Fostering Thought: When little problems are put in perspective

Could you imagine be in an airliner circling the airport for three hours with malfunctioning landing gear while watching yourself on television as the latest breaking story on CNN?

My answer is most definitely not.

This happened Wednesday to 140 passengers aboard a JetBlue airline flight headed from California to New York. Just minutes after leaving Bob Hope Airport in Burbank, the pilots of the Airbus A320 realized there was a major problem with the front landing gear.

Then the pilots were forced to maneuver the aircraft and circle over the ocean so tons of fuel could be dumped out so the emergency landing in Los Angles would not cause a major fire in which many lives would be lost.

While all the mechanical stuff was being completed, passengers were watching themselves through newscasts on satellite television. One passenger said it was “surreal” to watch his plane’s fate being discussed on live TV while it was in the air. The passengers lost satellite feed just minutes before landing.

Like watching the broadcast on live television was really going to help the situation any. Then I thought about it a little more and came to a better conclusion. If I knew that was going to be the way I died, how great would it be to have the chance to make a few last phone calls. So often people die in crashes without this chance.

But then I ask myself would I even be able to keep my composure long enough to talk to my loved ones on the phone? How would I really react in this situation?

For many passengers, these exact same thoughts were running through their minds. Most thought this was going to be their last chance to call, write, e-mail or even text message their family. Actress Taryn Manning, who was a passenger on the flight, decided to compose a letter to her family because she didn’t want to end everything with a phone call. The “8-Mile” star told of her terrifying ordeal on “The Late, Late Show” Thursday night.

Now take a second and imagine being the crew members who also had to keep composure while also fearing for their lives. These people knew there was a great chance they may never see their families again. They remained calm even while others were crying. They had the people get into crash position when the aircraft went down.

Hard to imagine isn’t it?

The plane eventually skidded to a safe landing while balancing on the back landing gears. Representatives of the company that builds Airbus A320 later said the aircraft was designed to be able to land just using the back landing gear.

Not very reassuring when you are thousands of feet in the air.

Some of the passengers boarded another flight soon after and arrived in New York later that evening. Some stayed in a hotel that evening and made new reservations. Others just simply went home to be with their families. After the day the 140 passengers had in the air, I really don’t see how any of them could have jumped right back on another plane an hour later. Not that I would boycott the airlines forever but nothing is that important to get me on a flight that soon after.

Again, I could not imagine being in this situation or do I even dare to predict what I would do if put into this situation. But sometimes when I read about things like this and see all the heroes who are born out of these types of situations, it really makes me stop and think how unimportant life’s everyday little problems really are.

Amy Foster is a reporter for the Standard. She can be reached at 473-2191 or by e-mail at [email protected].