When I boarded the airplane in Dallas Wednesday, August 31st, I had no idea of the journey that lie ahead. We all settled into our seats, had our meal, began watching movies or falling asleep. We had been on the plane about five hours when the lights suddenly came on. It was about 10pm (Texas time). The pilot came on the speaker and said that the crew had detected a chemical leak and would have to make an emergency landing. We were already over an hour out over the Atlantic ocean, so we had to turn around to return to the closest landing place - Gander, Newfoundland, Canada. Believe me, the prayers were being spoken for a safe return and landing!
We landed in Gander at about 11:30 Texas time, 2am Gander time (they are in a 1/2 time zone!). We all left the plane and walked into the airport. We were confused, concerned, upset, and every other emotion that goes along with that. We were thankful that we were not at the bottom of the ocean, but we just didn't really understand what was happening. We were so grateful for free internet at the airport so I was able to contact Karl and other family members via email, Skype and Facebook. The captain came out after a few hours to inform us that there were 400 containers of chemicals/hazardous materials on the plane in the cargo hold and that they were going through each one to find the leak. And he let us know that because he called in a Mayday, we would have to wait 12-15 hours for a certified mechanic to be flown in to sign off on the airplane before we could fly out again.
After several more hours, he let us know that they didn't find the leak, but that we still had to wait for the mechanic. Thankfully, they lined up hotels for us to go to and meal vouchers for the hotel restaurants. We were in the airport for 7 1/2 hours before we got to the hotel. I quickly ate breakfast, then went straight to bed. I woke up about 5pm local time, went downstairs to get something to eat, and learned that we would be picked up at 6:30 to return to the airport! Yipee! We were all so excited to resume our journey! We arrived at the airport, but didn't receive any additional information. About two hours later, we finally saw the crew arrive. We really thought we would leave soon. Another 2 hours passed before we learned that they were taking the cargo of hazardous material off of the plane (not sure why that didn't happen 15 hours earlier!) and were loading up the food for us. We were all going a bit crazy - several of us even began a fashion show with the Lufthansa blankets!
Finally about 12:30 we began boarding the plane. We took off at 1:15am to resume our flight to Frankfurt. We had been in Gander for almost 24 hours, most of it in the airport. We were very thankful for the people of Gander - they were absolutely wonderful! And the really cool thing was talking with the workers who had been working on 9/11 when 39 planes had to land there after airspace was closed. They cared for more than 6500 people for several days! Check out this article about it.
After 51 hours of travel, I finally arrived home in Cacak. I was absolutely exhausted. I had only slept about 7 hours total. I'm still trying to recover from the jet lag. I'm so thankful to be home, safe and alive. It could have turned out much differently, but I'm thankful that the Lord spared us. I'm also thankful for new friends that I met during our hours in the airport. We were able to find JOY in the midst of the craziness. Thank you, Lord!
We landed in Gander at about 11:30 Texas time, 2am Gander time (they are in a 1/2 time zone!). We all left the plane and walked into the airport. We were confused, concerned, upset, and every other emotion that goes along with that. We were thankful that we were not at the bottom of the ocean, but we just didn't really understand what was happening. We were so grateful for free internet at the airport so I was able to contact Karl and other family members via email, Skype and Facebook. The captain came out after a few hours to inform us that there were 400 containers of chemicals/hazardous materials on the plane in the cargo hold and that they were going through each one to find the leak. And he let us know that because he called in a Mayday, we would have to wait 12-15 hours for a certified mechanic to be flown in to sign off on the airplane before we could fly out again.
After several more hours, he let us know that they didn't find the leak, but that we still had to wait for the mechanic. Thankfully, they lined up hotels for us to go to and meal vouchers for the hotel restaurants. We were in the airport for 7 1/2 hours before we got to the hotel. I quickly ate breakfast, then went straight to bed. I woke up about 5pm local time, went downstairs to get something to eat, and learned that we would be picked up at 6:30 to return to the airport! Yipee! We were all so excited to resume our journey! We arrived at the airport, but didn't receive any additional information. About two hours later, we finally saw the crew arrive. We really thought we would leave soon. Another 2 hours passed before we learned that they were taking the cargo of hazardous material off of the plane (not sure why that didn't happen 15 hours earlier!) and were loading up the food for us. We were all going a bit crazy - several of us even began a fashion show with the Lufthansa blankets!
Finally about 12:30 we began boarding the plane. We took off at 1:15am to resume our flight to Frankfurt. We had been in Gander for almost 24 hours, most of it in the airport. We were very thankful for the people of Gander - they were absolutely wonderful! And the really cool thing was talking with the workers who had been working on 9/11 when 39 planes had to land there after airspace was closed. They cared for more than 6500 people for several days! Check out this article about it.
After 51 hours of travel, I finally arrived home in Cacak. I was absolutely exhausted. I had only slept about 7 hours total. I'm still trying to recover from the jet lag. I'm so thankful to be home, safe and alive. It could have turned out much differently, but I'm thankful that the Lord spared us. I'm also thankful for new friends that I met during our hours in the airport. We were able to find JOY in the midst of the craziness. Thank you, Lord!
1 comment:
Y'all look cute in your blanket attire! Glad you made it safely~
Post a Comment