If your plane drops 20,000 feet and the oxygen masks come down

If your plane drops 20,000 feet and the oxygen masks come down -

Last week I woke up at 4:00 am on a long trip to Eleuthera, Bahamas to start looking for a quick four - day trip. There would be very little sleep a long day. First Boston to New York, then take to Fort Lauderdale before my last flight to the Bahamas. I flew United, my least favorite carrier, but the ticket was free, so I had no choice in the matter.

Shortly after I began my plane in New York on board to play the safety briefing. "If the seat belt sign is illuminated, you must fasten your seat belt. Insert the metal fittings one into the other, and tighten by pulling on the loose end of the band ... In case of decompression, an oxygen mask will automatically appear in front of you. to start the flow of oxygen, pull the mask on you. Put them firmly on the nose and the mouth ... although the bag does not inflate does not ... "and so on. I have the safety briefing heard thousands of times, so I voted for it and tried to sleep.

Pop. Pop. Pop.

I woke up to the sound of my eardrums popping. "What's up?", I thought, move in my seat and try to fall asleep again.

Pop. Pop. Pop.

began when my eardrums in the microwave popcorn as to sound, I could not fall asleep again. They were small, frequent Pops, and in my zombie-like state, I could not place why this happened.

I opened my eyes in a haze when it happened.

All of a sudden the oxygen masks used from above. I looked confused at the people next to me. And then in the seats around me. There have been no turbulence. Was that a mistake? Half asleep, I did not know what to make of it.

Suddenly a voice boomed over the PA system. "Put on your masks."

Holy shit! This was not a mistake.

I reached for my mask. How did the safety briefing again? "Is to be provided in case of an emergency, oxygen masks ..." I tried to remember in my drowsy state. After all the safety instructions, you realize you have become deaf, tuned them out. Then, when an emergency happens, you think: "What the hell do I do again?"

I put on the mask and groped to draw, unnecessarily deep breaths, worried that if I did not, I would choke the strings. I looked around. The business kept beside me to read the newspaper. The woman was sitting diagonally from me and the couple on my right all looked petrified. Before I could say a woman to hear her children, "Mama loves you, loves you Mama," over and over again.

The unfolding of the situation, I thought that we had probably just lost cabin pressure, and there was nothing to fear. We had not taken a dive; we had not hit turbulence.

But minutes passed. And then more and more. There were no announcements about what was going on. Of course I wanted to solve the problems pilots, not to chat with me, but the lack of information about these minutes last forever.

Then suddenly, we dropped, and we quickly fell. My heart jumped out of my chest. "Maybe there is something really wrong with the plane!" All these fears that I have have ups and fly realized suddenly.

There is nothing more sinister than your airplane 20,000 feet in seconds fall that. It's a feeling I never want to experience again in my life.

We soon leveled, and I later learned that if you lose cabin pressure, you have to fall 10,000 feet to prevent a loss of consciousness.

Soon the flight attendants went casually down the aisle wearing their masks. If you ask a frequent flyer, they will always say that if the flight attendants do not have fear, you do not have to be either.

Finally, the captain came on the PA system and said that yes, had the cabin lost pressure and, no, there is nothing, but it was feared yes, we would be making an emergency landing to make.

Always ask how you would react in a situation like this. If these masks fall and your airplane is climbing quickly, your life will flash before your eyes? Will everyone be screaming? Will there be chaos? Will you know what to do?

Surprisingly, none of this happened. My life has not flash before my eyes. Everyone remained calm. We were more in a state of confusion than anything else.

After we landed, my friends and I laughed and talked about how we drink in Charleston Airport beer sat and waited for a new flight. "Here's to our first emergency landing!" We cheered.

But when I thought about what had happened, I realized how helpless we are, when the aircraft door locks. Your life is in the hands of two people, you never see or meet. Anything can happen, and you have no control over. You simply have to trust that they know what they are doing.

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events like these you realize that no matter how well you plan your life, all the control you think you have is an illusion. Life happens without you, and you are really just along for the ride. It's moments like these that you can relax and live a little to make. It is to regulate taken a few days for this term, but in considering you have no control, will put life in perspective.

Go where you are going and enjoy the adventure. Have fun. Do what you love. Be with those you love.

Because one day, you're falling 35,000 feet over the Atlantic, the masks, and the only thing you can do to yourself is to say: "If it is, I regret nothing."

were

PS received these photos after I realized I would not die. In addition, do not blame I did not fully United. This could happen to any airline, but when I was done at one week with him the captain heard say that this was the second time, I got restless about the standard of United maintenance.

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