Many of us have heard about the recent accident on Southwest Airlines flight 1380, where Jennifer Riordan, a Wells Fargo bank executive, philanthropist, and beloved mother of two had been partially sucked out of the plane at a 32,000-foot altitude and killed from blunt impact to the head and neck after repeated attempts to be pulled back into the cabin by fellow passengers. This was a tragic event and the first fatal incident on a U.S. airline in a decade.
Due to its recency, I am sure that this tragedy arouses fear in several airline passengers, who may have lost trust in airline safety inspection measures. I can affirm that the accident was the only thing spiraling through my head as I sat down at my window seat a few rows before the exit row on a Boeing 737, where Jennifer Riordan once sat on a very similar plane, on June 18th. I had just heard the story a few days before my departure from Tampa International Airport to Dulles International and was both shocked and sorrowful for the tremendous loss of the Riordan family. My faith in United Airlines had not faltered through hearing the story of the accident, but I was still frightened and unsure of my seat on the plane.
As I looked out of my window, I saw the massive, turbine-like engines and could hear their familiar roar when taking off and landing. I looked into the plane's right engine and saw the metal blades constructed so strategically and wondered if one might have been loose as it was on flight 1380. I felt the double-layered, oblong window's plexiglass surface, applying pressure to it out of suspicion. Restless and nervous, I leaned over to quietly tell my sister the fears I had; she responded with the reassurance that everything would be fine. I was told that the engines on this plane were 10 feet lower than those of the Southwest plane, which brought me some comfort. The plane began to roll, engines rumbled, and cabin shook—as we ascended into the air, I closed my eyes, and the young man sitting next to me placed his hands in prayer position. United, we flew.
Every time I fly on a plane, I question my trust in man-made transportation structures. I know this is silly, but the thought of a 66-ton object's ability to glide through the sky sends chills through my body. Flying in planes is something I am capable of, but I avoid thinking about the physics of it all, as it is too miraculous for me to comprehend. Needless to say, I was anxious and scared sitting in Riordan's seat, but fortunately made it through the flight safely.
What I learned from this experience is to count your blessings. Before the flight, I witnessed people praying, and prayed myself for a safe flight.
There are so many seemingly-menial things like having a safe airline flight that we take for granted.
Let us learn from this heartbreaking story so that we can take time to care about the little things that make life happen, and pray.
