This is why I hate to fly.
Tammy and I came to the end of our extended weekend getaway on Monday afternoon. We got on the BART in downtown San Francisco and headed to the airport. Our 4:25 pm plane from SF to Austin was delayed to “5ish.” I checked Twitter on my phone while Tammy talked to her mother. Despite some storms in the Bay Area, all signs pointed to a long and boring ride home. Our plane began boarding at 5ish, and we were in the air shortly after.
About 2 hours into the flight the captain comes on and says, “We are coming up on some rough air, so we have turned the fasten seat belts sign back on. Please stay in your seats and keep your seat belt fastened.” It is pitch black outside as we putter along somewhere over El Paso with minimal turbulence. Just as I begin to think that this rough spot wasn’t going to be that bad, a flash of lighting hits right outside my window. Thunderstorm. I look at Tammy and she gives me that “oh shit” look. A few flickers of lighting outside the window are accompanied with some moderate turbulence. And then we drop.
My Jack and Coke, which is a requirement when I fly, rises a few inches before viciously slamming to the floor. My heart jumps into my throat as we begin an abrupt and sustained nosedive. Tammy grabs my arm and I grab the tray table. The plane flexes under the stress and several people behind us scream. I do not know how much elevation we lose, but we lose it quickly. After a few seconds in the nosedive, the pilots regain control and pull us back to level. We continued to be tossed around in some pretty serious turbulence as we push through the tail end of the storm.
After 10-15 minutes things calm down and the flight smooths out. After about 30 minutes I regain something close to a normal heartbeat. The pilots never come on the intercom to acknowledge the rough weather. The fasten seat belt sign stays on for the rest of the flight.
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