25 years ago I was in Fort Lauderdale Florida with my boss and the operations manager for a small airline that was just starting in central Alberta, Canada. We were on the hunt for a couple of EMBRAER EMB-110 Bandeirante aircraft. PBA – Provincetown Boston Airways had some that had been returned as well as a few other ones – but nothing that we looked at was promising – most were worn out high time – junky aircraft that had been ridden hard and put away wet way to often.
We had heard that there were other aircraft available in Texas so were headed that way. In the morning trip to the airport to catch our flight – Delta 191 – on August 2, 1985 – the taxi driver took us a different way than we had been before and we spotted a couple of aircraft parked beside a hangar. Since we were very early for our flight we had the driver turn around and stop at the hangar.
When we asked we were informed that indeed the aircraft were for sale – and a quick glance at the aircraft confirmed that these indeed were worth looking at. We had the aircraft pulled into the hangar so we could get a better look at them and I sat down with a pile of boxes full of maintenance records. I remember the ops manager asking the boss if he wanted him to cancel our tickets – and that was the end of our proposed trip out west.
I spent all day and finally finished the records search at about 10:00pm that night and we all headed back to the hotel for the night. When I entered my room the first thing I did was turn on the TV and disappear into the shower to get rid of the days grime. When I came out of the shower the TV had the news of the crash of a Delta Airlines flight from Fort Lauderdale – Yup it was ours – Flight 191.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delta_Air_Lines_Flight_191
I sat on the edge of the bed and watched the video from the late night news – stunned at the sights.
And then it hit me – my wife of some 8 months knew what flight I was taking that the morning because we had talked the night before. All I could think of at that second was what she must be thinking as she watched the news at home!!! I made a call to her and her words have been forever seared into my memory ‘ “Where the He** are you !!!!” No “hello – how are you tonight” – or any other such niceties – this was the first time – but not the last time she would say how much she hated me travelling and being around aircraft.
But for a different way taken to the airport by a taxi driver I would have been on that airplane. I seem to remember checking at a much later date our seat assignments – and they would have been in the non-survivor area.
This is the 25th anniversary of the crash – blamed on “Windshear” – and today there was a memorial dedicated to those who perished and the emergency responders at the site.
http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/08/02/1757255/25-years-since-delta-191-crash.html
Sometimes the lottery is won in very different ways. This was not the first – nor would it be the last time that i was “In Harms Way”. Every year about this time I still think about it and those who were affected by the accident.
Several years ago I did a computer rendition of the aircraft “Final Descent” that I have attached here.
Regards,
Truc
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August 3, 2010 at 3:33 am