turbulence thirty miles away,” he said to himself, anxiously.
Within seconds, he began to feel a slight buffeting on the plane. With each passing minute, the buffeting increased and became more intense.
He looked down at the ocean below. The seas had turned a deeper blue and he could now see tiny whitecaps on the tops of waves.
“Whitecaps. That’s not a good sign,” Jack said dryly. “That can’t be good for an emergency landing.”
Nervously, he watched as a layer of broken clouds passed above him. He was entering the outer bands of a thunderstorm.
Again, more turbulence rocked the tiny plane and he reacted quickly, instinctively adding opposite control inputs to level the wings. Within a short time, the occasional gusts of wind that jarred the plane became a continuous barrage that required his complete attention. Working the controls quickly and deliberately, he was able to stay ahead of the worsening conditions.
Only ten miles from shore, the broken clouds transformed into a dark and scary overcast. Jack sweated profusely as he continued to fight the turbulence. As his hands slipped off the controls, he wiped the sweat on his shorts , then quickly grabbed the controls once more.
Suddenly, he felt his body being compressed into his seat. Hit by a large column of rising air, he watched the altimeter begin to climb rapidly. Instantly, he reacted, lowering the nose of the plane, and adding power, trying to fly back down to his original altitude.
Without notice, his lap belt tightened and now he felt the plane free falling out of the sky. Hit with a column of descending air, he fought to keep the wings level. Immediately, he pulled the power and raised the nose of the plane to slow his descent. The force of the downdraft was violent. Jack watched in horror as the altimeter unwound as he lost thousands of feet.
With his heart in his throat, he cried, “Oh my God, I’m gonna hit the water!”
Struggling to hang onto the controls, he pushed the power setting to full and pulled back on the stick aggressively to raise the nose of the unresponsive plane. He watched the seas quickly rising up toward him as he fell out of the sky.
Suddenly, another violent blast of wind jolted the side of his plane and rocked the wing s nearly vertical. Falling sideways down toward the water, Jack threw full opposite controls into the plane. In the fight between nature and man, nature was winning the battle.
With only four hundred feet of altitude left before impacting the ocean, Jack threw in his wing flaps and cut his power to idle. Still holding his opposite control inputs, his heart pounded wildly as he waited for a miracle.
“Come on!” he yelled at his plane over the deafening sound of rushing air. “Do something.”
Ever so slowly, the wings started to level out. As water rushed up at him, the nose of the plane began to rise. With the wings now leveling, Jack continued to hold the stick back in full climb configuration. He watched the altimeter begin to slow its downward momentum. Looking down through his windscreen, he could clearly see the whitecaps breaking off the tops of waves. Fear and panic ripped through his body as he fought the forces of nature.
“This can’t be happening,” he cried out in disbelief.
Still falling, Jack was less than two hundred feet above the water. Quickly, he opened his door and prepared for impact. A gust of wind rocked the plane and forced the door to its full open position. Suddenly, the plane slowed and veered to the left toward the open door. It was now an anchor in the sky. He reacted quickly and brought the nose of the plane back around to the right.
Less than fifty feet above the water, the descent slowed dramatically. Jack held on in desperation. He had never crashed before and the fear he felt was paralyzing. All he could do was hang on and wait for impact.
Forty feet…
Thirty feet…
Twenty feet…
The water rushed up to meet the plane.
Jack heard a loud siren
Within seconds, he began to feel a slight buffeting on the plane. With each passing minute, the buffeting increased and became more intense.
He looked down at the ocean below. The seas had turned a deeper blue and he could now see tiny whitecaps on the tops of waves.
“Whitecaps. That’s not a good sign,” Jack said dryly. “That can’t be good for an emergency landing.”
Nervously, he watched as a layer of broken clouds passed above him. He was entering the outer bands of a thunderstorm.
Again, more turbulence rocked the tiny plane and he reacted quickly, instinctively adding opposite control inputs to level the wings. Within a short time, the occasional gusts of wind that jarred the plane became a continuous barrage that required his complete attention. Working the controls quickly and deliberately, he was able to stay ahead of the worsening conditions.
Only ten miles from shore, the broken clouds transformed into a dark and scary overcast. Jack sweated profusely as he continued to fight the turbulence. As his hands slipped off the controls, he wiped the sweat on his shorts , then quickly grabbed the controls once more.
Suddenly, he felt his body being compressed into his seat. Hit by a large column of rising air, he watched the altimeter begin to climb rapidly. Instantly, he reacted, lowering the nose of the plane, and adding power, trying to fly back down to his original altitude.
Without notice, his lap belt tightened and now he felt the plane free falling out of the sky. Hit with a column of descending air, he fought to keep the wings level. Immediately, he pulled the power and raised the nose of the plane to slow his descent. The force of the downdraft was violent. Jack watched in horror as the altimeter unwound as he lost thousands of feet.
With his heart in his throat, he cried, “Oh my God, I’m gonna hit the water!”
Struggling to hang onto the controls, he pushed the power setting to full and pulled back on the stick aggressively to raise the nose of the unresponsive plane. He watched the seas quickly rising up toward him as he fell out of the sky.
Suddenly, another violent blast of wind jolted the side of his plane and rocked the wing s nearly vertical. Falling sideways down toward the water, Jack threw full opposite controls into the plane. In the fight between nature and man, nature was winning the battle.
With only four hundred feet of altitude left before impacting the ocean, Jack threw in his wing flaps and cut his power to idle. Still holding his opposite control inputs, his heart pounded wildly as he waited for a miracle.
“Come on!” he yelled at his plane over the deafening sound of rushing air. “Do something.”
Ever so slowly, the wings started to level out. As water rushed up at him, the nose of the plane began to rise. With the wings now leveling, Jack continued to hold the stick back in full climb configuration. He watched the altimeter begin to slow its downward momentum. Looking down through his windscreen, he could clearly see the whitecaps breaking off the tops of waves. Fear and panic ripped through his body as he fought the forces of nature.
“This can’t be happening,” he cried out in disbelief.
Still falling, Jack was less than two hundred feet above the water. Quickly, he opened his door and prepared for impact. A gust of wind rocked the plane and forced the door to its full open position. Suddenly, the plane slowed and veered to the left toward the open door. It was now an anchor in the sky. He reacted quickly and brought the nose of the plane back around to the right.
Less than fifty feet above the water, the descent slowed dramatically. Jack held on in desperation. He had never crashed before and the fear he felt was paralyzing. All he could do was hang on and wait for impact.
Forty feet…
Thirty feet…
Twenty feet…
The water rushed up to meet the plane.
Jack heard a loud siren
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