“An airhostess on the verge of tears came and said that they had a technical problem,” said passenger Mattias Sonngård, to the Sydsvenskan newspaper.
“All we got to know was that the plane had been given permission for an emergency landing and that we should get into the emergency position with our heads between our knees.”
While it turned out that it was a broken television that caused the smoke, 23-year-old Sonngård explained that this information was never given to the passengers and that chaos ensued.
“It was total panic. People sat and screamed out that they didn’t want to die. The man in the seat behind me fainted and got help with the oxygen from another passenger. I asked an air hostess if we would crash on water or land. All I could think was that I didn’t want to drown – I wanted to die right away.”
I hope the flight crew was pretty and smiled nicely when they greeted the passengers, because they were worthless as teats on a boar hog during this emergency.
When the plane eventually landed safely in Mallorca, flight staff still did not explain to the passengers what had happened, but rather, “sat on a bench and cried” according to Sonngård.
I wonder if they were blondes. I know that's snotty...sue me.
Recently read Capt. Sullivan's book, including details of the landing in the East River. Was struck, at various moments, almost to tears, by the courage of various players who were simply going through a normal day .. and then sprang to action. Some of those actors were the three flight attendants, who were all aged forty and above. I never really knew exactly what flight attendants are supposed to do in that situation. But, with plane heading for the river, and with all flight attendants knowing (as all airline industry personnel know) that a water landing usually results in massive deaths, and thus with these three women innately understanding that they likely would be dead in 90 seconds or so, the flight attendants sprang into utter professional action, professionally prepping the passengers for what was coming. It was just moving. They didn't run into a fire, or into enemy machine guns. But, they had no thoughts for themselves; for their own mortality. They went completely gonzo professional, as they were trained and committed to do. Moving.
ReplyDeleteAlso, one of the boat captains, who rushed to the scene and skillfully maneuvered a rescue boat in a way which would not accidentally kill airline passengers in the process, was a 19 year old woman.
I should fess up and admit that my sister is a flight attendant for Delta and that I worked in management for Braniff (when it was still around), so I know how flight personnel SHOULD act and crying is NOT in the training manual. I was probably more disgusted with their behavior than a "civilian" because I was in the industry for years. Flight attendants' first and most important job is your safety in that metal canister hurtling through the air. It is not to give you food. HAHA!
DeleteAh. You were, as a professional, insulted.
DeleteBraniff! I loved those brightly colored planes.
In my day the slogan was "Flying Colors" and all the planes were redone with leather interiors and bright exterior colors. All the uniforms were done by Calvin Klein, very pretty in soft beige and cream. It was very nice.
DeleteHarding Lawrence, the president was a real genius/nut. He lost it on one flight and started throwing peanuts at a first class passenger before sitting down in the aisle and losing it. Lots of stories about that time!
The craziest little footnote is that Lawrence named his son States Rights. That's a guy who took things seriously!
Little history on the airline. http://www.braniffpages.com/1965/1965.html
DeleteThe link is great. Braniff was so much fun. The gloriosity of the 1960s and 1970s: the birth control pill, and new fabrics designed into new fashions, and lots more! There was STYLE, and forward thinking, and aggressiveness. And booze booze booze. Love it. Didn't love the cigarette smoke. Glad it is gone.
DeleteI was there just as it went under...1980 to 1982 or so...I bailed and moved to California when I saw the writing on the wall.
DeleteBoy, that airline was FILLED with huge eccentric personalities, though. It WAS Texan, after all. Crazy stories. The other airline I was around alot was Pan Am. Same thing. Wacky, fun, bigger than life people. But even then, most of the "fun" stuff happened before me and they were just talking about it.
Sullenberger. Not Sullivan.
ReplyDeleteWell, at least the airline personnel did not break the cardinal rule. You are not supposed to yell FIRE in a movie house. Their movie was on fire and they didn't...um, not the same thing, huh? Never mind.
ReplyDeleteHAHAHA! Nooo....not the same thing. I do believe another cardinal rule for safety personnel, be they cops or firemen or flight attendants is that you're not supposed to CRY and PANIC! It's pretty much an unstated rule, seems to me. LOL!
DeleteRight along with yelling: "We're dead, we're dead! We're alive, but we're dead." or WE'RE HUMPED!, I suppose...
DeleteDefinitely humped. And then some Chinese swear words...
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