doing a Resurrection-themed responsive reading about conquerring death while in a congregation where approximatly 1/4 of the congregation is facing a life-threatening illness and another 1/5 is in their 80s and approximately half are in recovery from drug and alcohol addition is really pretty amazing.

Date: 2005-03-28 11:48 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] elissaann.livejournal.com
Whew! I'm glad you're OK.

And it's a little late, but here ya go:

Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!
His triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
Something something on the cross, Alleluia!
Suffered to redeem our loss, Alleluia!

I'm all Eastered out.

Date: 2005-03-28 02:40 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] datagoddess.livejournal.com
Something something on the cross, Alleluia!

Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia!

(Church choir in high school :-)

Date: 2005-03-31 04:23 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] brian1789.livejournal.com
(grin) yep, that's what I was missing :-)

Date: 2005-03-31 04:22 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] brian1789.livejournal.com
Thanks... and I can imagine being a bit tongue-in-cheek about it if I were in your place.

Date: 2005-03-28 01:34 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sisterfish125.livejournal.com
I'm glad you made it, somewhat safely...

It was pretty nasty out in my area too. I think it finally stopped being so severe around 1 am out in the boondocks.

Date: 2005-03-31 04:24 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] brian1789.livejournal.com
Sorry that you were down sick on Tuesday... hopefully next time. (hug)

Date: 2005-03-28 02:03 pm (UTC)
geekchick: (affection)
From: [personal profile] geekchick
I'm glad to hear you made it okay. *hug*

Date: 2005-03-28 04:09 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] brian1789.livejournal.com
Sorry for the cryptic SMS... I was a bit stressed, after I got off of the plane.

Date: 2005-03-28 04:15 pm (UTC)
geekchick: (affection)
From: [personal profile] geekchick
I can imagine you would be; I'd be in the middle of a panic attack myself. Thanks for providing a few more details though.

Date: 2005-03-28 02:33 pm (UTC)
rosefox: Green books on library shelves. (Default)
From: [personal profile] rosefox
I'm so glad you're okay.

Date: 2005-03-31 04:25 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] brian1789.livejournal.com
Thanks... btw, I'll be visiting NYC later in April.

Date: 2005-03-28 02:47 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] datagoddess.livejournal.com
Oh, man, that's scary!

Last time we had something like that happen was on Northwest, too, coming into Minneapolis. We were almost down (like maybe 10 yards from the runway - no joke) and all of a sudden we were nose up and engines straining. Apparently there was a small plane who hadn't cleared the runway, and the pilot decided he wasn't going to be out of the way fast enough.

My sister-in-law about lost it. She's afraid of flying as it is. She maintained because she was holding her 20-month old, was sitting next to her 5 year old, and her 8 year old was in the row with me and my brother. She about took the armrest between her and Dan off, though.

But at least our pilot had control. Yours, man, that's got to be nervewracking for the crew.

Date: 2005-03-31 04:28 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] brian1789.livejournal.com
This time, I was on Delta going into Atlanta. But I've had the go-around-avoid-collision experience several times... a couple of times in a commercial flight (once in Atlanta, once on Continental in Houston) and two or three times as a light aircraft pilot myself. At least in those cases, one can *see* the problem, it isn't an invisible wall.

Date: 2005-03-28 04:01 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] deedeebythebay.livejournal.com
*hugs* I'm glad to know you're ok. In truth, I hate flying and that would have been a bad, bad thing for me to go through. *hugs*

Date: 2005-03-31 04:28 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] brian1789.livejournal.com
I love flying, and it was still a bad thing ;-).

Date: 2005-03-28 04:55 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cjsmith.livejournal.com
Wow. I'm glad that downburst wasn't any stronger. :-O

Date: 2005-03-31 04:30 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] brian1789.livejournal.com
Fortunately, we were light -- low on fuel in a transcontinental 737 that had had several en route holds. Enough so that if we'd had to abort the second approach for some reason, the third would have been marginal...

Date: 2005-03-28 05:13 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] frankenboob.livejournal.com
Glad you are okay! Must have been frightening.

I can't believe how crowded church has become. I was looking at pictures of Easter from 10 years ago (hence the pix of C) and there were a handful of people hanging around back then.

Date: 2005-03-28 05:37 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cyan-blue.livejournal.com
How terrifying! I'm very glad that you are back safely.

Date: 2005-03-28 07:02 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] tenacious-snail.livejournal.com
alas! He is *gone* safely. Visiting parents and doing work stuff.

Date: 2005-03-28 06:52 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] simplykimberly.livejournal.com
((hugs)) Very glad you're okay! That's some scary stuff, for sure!

Date: 2005-03-31 04:31 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] brian1789.livejournal.com
Thanks... glad to be back. :)

Eek, yikes!

Date: 2005-03-28 08:21 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] vokzal.livejournal.com
Yay, physics of flying!

Wasn't it the 747 that a test pilot did a barrel roll in?

Well, I know about this one:

Date: 2005-03-28 09:45 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cjsmith.livejournal.com
"Tex" Johnston, chief pilot for Boeing, barrel-rolled a 707 during what was supposed to be just a flyby to show off the plane. Apparently his boss chewed him a new one but he got to keep his job.

Date: 2005-03-29 12:05 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com
EEP! Glad you walked away from that one ("Any landing you can walk away from is a good one"). Toni already told you about our go-around in Minneapolis a few years ago.

Date: 2005-03-31 04:33 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] brian1789.livejournal.com
Whew... fortunately, it was an easier time flying home (ironically, on NW through Minneapolis ;).
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