Okay...THIS is going to be a long read, but I think you'll find it VERY interesting...this again is from the super-dooper secret moderator shoutbox, from last night...it's very revealing about yours truly (obviously, here...as with all shoutbox convos, you read from the bottom up...this has also been edited to remove a few unrelated comments):
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 55) : And you wonder why I'm totally craaaaazaaah?!
black shimmer (1 day, 22h 55) : Worst thing that ever happened to me while flying...I was headed to the bathroom....and I really had to go...so I banged on the door because it was locked...when they opened up...It knocked me and I feel over. Then some guy with a food cart ran into me ny accident T_T
Dingo (1 day, 22h 54) : that's really scary.
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 54) : And I can remember every sound...
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 53) : But that's truly how it happened. I can still see it when I think about it.
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 53) : Everytime I tell my story, I'm always asked why I don't keep my feet planted FIRMLY on the ground.
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 53) : heh heh
Dingo (1 day, 22h 52) : Worst thing I've ever had happen to me that was air travel-related was when our connecting flight on the way back from California was cancelled
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 50) : And the A300 Airbus is a MONSTER...
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 50) : That pilot did an amazing job. He pulled the plane out of a combination fall/dive
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 49) : And the engines...I remember they were so LOUD...they must have never stalled...because they sure were trying to grab hold of some AIR! oy...
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 48 ) : I remember trying to yell or scream, and I couldn't. G-forces, I think...like on a really powerful roller coaster.
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 48 ) : It was pretty frightening...but then, I seem to remember that I wasn't really frightened, for sure, until we were level again...the fall itself came so ***** fast...
Dingo (1 day, 22h 48 ) : yeah...not a thing about it on here. They do list a few crashes, though
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 47) : Of course, the airline doesn't exist anymore.
Again, probably because of lawsuits pertaining to that flight. They didn't last too many years more past that time.
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 47) : Besides, if anyone had a reason to cover it up, it would have been the airline. Philadelphia International actually responded pretty well to the crisis
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 46) : Yeah, but there are still FAA records, that have to exist by law (and NTSB records, no doubt)
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 45) : Hmm...never tried THAT!
DrewTheWolf (1 day, 22h 45) : Airport probably tried to cover the incident up.
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 45) : I was thirteen years old. It was my second time ever flying...(except once when I was an infant, but who remembers that kind of stuff?)
Dingo (1 day, 22h 45) : even Wikipedia?
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 45) : I've tried to find a record of the incident from any website I could research. Nothing.
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 44) : I think there was at least one heart attack on that plane...no deaths, fortunately.
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 44) : Oh we were shaken for some time after that.
Dingo (1 day, 22h 44) : dude...my mom would have had a heart attack. She was panicking when we were about to land in Denver because the mountains were causing the end of the ride to be a bit bumpy
DrewTheWolf (1 day, 22h 44) : I'd be a little shaken too after
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 44) : It's strange, but I hear that usually is what happens with most people after experiencing a near fatal flight...they loose their fear of it.
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 43) : Ironically, I never had a problem with flying after that. Though my mother always carries a prayer booklet with her when she flys...
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 43) : And it was also, most likely, the cause of the bankruptcy of Eastern Airlines...
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 42) : There was no time, Dingo. It all happened in a flash...
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 42) : THAT flight was THE cause for the creation of the mandatory "wear your seatbelt when seated" law.
Dingo (1 day, 22h 42) : I would have freaked...
Dingo (1 day, 22h 42) : wow...
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 42) : One stewardess was thrown against the arm of a chair (steel reinforced), and broke IT and her back...
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 41) : We later learned that it was clear air turbulence...basically a big hole in the air...the plane's engines had nothing to grab onto...
Dingo (1 day, 22h 41) : O_O holy crap.
DrewTheWolf (1 day, 22h 41) : Yeah thats a very terrifying ordeal.
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 41) : News crews all over the airport, and panicked relatives...
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 41) : He landed the plane fine, amidst a flurry of fire trucks and emergency vehicles...and they took us off via the emergency procedures (slide, etc.)
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 40) : We later learned that the pilot had declared an emergency, and was trying to get ANY airport from Norfolk on north to take us. None would...we had to fly crippled to our original destination (Philadelphia International)
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 39) : people were in a state of total panic, and the cabin was mayhem...stewardesses trying to restore order, people crying and screaming (and praying)...
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 39) : We fell nearly 5,000 feet, over the Chesapeake Bay, before the pilot managed to pull the plane out of the dive...(he was a WWII vet, I later learned)
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 38 ) : I was seatbelted in (loosely), but could actually feel myself beginning to float...
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 38 ) : Suddenly, everyone was screaming, being thrown around (including dinner trays), and the engines themselves were screaming...
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 37) : And, while everyone ignored the pilot's instructions, there suddenly was a huge BANG! And the plane took a steep turn and began to dive...
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 37) : I looked out the window, and noticed the pilot was heading FOR the thunderheads, instead of going around, over, or under...which freaked me out. I could see the lightning flashing inside of them
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 36) : Turbulence started...the captain turned on the "fasten seatbelts" light
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 36) : My family and I were sitting over the wing (my bro, sis and my mom...). We still had our trays from dinner...
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 35) : Somewhere over Norfolk, VA, we were approaching a storm front (it was evening, and the sun was setting)...you could see the plane approaching the thunderheads as we closed on them...
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 35) : It was just after dinner, and many people were up and walking around, chatting, etc. (it was an A300 Airbus...BIG plane)
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 34) : (true story)...we were flying back, and my father had to stay in Orlando to conclude business...
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 34) : I was 13...
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 34) : This was 1979...and the now-defunct Eastern Airlines company.
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 33) : Flying DOWN was the first time...
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 33) : It was my second time flying. My family had flown down to Orlando, FL to go to Disney World (my father was also on business).
Dingo (1 day, 22h 33) : what happened?
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 33) : My flight..THE flight...was one I'll never forget, that's for sure.
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 32) : Wow. One month.
Dingo (1 day, 22h 32) : at the time, it didn't really mean anything significant. But when I started thinking about it a month later...
Dingo (1 day, 22h 32) : I remember...on August 11, 2001, I was on a flight to LAX...
baltoseppala (1 day, 22h 31) : I actually love flying. Even though I was on THE flight which was responsible for the creation of the mandatory seatbelt-on-when-seated law.
Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2006 7:42 pm 
(super duper secret thing at Mod's Home!! haha!
