How to Survive a Plane Crash

Today I’m flying home to Boston to visit my family so naturally my adventure starts in the Portland airport…no surprise there. What added spice to the adventure right away was a dream I had earlier in the week about this very day traveling from PDX to SFO.

The dream began like many (me thinking about a real event taking place in the future) but became a bit more real after what transpired. As we approached SFO, the pilot notified the passengers that a space shuttle crash had devastated the landing pad and we would be forced to complete an emergency landing on a nearby highway. As he avoids the wreckage he nearly clips two flagpoles but manages to get the plane under control just in time to line up a straight strip of highway. Fearing the worst and always aspiring to be a hero (it is my dream after all) I went to the front of the plane and deployed one of the exit doors. As we were about to touchdown on the highway I jumped out and barrel rolled to safety on the cement…others followed. As it turned out the plane landed safely but couldn't stop in time to avoid hitting a tanker truck that was stopped on the highway…end of story, I win.

Back to reality…now it actually gets somewhat crazy. On the MAX ride to the airport I have my choice of seat…I pick one at random. During the hour commute I find myself inspecting random parts of the MAX, looking at what other patrons are wearing (without making awkward eye contact) and trying to fall asleep without my head sporadically bobbing up and down. In doing so I realize that there is something carved in the window directly behind me…in bold words it says FATAL. I had joked with co-workers about my dream being prophetic but WTF…that’s a bit weird. As I board my plane the captain comes on saying that SFO is experiencing high winds and so he expects heavy turbulence upon landing. I have always wanted to see the future but maybe this isn’t the best time to start.

As you may have guessed I survived the flight but the landing was a bit shady. As we touched down the back wheels hit very hard and the nose stayed in the air for 10 seconds as we wiggled along the runway. So much for being a prophecy…maybe my red eye flight to BOS will provide some new dreams to dissect…Nyquil does tend to make my mind wonder.

I recently stumbled across the article "How to Survive a Plane Crash" in case this dream does become a reality.