Sylvia's Journal

It is Wednesday morning. What happened to the speed of days? They used to go so fast and now all has slowed down. The slowing down started that fateful afternoon at Gardner airport now 10 days ago. Although some of the details are still eluding me – or rather I can’t understand them – when I tried to pull up again, knowing that I was running out of runway, I remember clearly the moment of losing control of the plane. But there was no panic or frantic trying to save the day that followed, but rather a total quiet and a sense of complete surrender. Of course it couldn’t have been quiet with the stall horn beeping, and the motor running louder and faster as we headed down, the branches breaking and all that. Fortunately, after the surrender I blacked out and cannot remember a thing, no sound, no falling, no bump. I think I woke up after Joan. From the WBZ news clip I learned that a woman held Joan’s hand and talked with her. I think I was still out then as I do no remember this.

When I came to my senses the rescuers were already there. I just remember seeing boots everywhere, people directing efforts, big loud machines cutting things away that kept us entrapped and throughout Axel’s and Joan’s calls for help. Through my dazed state I remember registering that this meant they were alive. In the background, through the forest of legs, machinery and plane wreckage, I could see Morsi, busy pushing large amounts of love and prayers our way and I remember absorbing it, his presence so reassuring.

I still can’t write about the botched landing itself, other than that the landing conditions (runway heading and wind) had changed after my previous three successful landings. I tried to apply what I had learned and practiced for so long. But the time for decision making is infinitely short as the evaluation of options has to happen in nanoseconds – this is where experience comes in of course. I am now one experience ‘richer’ that will definitely make me a better pilot. Of that I am sure, bought at a heavy price, but there it is.

So, I am going to get back in a plane as soon as I can. I don’t expect anyone to want to fly with me anymore. And for those, like Alison, who have said they’d fly again with me (I am very moved by this), make sure you have health insurance, otherwise I counsel you to stay on the ground. I am thanking my lucky stars (again and again) for being employed and insured. It will make the recovery so much easier.