David took a firm hold of the throttle in his right hand and held on to the control column with his left, none of the usual landing aids were working, he was flying completely manually; all he had was his judgment, experience and the altimeter. He could see the large clear grassy area in front of him, he lined the aircraft up. “Ok, you can do this, this is easy.” He settled himself for the emergency landing. He could see the trees coming closer and faster, he knew he had to lower the landing gear at the last possible moment. Because of the approach angle there was a real danger of the trees taking them clean off. Looking at the fuel gauges he had only enough for one approach, if he over shot it he knew he would run out whilst trying to get airborne again.
He was getting close now, he could feel his heart rate rising, it felt like it was about to burst from his chest; his hands tightened their grip and he curled his toes inside his shoes as if to make sure his feet would work when he needed all the braking power he had at his command.
The ground was getting closer and faster; he felt the blood rushing around his body. He clenched his teeth and took a deep breath. The trees passed by the cockpit windows at a fantastic speed, he was now directly over the clearing. He pulled the nose up and lowered the landing gear, he heard the whining of their motors and then the click as they locked into place, his approach angle was extreme, he was almost at stall speed but he had to, he couldn’t hit the grass at the same angle and speed as a normal runway.
Just as he thought he had cleared the last of the trees from the back of the aircraft, he heard a crashing sound and the airliner shuddered and pitched, the master alarm sounded and the hydraulics started to fail. He knew he had to get this plane down and now!
He fought and managed to get it back under control. There was no time and no fuel for another attempt if he got this wrong they would all be dead, the aircraft would hurtle into the woods on the other side of the clearing and he had seen too many news bulletins to know what a plane looks like when it does that.
The rear wheels hit the ground hard, the shock absorbers on the landing gear plunged into themselves taking the full weight of the plane in one hit. The plane bounced, and shuddered, the fuselage groaned and creaked, he used all his strength pushing the control column forward forcing the nose down. The front wheel hit the grass and the plane vibrated and shook as it hurtled along the ground; its wheels tearing up chunks of earth as they tried to dig in and sink under the immense weight of the plane.
David hit the brakes and forced the engines into full reverse, the engines screamed and he was convinced they would blow at any time sending shards of shrapnel towards them but there was nothing he could do now. He had to force them, he had to stop the plane even if it meant damaging the engines beyond repair.
The end of the clearing was approaching fast, he could see the huge trees at the edge of the forest coming up on him quickly. He pushed his feet harder onto the brake pedals, his legs almost fully-stretched, the aircraft was slowing but it wasn’t going to be enough, he was going to hit the approaching trees unless he took action.
Releasing the brakes a little and easing the reverse thrust on the engines back, he turned the nose wheel round and the plane instantly responded by pitching to the right side. The whole airframe leaned to the left, he was thrown to his left, using his elbow on the side of his seat to try and stay as level as he could he forced himself back up, he had to keep control.
His empty coffee cup flew across his lap, he straightened the wheel out and he was now facing back down the clearing. He hit the brakes again and forced the engines into reverse. With a deafening roar from the engines the plane started to slow down, the vibrations became less and eventually with one last groan the plane came to a shuddering halt, the nose pitched down and then sprang back up.
He sat back in his seat and took his feet off the brake pedals. His feet ached with the pressure that he had put on them, his hand eased the throttles back and the engines slowly wound down until they fell back to a low hum. He looked around the flight deck. The usually tidy deck was littered with flight notes that been flung around during the landing, some of the over head panels had come loose due the vibrations and now they hung there held up only by the wires that connected the switches to the main loom of the aircraft.
Both pairs of headsets were lying on the floor, the co-pilot’s set was smashed. They had hit the dashboard hard when the plane hit the ground and exploded; sending pieces of black plastic everywhere.
David’s had fared better, the left ear cover was cracked and the mic stem was bent but they looked in working order. He undid his seat harness and followed his usual procedure of shutting down all the plane’s systems that he no longer needed.
Fastening the overhead boards back into place, he finally shut the engines down. With an ever-decreasing whistling they fell silent, the huge fans that drew the air in slowed until they stopped spinning.
Half the flight deck was no longer lit and it too fell into silence. As he rested for a few seconds wiping his brow and stroking the top of the dashboard as if he was praising the plane for its landing in the same way a rider praises a horse after a difficult jump, he took off his pilot’s aviator glasses he threw them onto the dashboard and rubbed his eyes, they felt sore and tired. He had had a long night by anybody’s standards and now he was feeling it, his body’s defences against fatigue and pain were depleted and he was now feeling both. Now the plane was down, (although he didn’t know where down was) he could relax, if only for a little while.
Lynsey came in to see David sat back in his chair, his hands resting over the control column. He had heard the door open and turned around to see her entering.
“You did it, thank you, thank you.”
“Only just,” David replied.
Lynsey sat next to him and they both stared out of the windows.
“Do you recognise any of this, David?”
“No, nothing, the trees seem different somehow, bigger, unusual shapes; even the sky looks unusual.”
Lynsey smiled. “We’re not in Kansas anymore.”
David smiled back at her and gently nodded.
“Do you want me to do the usual evacuation drill?” Lynsey asked.
“No, let’s not open all the exits and put the chutes out until we know where we are and what has happened. Gather the passengers together and I’ll come back and talk to them directly.”
Lynsey nodded and headed back out to the passengers. David picked up his damaged headset and tried the radio again, but again nothing but static. There was no answer on any band or on any frequency, and what was just as strange was that none of the GPS equipment is working, every piece of technology that depended on GPS all said the same thing, “No satellite found.”
He shook his head, he had heard of very rare occasions when one or even two pieces of equipment had failed, but he had never heard of all of the equipment failing, it just didn’t happen in modern aircraft. He checked the damage control panel and fire controls, everything was reading a-okay, apart from the hydraulics. He knew something had happened to the system because of the shuddering and the difficulty of control just before he touched down, he knew the hydraulic systems were staring to fail. But as far as the rest of aircraft was concerned, everything was fine
David stood up and looked around the flight deck, checking one last time that everything that should be off was off. He placed his headset on its hook and headed through business class where Holly was sitting, still wincing at her injury. David walked across to her and knelt down beside her.
“Holly, how are you doing?”
“I’m in a lot of pain, David, my arm is so sore, every little movement is agony.”
David placed a hand on her forehead and brushed her hair away, as he did he smiled. “Won’t be long and we’ll get you to a hospital.” Holly just smiled as best she could, but she could see perfectly well out of the window and she knew by the view she was a long way from any hospital.
Standing up, he headed th
rough the galley and into the economy section where the passengers had now all gathered.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to tell you that we have landed safely and I would ask that you remain here while myself and my crew inspect the aircraft and the immediate area outside. Thank you.”
Gesturing to Lynsey, David headed back to the galley and the lift down into the hold. Taking Lynsey to one side he carefully whispered to her so that no-one could hear.
“Lynsey, once we’re in the hold I’ll open the cargo bay door and lower myself out through that, you stay by the door to help me back in.”
“Ok, Captain.” One by one they went down in to the cargo bay. David led Lynsey through the bay making sure she didn’t see Steven’s body. Although it was wrapped up, it was unmistakable, and the last thing he needed now was Lynsey seeing it.
He pulled the safety catch and pushed the release for the door, it jolted and eased up into its open position. David dropped the thick black nylon net over the side and carefully lowered himself out of the aircraft and dropped onto the thick lush moss; the plane’s wheels had now sunk down into.
Stepping back away from the fuselage he could see the passengers looking down out of the windows. He waved at Lynsey and held two thumbs up to gesture that he was ok. Nervously, Lynsey copied him.
He moved far enough away to take in the full length of the plane, it was then he realised what the shuddering and crashing was when he made his landing and why the hydraulics had started to fail. Looking towards the back of the plane he could see that the top section of the tail had been ripped completely off. Even if he had enough fuel for another landing attempt he would not have been able to, he would have lost control and the aircraft would have gone down.
David knew before he left the flight deck it would never fly again, but until he saw the damage to the tail he had at least held onto some small hope. But not now, now it was beyond any doubt, wherever this was; is where they would be staying until help arrived, if help arrived!
David looked back at Lynsey and then back towards the trees he had flown over just before he had touched down. He walked back towards the open cargo door and Lynsey.
“How’s it looking, David?” David looked up at her and shook his head, “Not good at all, the wheels have sunk to their axles, the tail’s damaged, we’re about out of fuel and the hydraulics are shot, wherever we are Lynsey is where we’re staying!”
Lynsey sank back the expression on her face dropped from one of optimism to a look of defeat.
David went on, “I’m going to head over to the trees where the plane was damaged, I want to try and find the lost section of tail.”
Lynsey sat back up, she seemed to snap back to attention.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea, David, we don’t know where we are!”
David shrugged his shoulders.
“I need to try and find it, Lynsey, when we do get rescued they’ll want it so they can put together what happened.”
David turned and started to walk towards the front of the aircraft and the trees they had flown over.
Lynsey watched him as far as she could until he disappeared under the fuselage.
Walking away from the plane he noticed how thick and lush the vegetation was and the heat, he had just noticed it, but God it was hot, the air seemed thick, sticky almost, the whole environment seemed surreal almost unnatural.
He removed his tie and stuffed it into his back pocket, undid the top two buttons on his shirt, and rubbed his hands around the back of his neck which was now moist with sweat.
Turning slightly he looked back at the plane. It looked strange, somehow out of scale like a model aircraft that had been left on the lawn after a child had finished playing with it. He was approaching the trees. From behind the bushes that skirted the perimeter of the forest he could see the reflection of the afternoon sun from what he assumed was a piece of metal.
“That’s it,” he whispered, as he turned behind the clump of bushes that were hiding the piece of aircraft and stopped dead in his tracks.
Lynsey had long lost sight of David after he had crossed under the fuselage on his way to the other side of the clearing.
The sun low in the afternoon sky was shining in to the cargo bay and bathing her in a warm and restful glow. She had hung her legs over the edge of the opening and leant back on her arms, her head raised towards the sun and her eyes closed as she enjoyed what was left of its heat before it set behind the trees that surrounded the clearing that had offered a refuge to the stricken aircraft.
She did not see or hear her attacker. In fact she was completely unaware that she was in any danger at all. The last thing she would ever remember of this life was not the sun that offered comfort and warmth, or even the aircraft that she hung her legs out of which gave her shelter, what Lynsey would remember last was the searing pain and blistering heat that suddenly came from her left leg, then the panic that set in as she was pulled from the cargo bay with such force and ferocity that she had no time at all to react.
She hit the ground hard, so hard and so unprepared her arms still hadn’t managed to protect her face, her nose hit first, it shattered and instantly she was dazed, her eyes watered heavily and she could feel the blood oozing down her face and she could taste it in the back of her throat.
Coughing and gasping she scrambled to turn, to get up and flee but then came the weight, a huge weight on her back, pinning her down to the ground, making her breathing laboured and difficult, her face forced down into the long thick moss that covered the ground The pain from her leg now throbbing and radiating out to the rest of her body, she felt herself starting to shake, her heartbeat began to race, sweat streamed out of every pore in her body and she felt the warm sensation of urine as her bladder uncontrollably emptied.
She turned her eyes in their sockets as far as she could, to try and see what this was. She knew it was an animal of some kind but she had no idea what, but she could feel it, its breath, a warm putrid breath, coming in waves on the back of her head. She tried to call out, to call for help, but all she could manage was a whimper, her mouth curled uncontrollably in the corners tears streaked down her face.
“Please, please,” she repeated, she positioned her hands as if she was about to do push ups. Mustering all her remaining strength she pushed up against the weight that was holding her down, but she couldn’t move, her arms collapsed beside her lying limp. Then the breathing became a growl, a low grumbling sound and she could feel the heat of breath on the back of her neck, “What was it? What was it waiting for?” The thought flashed through her mind and immediately after it had she thought nothing else. Everything for Lynsey went black and her pain vanished.
David stood in disbelief, his hands frozen by his side; his mind trying desperately to make sense of what his eyes were looking at.
There was the broken piece of tail, but under it lying dead was an animal that he had only seen in books and in B-movies when he was child, the kind of movies he would sit and watch at his grandparents on a Saturday morning with awe and wonder as the stop motion monsters reeked havoc in some small Mexican town after escaping from a side show.
He didn’t know its given scientific name he didn’t know much about it at all, all he knew was that what he was standing looking at was called by everybody, everywhere: a dinosaur.
After a few seconds he moved in for a closer look. Crouching down next to it, his hand touched it and then pulled back instantly then reached out again. He stroked the skin around the leg and moved onto its stomach, this was real whatever this is called it was real, dead, but real. He could clearly see where the section of tail had hit the animal crushing its skull with one violent strike. He raised himself back up, he could see that the sun was starting to set and wherever this place was, he didn’t want to be out in the open if these animals are indeed wandering around freely: especially in the dark.
As he turned and headed back out into the clearing he could see the aircraft. He was lookin
g at it now as a sanctuary and a place of safety and he started back toward it, his pace faster with every stride he took until he broke into a run. As he got closer the setting sun behind it was streaming all around the plane; almost blotting it from view in a golden - even painful - haze, he raised his arm to shield his eyes. He made it back under the fuselage and made his way to the other side where Lynsey would be sat waiting for him. He came out from underneath and turned to face the open cargo bay, but there was no sign of Lynsey. The cargo net was still hanging down but she was not there, he reached up for the net and started to climb it, as he reached the bay he hauled himself inside and turned to pull the net in, that was when he saw the blood on the ground, he hadn’t seen until it now, the sun was setting and he had to be up above it to see it.
The panic set in again, “Lynsey!” he shouted. He turned to see if she was in the cargo bay but he knew deep down she wasn’t, he climbed back down the net as quickly as he could.
Now, he knew something had happened, he saw blood stains on the ground that led under the plane. “This must be her blood!” he thought and it was everywhere, it was splattered on the bright chrome work of the underside of the aircraft’s body, it was sprayed over the ground and even as far as the undercarriage and crucially, it was leading out towards the back of the plane and the trees that were so close by.
He saw a black high-heeled shoe, he knew this belonged to Lynsey because he had always joked with her about how uncomfortable they must have been to work in, and he knew what it meant. Instantly, fear set in and his flight response told him to run! He turned and grabbed the net. As quickly as he could he pulled himself back in to the cargo bay and pulled the net in. Facing the open door, he was convinced that at any second whatever had taken Lynsey would jump through the open door and grab him as well. The sun was setting fast and his view through the door was becoming more limited as every second passed.
From the back-lit cargo bay, he was looking into a near black void, the trees and all the unusual features he and Lynsey had commented on after the landing were gone, it was just black and it was terrifying. At last the net was in, he reached over and thumped the button that closed the door, the electric motor started to whine and instantly the door began to shut. “C’mon, c’mon,” he orded the door to move quicker as it inched its way down, he was willing, pleading the door to close, pushing the button repeatedly though he knew it wouldn’t make it faster but he had to try. His heart was racing, he had seen enough bad horror flicks to know that just as the door was about to close something always got in.
Yesterday's Flight Page 5