“Ray, you have the aircraft. Maintain the current airspeed and descent rate, and level off at ten thousand feet.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Kerri unbuckled her lap belt, slid her seat back, then climbed out of it, careful not to tangle her oxygen cord. She knelt beside Janine and quickly scanned her body, looking for signs of injury or blood. She rolled Janine onto her back, then reached behind her seat to the side oxygen compartment. After she took out the observer’s oxygen mask and checked the regulator at 100%, she gently lifted Janine’s head and placed the mask over her face. Then, she waited.
“Come on, Janine. Come back to me.”
After what felt like an eternity, Janine’s eyelids fluttered open. She looked confused as her gaze darted around the cockpit.
“Can you sit up? Let me help you.” Kerri placed her arm under Janine’s shoulders and pulled her to a sitting position on the floor. “Are you hurt?”
Janine shook her head. “No. I think I’m okay, just dizzy. What happened?”
Kerri looked over her shoulder to the aircraft instruments. “Ray, bring the nose up. You’re descending too fast. Keep the speed at two-fifty.” She turned back to Janine. “Can you stand up?”
“Yes, I think so. Can I take this off?” She reached for the oxygen mask.
“No. You have to keep it on. We’ve lost cabin pressure and the right engine. I have to get back into my seat to fly the plane. I need you to sit in the observer’s seat and put on the lap belt.”
Kerri got Janine into the cockpit jump seat, behind her own seat, buckled the lap belt around her hips, put her hands on Janine’s shoulders, and stared into her eyes. “We’re going to be all right, Janine.”
Kerri climbed back into her seat. “I have the aircraft. What’s our status, Ray?”
“Roger. You have the aircraft. We’re passing twenty-one thousand feet. Level-off altitude of ten thousand is set, airspeed is two-fifty.”
“Let’s try to figure out what the hell’s going on. First, I have to call the cabin.”
Kerri pushed the cabin call button.
“George here. What happened, Kerri?”
“We’re still figuring that out. I need you to get a portable oxygen walk-around bottle. Come up to the cockpit and help Janine. She passed out. Use the emergency entry procedure.”
“Yes, Captain. I’ll be right there.”
Kerri turned in her seat and looked behind her to check on Janine. She was still conscious but had a dazed expression. George entered the cockpit and took off the flight-deck oxygen mask, secured the mask from the portable oxygen tank to her face, looped the sling of the walk-around bottle over her shoulder, and then helped her stand up. He tapped Kerri on the shoulder, then gave her an “okay” hand signal as he and Janine left the flight deck. She felt a small relief knowing George would take care of Janine in the cabin. Now she had to focus on her damaged jet.
* * *
“Are you hurt?” George asked.
“No. I’m fine.” Janine looked down the aisles of the plane and saw yellow oxygen masks dangling from the ceiling the entire length of the aircraft. It looked like most of the passengers had already put the masks over their faces, and the other flight attendants were walking the aisles helping them.
Janine had a headache, but at least she wasn’t dizzy anymore. She tried to piece together what had happened. One minute she was opening the cockpit door to let Ray in, and then the plane lurched, the air turned to cold fog, she lost her balance, and she stumbled to the floor. She remembered Ray stepping over her and how she tried to get up, but then everything went blank. The next thing she knew, she was sitting in the cockpit jump seat with a pilot face mask on, and Kerri was telling her everything would be okay.
Clearly, everything was not all right. They had lost cabin pressure, the oxygen masks had dropped, and now the plane was descending. Something was very wrong with this airplane.
“What happened, George?”
“I’m not sure. After you went up to the cockpit, I felt the plane lurch, like we hit something, and then we lost cabin pressure and the masks dropped. We have a window out on the right side, just in front of the wing. It might have been a window failure.”
“Are any passengers hurt?”
“Fortunately, no one was in that row. We probably have a few people with scratches from the flying debris, but that’s all so far. You were in the cockpit when this happened. What did you see?”
“I can’t remember. I heard the noise, saw the fog, and then blacked out. Thanks for helping me.”
“I didn’t do anything. Kerri took care of you. She got you into the jump seat and put a mask on you.”
“Oh, I didn’t know that.” Kerri just saved my life.
“Can you walk? Let’s make sure the passengers have their oxygen masks on, and then we’ll secure the carts and galleys.”
Janine was still woozy, but she was able to focus on her job. Some of the passengers had their masks on wrong, with the yellow rubber cup over just their mouth, not the mouth and nose, as required. A few didn’t have any mask on. Instead, they had blue lips and looked like they were sleeping. She went over to one unresponsive man, pulled the cord of the dangling mask to start the oxygen generator, put the yellow mask over his face, and then shook him until he started to come around. Taking a deep breath, she turned to look across the big cabin at all the passengers. Several were crying, and they all looked terrified.
Janine’s training kicked in, and she took care of the passengers just like she’d practiced every year in recurrent training. She knew Kerri was descending the airplane to a safe altitude where they could breathe. She’d been through a few emergency situations during the time she’d flown with Trans Global, but nothing like this. She was very aware that the lives of her passengers, and her own life, were in the hands of their captain. She prayed Kerri was as good a pilot as George said she was.
* * *
Kerri looked above her head at the overhead panel. All the major aircraft systems were lit up like a Christmas tree, with amber and red warning lights all over the panel. She had to figure out the mechanical status of her crippled jet, and figure it out fast. She knew they’d lost cabin pressure and her right engine had failed, but she didn’t know why. She had the airplane in a controlled, stable descent, for now, but she was afraid there could also be a serious structural problem. She needed more information right now.
“Ray, you have the aircraft. I need to talk to George.”
“Roger. I have the aircraft.”
Kerri pushed the button on her comm panel and called the cabin.
“George here.”
“I need to know what happened in the back. Can you tell me what the cabin looks like?”
“Stand by, Kerri. Let me assess the situation, and I’ll call you back.”
Kerri turned toward Ray. “I have the aircraft. How are we coming on the engine-fail checklist?”
“We’ve completed the steps to secure the engine, and now we have to decide if we want to attempt an engine restart.”
Kerri scrutinized the engine gauges. “We’ve lost all oil and have zero rotation. This engine is seized, and we can’t attempt a restart. We’re now single-engine.”
“Can we make it the rest of the way like that?”
“This jet’s certified to fly on one engine for up to three hours. We just passed the point of equal time on the route, so the closest place to land is Hilo, Hawaii. I’ll put direct Hilo in the nav computer.” Kerri entered the airport code for Hilo in the box, which read nine hundred fifty-seven nautical miles to fly to Hilo. Crap, that’s a long time on just one engine. “We’ll be okay. Let’s continue our analysis. Run the rapid decompression checklist.”
As they talked, she could hear the fear in Ray’s voice. She not only had to be the captain and fly the jet, but she also had to keep Ray focused on doing his job. She would deal with her own fear later.
“Ding.” The cabin was calling.
“This is Kerri.”
“It’s George, and here’s the status of the cabin. The side window in row fifteen is missing. I think that’s why we lost cabin pressure. I also spotted three small holes in the side wall near that window. When I looked out the window, I could see the front part of the engine, and it looks pretty torn up and scorched. The oxygen masks are down, and all the passengers are okay. What happened?”
“The right engine must have seized and then disintegrated, which caused shrapnel to puncture the fuselage. That must have broken that window and caused the decompression. We’re descending to ten thousand feet, and I’ll let you know when it’s safe to take off the oxygen masks. We’re diverting to Hilo, about two hours away. I’ll brief the passengers in a minute, as soon as we finish our checklists. Thanks.”
The cabin damage report from George made sense. If the engine tore itself up, it could send sharp pieces of metal into the body of the aircraft.
“How are you coming on those checklists, Ray?”
“Almost complete. As soon as we level off at ten thousand feet, the rapid-decompression checklist is finished. The engine-fail checklist is complete. Since that engine shredded itself, we’ve also lost the right hydraulic system and the right electrical generator. Would you like me to start the auxiliary power unit so we’ll have a backup generator?”
“Yes. Good idea, Ray. Start the APU. Passing eighteen thousand feet, I’ll get the exterior lights on. I need to talk to San Francisco Radio, and to flight dispatch, to advise them of our situation. You have the aircraft.”
Kerri called on her high-frequency radio but had no response. She decided to try to contact another Trans Global jet on the company interplane frequency.
“Mayday, mayday, mayday. Any aircraft, this is Trans Global 401, declaring an emergency.” She waited for a reply, heard nothing, then repeated her message.
“Trans Global 401, this is Trans Global 506. We copy your emergency. Go ahead.”
“Trans Global 506, this is 401. We’ve lost the right engine, had a decompression, and are descending to ten thousand feet. I’m proceeding direct to Hilo. Estimate time to Hilo is two hours. Two hundred fifty-two souls on board. Please relay to company and San Francisco Radio.”
“Copy all, 401. I’ll call them and give them your information. Any casualties?”
“No. We’re all right. Thanks for your help, 506.”
“Passing eleven for ten thousand feet,” Ray said. He leveled off the jet, pushed the left throttle up to accelerate, and reset the rudder trim. They were stable for now.
“I’m off the air, Ray. I need to brief the passengers.” Kerri mentally composed her thoughts before she pressed the public-address button. She needed to reassure her passengers, but she also needed to be truthful with them about how serious this emergency was. She took a deep breath and used her calm, confident captain’s voice as she informed them of their situation. Hopefully they would believe her when she told them everything would be all right.
* * *
When Janine heard Kerri’s voice, she stopped what she was doing to listen. This was the first time she could truly exhale since this emergency started. Kerri’s voice was professional, but also comforting, as she told them about the damaged airplane and the plan to divert to Hilo. Janine made eye contact with the other flight attendants, who nodded their relief to each other.
When Kerri announced over the PA that they were at ten thousand feet and could remove their oxygen masks, the passengers seemed to calm down. Even though it was much warmer at ten thousand feet than thirty-four thousand, the cabin was cold, and she handed out all the blankets they had. The passengers started asking for lots of alcoholic drinks, since they were so shaken by what had happened.
“Janine, can you get the medical kit from the back of the plane? We have a few people with cuts.”
“Sure, George.” All the passengers watched her as she walked down the aisle from First Class to the aft part of the plane. They were obviously afraid and confused, and they needed her to reassure them. She forced herself to smile and touched their shoulders as she walked past them. She could appear brave, even if she didn’t feel very courageous right now.
A doctor on board tended to the injured passengers, and Janine assisted her. The yellow oxygen masks still dangled from the ceiling like spaghetti, and papers were strewn about the entire aircraft. The once clean, sleek interior of the jet now looked like a messy haunted house.
For the first time, Janine realized she was cold. She’d been so busy taking care of the passengers, she hadn’t even thought about her own physical condition. Now she became aware that the back of her head hurt.
George came up to her. “Oh, honey, we have to get some ice on your head.”
“What is it?”
“You’ve got a big bump back there. That must have happened when you hit the deck in the cockpit.”
“I did?”
“Yes, you did. You also blacked out. Kerri had to put an oxygen mask on your face. Don’t you remember? Are you sure you feel okay?” He grabbed a plastic trash bag, put ice in it, and gently placed it on the back of her head.
“Thank you, George. I’m fine.”
“We’ve got everything in the main cabin under control. Why don’t you sit in your jump seat for a few minutes? We still have two hours to go.”
“Okay.” Janine strapped herself into her jump seat and tried not to think about her throbbing head. Instead, she thought of Molly. Her daughter was expecting a phone call from her tonight. She couldn’t forget to call her because she would have quite a story to tell. Then her thoughts turned to Kerri.