The Detour

Part 6: Breathing again

Our angel, in the form of a military transport, flew alongside us, talking us down. I can't begin to say what a help that was. They told us how close we were getting to the water.

I pitched the nose up and slowed the plane. The other plane gently floated away, apparently unwilling to follow us into a stall and a ditching. Then I felt the tail skimming on the water. This is what we're paid for. You've got to keep the wings absolutely level. You can't let one engine hit the water too soon before the other. If it does, it'll stop while the other is still going 200kph, and the plane will break up.

Water washed over the windscreen. When both engines hit the water at the same time, the plane stops, quite suddenly, from 200 to zero instantly. The nose bobbed up. I could see the sky! I looked around. We were OK. Martin and I went through the shutdown sequence and were out of the cockpit in a minute.

The cabin crew didn't need any prompting. All the doors, including the two, one over each wing, were open, and the passengers were filing out onto the inflatable ramps that double as rafts. Nobody seemed to be seriously hurt. A few scrapes, here and there, but everyone was moving on their own. All in all, pretty good. I think my cabin crew are the best.

So, no casualties – except for the hijackers, that is. Nobody had thought to untie them, put them in their seats, and clip their seat belts. When the plane stopped, they didn't, and they met bulkheads.

The Sri Lankans even managed to save the plane – this plane! The divers attached floats to her, preventing her from sinking before a crane and a barge could be brought to the scene. They didn't have to do that. I think that they're geeks and just wanted to show off that they could.

It took a few months, but she was declared air-worthy again.

Well, I hope you liked my story. We're approaching Jakarta, and it's about time to start the descent checklist, so you'll have to leave the cockpit. Nice meeting you. Goodbye.