様々な分野でグローバルに活躍する「普通の人々」が体験を語り、次世代の普通の人々のお役に立てればと思っているサイトです。

日本在住歴約40年のRon McFarlandと外資系勤務が長い齋藤信幸が、それぞれの海外体験を語ります。

ハイジャックそしてクラッシュ!Ronさん、九死に一生(2)- 鮮明な機内の情景

2024-02-04 19:53:06 | 旅の安全
ハイジャックや航空機事故は、いくら自分で安全に気を付けていても防ぐことができないことですね。

以下に機内の情景が鮮明に描かれていることから、Ron-sanはその後、何回もその光景を思い出しているのでしょう。

911以降、テロ対策が強化されましたが、緩みがでないことを期待します。



A minute or two after that, the attendants started serving the welcome drinks, and three men broke out of the bathrooms and headed for the cockpit, taking one of the bottles of whisky from the cart in front of me. After that, some time passed, and there was an announcement over the intercom saying that we have had a change of directions. From then on I could only see the terrorists walking around in the front of the plane, as I was in the second row of seats in Business Class.

As you probably know, First Class is in the front of the plane, and Business Class is the second group of seats. Finally, in the rear is Economy Class. So, from my vantage point, I had a pretty good view of the front of the plane and the cockpit.

One of the terrorists seemed to be carrying something, which looked like a fire extinguisher. It was later announced that it was a “bomb”, but I did not believe it. He was holding it like an American football running back would hold the football, and he had his hand on the handle or nozzle.

The second terrorist, which I saw very clearly was a short man and wearing an “ENERGIZER” baseball hat. This man was continually walking in and out of the cockpit. Sometimes he was in sight and on other times he was out of sight. I could see in inside the cockpit if the door was open, but most of the time it was closed.

The third man I only saw one or two times and only for a few seconds or two. To me, he was an angry man with a black mask and black facial hairs. All three were of African descent. This third man seemed to have evil written on this face and was threatening the pilots and all of the crew.

I could only see this man one or two times, and I hope to never see that face again. He was harsh, thin and tall. I noticed the terrorists did not know what they wanted to do, as they were continually looking at maps and seemed very confused.

Rani seemed to notice that one terrorist seemed very relaxed in spite of this terror, and that we would probably be safe because they seemed safe. To add to that, none of us believed there was a bomb on the plane. So, with that in mind, what could they do?

As we just sit there helpless a lot goes through our mind. I also thought I might die, and this would soon be the end of my life. I reflected a lot of the experiences I had over the years. At that time, for the first time, I thought for a few minutes that it could happen that I would die, but I realized I had lived a wonderful life and maybe it was time for me to pass on.

That thought was for only a few seconds though. Most of the time, I thought we would be safe, as aircraft these days can land on water very easily, just like a speedboat or a surfboard gliding along the top of the water.

Rani, the lady setting next to me, asked if we would live and I said “definitely yes”, and the terrorists were weak. Also, I love to swim in the ocean and in waves.

In spite of that, we grasped hands and prayed together (God only knows which religion, but it seemed to work, and God took care of us.)

I had no feeling of regret if I died, because I have gone around the world teaching sales people and managers, which I loved. I had been to over 60 countries at that time, and have met 1,000’s of very interesting people. So, maybe that is enough for one lifetime.

In spite of my general confidence, Rani and I grasped hand again.


コメント    この記事についてブログを書く
  • X
  • Facebookでシェアする
  • はてなブックマークに追加する
  • LINEでシェアする
« 「旅の安全」:ハイジャック... | トップ | ハイジャックそしてクラッシ... »
最新の画像もっと見る

コメントを投稿

旅の安全」カテゴリの最新記事