“Ladies and gentlemen,” Carol Matheson said over the PA, standing in front of the passenger section. She held on to a small handle set into the wall and braced herself as she spoke. The constant turbulence made it difficult for her to stand and talk. “May I have your attention please?”
Back in the passenger section people quieted and listened despite the continuous bumpy turbulence.
“We are about to perform a highly unusual procedure.”
“So, what else is new?” A man called out.
“We’re about to do something that has never been done before in a passenger airliner so we’re going to need all of your cooperation in order for it to be successful.
“As you are aware, our pilots have become incapacitated. We are all so very lucky to have someone aboard who can at least fly a plane, but in order to land safely we need a pilot who is familiar with a 747. So, we are about to transfer a pilot aboard who can land the plane.”
“In mid-air?” A woman called out and immediately the entire passenger section was filled with panicky voices and terrified cries.
“Impossible!” A man said. “You’re all crazy!”
“Now, please – ladies and gentlemen – as I said before, we will need your help and cooperation in all this to make it work.”
A young man near the front stood up and turned around. “Shut-up!” He said. He pointed back at the head stewardess. “Listen to her!”
Matheson paused for a moment to allow the hubbub to quiet down before she continued.
“There is right now an Air Force helicopter flying in front of us, with two pilots who will perform a very dangerous maneuver. They will both be attached to a tether and slowly lowered down to the wing and let in through that door.” She pointed to the right-side egress door over the wing where another flight attendant stood, wearing a heavy winter coat. She waved to the passengers who all turned in their seats to look at her.
“This will cause the oxygen masks to come down above your heads. Don’t be alarmed. This happens automatically whenever there is a breach in the cabin pressure. We’re actually low enough here where you really shouldn’t need them, but please put them on anyway just to be on the safe side.” Matheson paused for a moment.
“Now, it is cold enough that we’re passing out blankets.” She pointed to the other flight attendants handing out blankets to the passengers. “Unfortunately, we don’t have quite enough so the ones nearest the door will have priority. You folks up in first class,” she said looking up at the ceiling above her. “Shouldn’t need them since you’re in a different compartment and the cold shouldn’t get up to where you are.” She looked at one of the other flight attendants who was looking out of the window, along with most of the passengers on the right side of the plane. She made a thumb’s up signal and again there was an excited murmur from the passengers on the right-side of the plane. Most of them stared out of the windows with their mouths open and pointed.
“Okay. Let’s go ahead and open the door,” she said and the flight attendant beside the egress door pulled back on the door lever and the door opened to a massive inrush of frigid air and an incredible roaring noise. An alarm sounded. The oxygen masks dropped and there were cries of alarm and babbling throughout the cabin as passengers pulled down the masks and put them on. Mothers pulled them down for their small children and held them close.
***
Jim Roberts pulled his fur coated hood over his head and goggles over his eyes. The frigid blast of air coming in through the rear of the helicopter was already stinging his face. As a Navy Seal he was used to such extremes and as a fully qualified high-altitude parachutist he was quite familiar with jumping out of airplanes. The only problem was – this wasn’t an airplane – and he didn’t have a parachute. He tugged on his tether for a moment and looked up at the ceiling to make sure it was secure. The jumpmaster pulled on his harness and checked all of the connections for one final time.
“Ready?” He shouted over the noise.
Roberts made a thumbs-up gesture and smiled with a confidence he really didn’t have. This was by far the most dangerous operation he was ever on. Not even rescuing that lady doctor from the Shi’ite militia last month was as risky as this one.
“When you’re safely aboard,” the jumpmaster shouted. “Don’t forget to pull your release chord!” He slapped him on his chest. “Or else when we pull away – you’ll come with us!”
Roberts nodded and made another thumbs-up signal as he made his way to the end of the ramp. He peered over the edge for a moment at the mountains just below. They were awfully close – too close for a parachute at this altitude. He looked to the side of the ramp where another Air Sergeant stood by the winch. He waved at him and Roberts waved back. The Air Sergeant took up the slack and gently lifted Roberts until he was just barely touching down on the ramp. Roberts easily stepped off into nothingness and the cold propwash coming back from the helicopter’s rotor-blades pulled him gently backward. He was still in the helicopter’s slipstream so it was actually calm and smooth and he no longer felt the turbulence.
For the big 747 in front of him, however – that was a different story. He could see the pilot in the captain’s chair and she looked up at him as the huge airplane bounced up and down. He could see that she was struggling just to keep it steady as the 747 moved from side to side as well as up and down. Steadily the tether payed out and he moved closer to the airplane. The side egress door just over the right wing opened up and he could see someone in a heavy winter coat wave at him.
Suddenly he reached the point where the slipstream ended and he was thrown violently up and down and back and forth. He grunted in pain as the harness dug deep into his body. The hurricane force winds whistled past his goggles and it was difficult to see. He was nearly even with the nose of the aircraft now which continued to pitch up and down as he was jerked back and forth. He tried desperately to keep straight but there was literally nothing he could do but keep his arms and legs out away from his body to keep from spinning like a windchime.
Hector Rodriguez put on his heavy winter coat too and stood next to the flight attendant who was holding her hand up to her face against the freezing wind. He tied a rope around his waist and then tied the other end to the leg of a nearby seat.
“Make sure this doesn’t become untied!” He shouted above the wind to the man sitting in the chair with a blanket over him.
“Okay!” The man nodded and held on to the rope near his right leg.
Hector held tightly on to the side of the door and he peered out and instantly looked away. The frigid wind literally took his breath away and stung his eyes. He took a deep breath and held his hand up shielding his face. He could see the man ahead of him bouncing up and down as both the helicopter and the airplane did the same thing. None of the motions were synchronized, however, so all three were going every which way.
“Oh, dear God,” Hector thought. “Help us do this.”
***
President Atkins sat watching the live video feed and his hands tightened on the arms of his chair. He turned to General Hopkins.
“Who is that General?”
“That’s Petty Officer Jim Roberts, Sir.”
“The Navy Seal?”
“Yes Sir.”
“Good God – what a courageous thing he’s doing!”
Yes Sir!” Hopkins nodded in admiration. “He’s among the best of the best of the best. They both are.”
“So, he’s the bomb expert. Is that right?”
“Yes Sir.”
“Why is he going first instead of the pilot?”
“Well, we already have a pilot behind the controls now. Her chances of her landing safely are much better than someone fooling around with a bomb who doesn’t know what they’re doing.”
Atkins nodded and drew in a breath as he watched. His hands tightened even more as he watched Roberts get closer and closer to the wing of the 747. Through the open door, he could see two figures with their hands out, reaching for him.
***
Roger Danner stood next to Hector and fidgeted. If they ever got another pilot on board – especially one who was familiar with a 747 – they could land the plane. What was worse – they could also tell who turned off the plane’s computer. He looked back and forth between Hector and the flight attendant straining to reach the man bouncing up and down on the tether. He had to stop them somehow. But how?
He turned and looked back at the rest of the passengers sadly. They were all going to die if he was successful in downing the plane, but he had no other choice. Generalissimo Montoya and that monster El Gato Feo made that crystal clear. He thought for a moment about that priest being tortured and shuddered when he thought of his wife Kathy, infant son and little girl Jessie going through the same awful fate. That he must prevent at all costs – even to giving up his own life and killing everybody else aboard the plane. He took a couple of deep breaths and knelt down next to the seat where Hector tied off the rope. The man sitting in the seat now had both hands up holding the end of the blanket tightly against his face and wasn’t holding onto the rope any more. Danner reached up with one hand into the frigid wind as if he were trying to help Hector, while with the other one beneath the passenger’s blanket – he untied the rope.
Leave a Reply