Tales from airports, planes downright scary

Scariest flight I was ever on - and was scary before even getting onto the plane - was between JFK and Icheon International in Seoul.  There was a very red-faced man standing in line to board, and he just stopped as the line ahead of him moved forward and the line behind him gave up and moved around him.  His eyes were glazed, he was sweating profusely and reeked of booze.  A little creepy.  We boarded as normal, then pulled back from the terminal as normal... where we stopped.  And waited for ten or so minutes.  Flight attendants were fiddling around with overhead lockers and the locks on the emergency exits, and then we received an announcement from the pilot that there was a minor issue and we would be heading back to the gate.  Which we did... and then we waited some more.  After five to ten minutes of thumb twiddling I finally took a peek out the window to find 6 police cars, lights flashing, parked next to our plane.  That was scary...

When we eventually took off we were told that there were two intoxicated and unruly passengers who had been removed from our flight and taken away by the police.  I've always wondered if the strange guy from the boarding line was one of them.

I was on a flight and we were moving down the runway, taking off, had just started to gain speed and a woman got out of her seat and was running toward the front, yealing something in Italian at the top of her lungs.  The flight attendants tackled her and the pilot aborted the takeoff using maximum brakes and thrust reversers.  Then a voice from the cockpit asked, "Can anybody translate Italian?"  We went back to the gate and she was escorted off......but we all wondered if she knew something we all didn't know.

Not scarey, but I hope the fellow next to me doesn't complain about a rude seat-mate.  I had falled asleep and must have been dreaming because I jerked my hand and hit the man sitting next to me! The movement woke me up! I felt terrible.

Not creepy, but certainly crazy, and very funny...I was waiting for a long-delayed flight out of O'Hare (no surprise there) and some college kids decided to have some fun with the other travelers in the terminal. They tied some fishing line to a $10 bill and tossed it out in the middle of the concourse. Of course, numerous passers-by attempted to retrieve it and chased it all over the concourse as it got tugged away by the invisible string. Business men in suits, women in dresses, kids, older folks, the lot of them. Certainly not the most original joke in the world, but it kept the entire gate howling for hours. It even got so everyone in the gate area would get really quiet until the next victim came along, at which time the fun would begin anew.

Gosh, it's not just passengers now that are necessarily crazy or necessarily make the flights or traveling experience scary.

Since 9/11 much done by airlines and TSA starts to make people crazy with hassles, inconsistency of rules and with some rude arrogant and often enough ignorant staff, both in the airlines and in the TSA.

Though in fairness of or to the airlines, a bit less so to the TSA, I've been traveling since I was 8 or 9 years old and our country is also less civilized now, inpatient and in so much of a rush, little enjoyment regarding the journey or even when we get to the destination ... long gone are the days of my youth in the 1960s when I recall wearing a suit and tie and more than once just to ride even in coach (though now I'm glad when I can get away wearing casual ware, jeans, t-shirt, boots or running shoes, or just dress pants, dress shirt, dress shoes, etc. compared to wearing a suit, though wearing a suit does give it's own advantage sometimes in getting bumped up or other perks or making people respect me or treat me well when I fly or travel, even in coach, yet this is less true now than in the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s).

And now with miles programs, so many people feel they're entitled to the best without necessarily having to pay for it, it becomes an us vs them sort of thing. I almost liked better the days without mileage programs, when airlines treated everyone rather equally best ... and people weren't so socially stratified necessarily just based on their frequent flyer elite level. If you were in first class it was more than likely that you were paying for it, not based on your got a million miles from mortgaging your house. So people expect a lot now and want to pay little for it. Yet the airlines are making coach now practically intolerable and to the point of ... why bother paying for ... this!

The airlines and their service that existed in the 1960s and 1970s and so on are gone, I realize this fact. As has the world changed. It means more people can fly now or afford to fly. Yet, I do miss back then, some people were more generous, social, patient, civil with each other. Even when the flights were full then. Along with I miss, a curiosity of the world, people, other places, underneath as we flew rather than just being a nation of electronic gadget addicts or fixated on the next instantaneous momentarily gratification.

For me now, it's overall easier to stay at home. I no longer do any business travel unless it's absolutely necessary and in this economy it's less necessary now, which in a way I'm grateful for as it means less time in airports, airplanes, hotels, etc. for me.

Also, I combine pleasure trips into more of one longer extended and several place into one trip kind of stay ... which greatly pleases me and makes my when I travel routine less crazy and hassle filled overall.

Yes, I used to love to fly yet now this 52 year old Midwesterner is glad when my life isn't on an airplane or in an airport anymore and when I can just stay at home.

Though there are still places I want to see ... so maybe when the economy improves again ... I'll go again to places overseas that I have not yet experienced. But to travel on US airlines, even in first class or business class and especially in coach, as I've done my share of coach over the years, even traveling overseas often via coach ... now, I'm glad everyday I don't have to do it, travel in the USA, in coach or otherwise, especially on a legacy airline. Stay at home, I'm very, very grateful indeed!

I was on a flight from Hawaii to Los Angeles, we were about an hour 1/2 into the flight when I noticed that we were still flying in a position where the nose of the plane was higher than the back of the plane, like when you are climbing.  I tried to ignore my thoughts that something must be wrong.  Finally my curiosity got the better of me and I asked the flight attendant about it.  She immediately snapped, "nothing's wrong, everything is completely normal."  Well, then I knew.  I waited nervously for the next few hours, finally the pilot spoke over the intercom. He said "I guess some of you might have noticed that we should be getting ready to land but (and these were his real words) a while back we lost an engine,  don't be alarmed but they are foaming the runway in Los Angeles for our arrival.  The flight attendants will be bringing free ice cream sundaes for everyone."  I guess they thought impending death would be easier to take over an ice cream sundae.  Needless to say, we landed safely, but that last hour was very scary.

I was flying from Columbus, OH to Chicago on what was supposed to be a routine flight. We were flying out in February and it was an oddly warm day, mid 60s as a matter of fact. We got on our flight at 1130, only to find out that our flight had been delayed - as we're about to leave. We ended up waiting 3 hours on the tarmac, because of severe weather at OHare, they waited for it to pass. As we later found out, they opened up a 20 minute window for our flight to leave or we wouldn't be able to get out until later that night. Needless to say, it was the most turbulent flight I have ever been on. The people next to me, who were seasoned flyers, were crying because of the severity of the turbulence. When the plane landed, there was applause, but that's not the worst part... we get in the terminal and all flights are delayed or cancelled, but ours. We were obviously the test flight and a half hour later, when we got to the hotel, there was a tornado warning for Chicago... we freaking landed in it. I never want to be on a flight like that again, by far the scariest moment of my life.

My mom, my 15 month-old daughter and I were flying out of Las Vegas back to Washington state when we had the scare of our lives.  We took off and had been in the air for about 15 minutes when all of a sudden alarms started screaming throughout the cabin of the plane (we were still ascending at this point).  The flight attendants jumped up and started trying to locate the source of the alarms and one of them opened the door to the front lavatory and it was obvious that that was where the problem was - there were flames licking out from the ceiling of the bathroom and smoke just poured into the cabin.  The flight attendants were great - they acted as though they had dealt with problems like this on a regular basis (which is scary in and of itself).  The pilot came on the intercom and announced that we would be returning to Las Vegas and we quickly descended: what had taken about 15 minutes to get up took us only about 7 minutes to get down.  We were met on the tarmac by fire engines and emergency vehicles.  Throughout this whole ordeal, my mom and I were trying to pretend as though nothing was wrong because my daughter was none the wiser and I didn't want her to be afraid.  Needless to say, this was incredibly difficult.  Hands down, the most terrifying event of my life.  I couldn't believe how helpless I felt being stuck on that plane with alarms blaring and no where to go!  We later found out that there was an electrical fire above the cabin that started in the back of the plane and worked its way to the front, where it triggered the alarms in the lavatory.  They put us on a different flight about 30 minutes later with free drinks - I DID NOT want to get back on a plane!!  Thankfully, the second flight was incident free.

My mom, my 15 month-old daughter and I were flying out of Las Vegas back to Washington state when we had the scare of our lives.  We took off and had been in the air for about 15 minutes when all of a sudden alarms started screaming throughout the cabin of the plane (we were still ascending at this point).  The flight attendants jumped up and started trying to locate the source of the alarms and one of them opened the door to the front lavatory and it was obvious that that was where the problem was - there were flames licking out from the ceiling of the bathroom and smoke just poured into the cabin.  The flight attendants were great - they acted as though they had dealt with problems like this on a regular basis (which is scary in and of itself).  The pilot came on the intercom and announced that we would be returning to Las Vegas and we quickly descended: what had taken about 15 minutes to get up took us only about 7 minutes to get down.  We were met on the tarmac by fire engines and emergency vehicles.  Throughout this whole ordeal, my mom and I were trying to pretend as though nothing was wrong because my daughter was none the wiser and I didn't want her to be afraid.  Needless to say, this was incredibly difficult.  Hands down, the most terrifying event of my life.  I couldn't believe how helpless I felt being stuck on that plane with alarms blaring and no where to go!  We later found out that there was an electrical fire above the cabin that started in the back of the plane and worked its way to the front, where it triggered the alarms in the lavatory.  They put us on a different flight about 30 minutes later with free drinks - I DID NOT want to get back on a plane!!  Thankfully, the second flight was incident free.

Nothing scary like severe turbulance or loss of engines, but this past March I was traveling with a group of friends to Scotland for our senior year spring break.  We took the red eye so we could sleep and then get right into the fun when we landed.  Well there was another school group returning home, and suprise suprise they get seated next to us.  They completely trashed the plane!  They were loud all night, and they were apparently conducting science experiments to see what the plane pillows were made of, because they were all ripped up and scattered about the cabin.  They were so bad, that the flight attendents actually thanked us for being so quiet and polite.

We were taking off out of Atlanta and the stewardess couldn't seem to close the door.She was good looking so of course, some jackass, captain america, know nothing about the door guy ,popped up and said I'll do it!.Sure enough when we took off the door kinda bulged out and all kinds of alarms went off,and all kinds of o2 masks dropped down from the ceiling.It was really funny ,people started crying and screaming.

  Actually,I once was on a two and 1/2 hr. flight with a giant Hatian guy next to me that everytime he turned a page of the mag. he was reading ,He'd caress my thigh with his fingernails and I had no where else to sit. Now THAT WAS SCARY!

In 1973, my family and I were travelling back from Hawaii on a 747.  We had upgraded to first class and had the nose section almost to ourselves, with the exception of an elderly couple several rows behind us and a drunk man, stretched out in his own row at the very front.  My sister and I each went to separate rows, so that we could stretch out and sleep.  At about that time, the drunk rolled to his side and we heard the sound of water hitting the carpet.  My mother went to tell the stewardess.  The stewardess check and the area in front of the drunk was wet.  Apparently, he'd been too drunk to get up and go to the bathroom so he just unzipped and relieved himself there on the floor!

After a delay of seven hours I boarded a Delta flight out of LA to Orlando.  Because of the delay, the flight was nearly empty.  I had a row to myself, and was looking forward to napping for the next 5 hours.  The cabin attendants passed out free headphones and served breakfast almost immediately.  (Remember meals on planes....)  Anyway, the breakfasts had been sitting 8-12 hours by now and were not very edible.

I ate mine and was the subject of a game of peek-a-boo with the little kid in the seat in front of me. 

Breakfast finished, all was well as I started to dose.  Then the peek-a-boo kid, leaned over the seat and let loose with a volume of vomit that indicated he ate his entire meal and most of his mothers.....

Guess who got drenched?????

Mom apologized and the flight attendants tried to clean me up.  I moved to another empty row but still smelled like vomit for the rest of the flight.

Field service work involved weekly air travel and here are 3 of my favorite stories:

Climbing out of Phoenix towards LAX, the plane was banking right when all of a sudden we felt like we were perpendicular to the ground; I had to look almost straight up to see my seat mate! The entire cabin was silent for a few seconds and as soon as the flight regained normal "banking" we were all talking at once. It was frightening for a second but then everyone in the plane seemed to become friends with the person next to them. The rest of the trip was great!

Flying back from the Bay Area we stopped at LAX. Soon after takeoff, we dropped ~700 feet in an "air pocket". Since our seat belts were fastened we didn't move off our seats but the rear cabin flight attendant, who had quickly started beverage service during the assent holding a flat tray with open cups of soda and juice, was now weightless and unable to control the tray. He attempted to fling the tray back into the galley but hit the only passenger on that side of the plane, dousing him with all the contents. That young passenger was on his way to a job interview and not carrying any change of clothing. I still wonder about that interviewee and the story he told the prospective company...

And thirdly, I was flying in to LAX on a very turbulent flight. During the landing approach, the wind was pushing the plane side ways (I think this is called "ground shear") where we would sometimes be above the runway and other times not. It was the scariest landing I have ever been in and was praying for a safe landing! Everyone in the cabin was silent as we were buffetted around, waiting for the wheels to touch down when all of a sudden the pilot yanks the throttle to full power and we are pressed into our seats more than any other takeoff I have experienced. The pilot came on to tell us that he didn't like the conditions and wanted to give the weather a chance to pass. Well, a cheer went up around the cabin with a thundering of applause! My respect for the pilots and their job of safely bringing passengers to their destination went through the roof! Boy that was one day I didn't mind the 20 minute late arrival. By the way, we landed in sunny skies and almost no wind - the bad weather had completely disappeared! And to the pilot - great call on the landing!

OK folks, I’ve been waiting to write about a particular "flight from Hell" I was on and this may be the time.

A few years ago my wife and I were on a US Airways flight from Charlotte to Seattle. The flight was loading pretty much normally and on time when a rather large (maybe 15 people) group of folks in Arabic garb came on board and took their seats which were spread out all over the cabin. It was apparently a family group and there were a lot of children including a number of "lap children" (kids under 2 who ride for free in people’s laps). The only problem was that there were more lap children than there were adults. One child I remember was seated in the lap of an 8-year old girl.

Since lap children have to be in adult laps, the whole loading process ground to a halt while the flight attendants figured out how to deal with this. The solution was to find adult volunteers to hold all the extra kids. "Ma’am, can I bring you a lap child?" "We have an extra lap child in the back if you would like one." etc.

Anyway, adult volunteers were found and the plane took off about ½ hour late.

About halfway to Seattle, a call went out on the intercom: "Is there a doctor on board?" Yes, there was a doctor on board. He left his comfortable seat in first class and headed to the back of the plane where there was a sick passenger. A short time later, a flight attendant scurried to the front of the plane and returned with a very angry captain. There was a considerable amount of commotion in the back though I never did find out what happened back there. The captain returned to the cockpit looking very agitated. I assumed the passenger got better (or didn’t), but the flight continued on to Seattle.

After landing, while we were taxiing to the gate the plane suddenly came to a screeching halt. The captain shouted into the intercom "There’s somebody in one of the bathrooms and this plane isn’t going anywhere until they’re back in their seat!" One of the passengers with a lap child had gotten up and gone to the bathroom during the landing!

After that was straightened out and we finally reached the gate and were exiting the plane, I was going to thank the captain for getting us through it all, but the cockpit doors were shut. Maybe that was for the best.

I was flying from Anchorage to Seattle, pre-9/11.  The flight was only about 20% full, and I was seated in the 4th row of coach.  Before we left the gate, I was chatting with a young mother traveling with her baby across the aisle when I heard a bit of an argument a few rows ahead.  A male flight attendant was having a disagreement with a passenger seated there.  Here's what it was about.

The passenger had somehow gotten through security while wearing a 4" folding knife on his belt.  Again, this was Alaska pre-9/11, but there were still rules.  Well, it would have gone unnoticed had he simply left the knife in it's holster on his belt.  But no...  He had to take it out, remove his boots and socks, and proceed to give himself an amateur pedicure.  Right there on the plane.  When another passenger across the aisle voiced concern over this, that is what brought the flight attendant to ask him to put the knife away.  The passenger refused.

So the FA informed the passenger that if he did not put the knife away, he would be forced to get the captain, and the captain would ask him to give up the knife until the flight was over.  The passenger still refused.  So the FA got the captain, who came back and asked for the knife for the duration of the flight, and they guy STILL refused to cooperate.  By this time, I'm anticipating a fight, so I told the young mom to get against the window, and being a former Marine, I readied myself to help the FA if the guy with the knife jumped him.  Note that the passenger did not appear to be "chemically enhanced".  Just an arrogant jerk who didn't like being asked to do something he didn't want to do.

So the captain tells the passenger that if he doesn't give up the knife, he will have to call the police, who will come on board and arrest him.  The passenger STILL refused to give up the knife.  So, the cops boarded the plane while the guy sat there silently, and they arrested him and removed him from the plane without incident.  I still shake my head that someone could be that stubborn and stupid.  I'm just glad he didn't take it farther.  Someone would have gotten hurt.

Pre-911, I was flying back from Anchorage to Seattle on a mostly empty flight.  Seated about 5 rows back in coach, while waiting for pushback I was chatting with a young mother with her baby when I heard a bit of a commotion up in the front of the coach section.  A male flight attendant was discussing something with a passenger there, and the discussion didn't seem to be going well.

As the story began getting more clear, apparently this passenger, a 30-something male, had gotten through security with a 4 inch folding knife on his belt.  Granted, this was Alaska pre-911, but there were still rules about such things.  If he'd just left it on his belt, it would have been no problem.  But no...he decided that the appropriate way to wait for takeoff was to remove his boots and socks, and use his knife to give himself an amateur pedicure.  When a passenger mentioned that it made him uncomfortable, the FA was called, which is where we pick up the story again.

The FA asked the passenger to please put the knife away.  The passenger refused.  FA told the passenger that if he refused, he would have to get the Captain, who would ask passenger to give up the knife for the duration of the flight.  Passenger still refused to cooperate.  This was starting to look a little scary, and I was one of the few healthy males in the vicinity, so I told the young mom to move over to the window seat, and I positioned myself to assist the FA if the guy with the knife jumped him.

Captain comes out, and as was explained, asks the passenger to give him the knife, which he can have back after landing.  Passenger still says no.  Captain says that if he refuses, he will have to call police on board, who will arrest passenger.  Passenger STILL SAYS NO!!  Now, I'm on full alert, because although the passenger doesn't appear to be chemically impaired, something just ain't right with him.

Police come on board, and amazingly, arrest him without incident or resistance.  It ended well, but I still marvel that someone could be so stubborn and stupid.

To fully appreciate this tale you have to be familier with Toncontin International Airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. If you are, stop reading now because you already know what frightening is.

If you don't Toncontin, then understand that the airport is universally considered to be one of the ten most dangerous landings in the world. The airport lies in the bottom of a densely populated bowl with mountains all around it. Landing approach requires a s-curve and then two tight corkscrews down to he runway (you are literally looking inside homes out of the windows). The single runway is very short and until a few years ago, the was a gas field at one end (the other end has a 35 foot drop onto a busy roadway). Anway, you get the picture - this is not Denver International.

Anyway we are on a Eastern flight back in the mid-80's. The pilots fly in and start the corkscrews then pull up abruptly... off we go and then through the whole process again. So we corkscrew in and up we go again...  this happens once more except the pilots fly off and go to San Pedro Sula, a nice flight landing place. The set down and no one is allowed to depart except the crew! 

The entire crew gets off the plane complaining that there is no way to safely land at Toncontin. Passengers hear this and ask if they can deplane. The requests are denied and a few minutes later a new crew from the Honduran airline Tan come aboard. They fire up and off we go back to Toncontin.

They get us down on the first try, slamming on the breaks, reversing thrust and dragging an anchor to get the plane stopped before the runway ends.

I've flown in and out of Toncontin numerous times since then, that was the worse but I've yet to have any that I could call the best.

We were flying to Brussels from Milwaukee to go onto stay at a luzxury hotel in Zermatt for the first three days of a summer vacation. When we go to Milwaukee they said the flight was delayed by thunderstorms. We took off 2 hours later. We got to Newark too late to catch our flight to Brussels.  We wait in line for 4 hours at customer assistance . No hotels are left. We sleep on the floor. At 2:0O in the morning a school group of third graders decides to bunk down near us. Needless to say we didn't get any sleep. We go to the international gate and wait to get a seat for our rebooked flight on another airline partner of Continental . TAP airlines . We are the second couple in line. They refuse to accept our rebooked ticket frorm Continental.  We leave to find help at the Continental line. The line is over 100 people long.Finally I find someone who rebooks that day to get to Brussels.We have now missed one day of our Luxury prepaid hotel in Zermatt.  We finally get to Zurich via Brussels. In Brussels they take away my wife's 16 oz bottle of contact solution even though we flew international with it. We get to Zurich. They have lost our bags. Swiss Air which is our commuter flight,they unlike an American Airlines companygives $150onthe spot  for clothes, one set of udnerwear ,and a toothbrush. We have to use $30.00 to buy new contact solution which only costs about $10.00 in Madison,Wis. We get to Zermatt now having missed one day out of a three day stay. Our luggage doesn' t show up for four days when we have already left for a hotel in Canerro  Riviera in Italy. We spend two days in Zermatt, wasting 1/2 day trying to buy clothes. A  bargain sweatshirt is $50.00. A men's cheap swimsuit is $75.00. We have no hiking boots. We both only have sandals to wear which doesn' tallwo us to do any real hiking. We finally settle with our airlines for our additonal clothing after 3 months. The only compensation for the delaywe received from Continental was $100.00 airline ticket voucher. Then on the way back we were delayed 5 hours and got back to Milwaukee at 2:00 in the morning. Will I ever fly through Newark Airport again. Never.

WE were stuck in Newark. WE wait 4 hours for customer assistance. NO hotels left in the city. We had to sleep on the floor next a group of second graders. When we tried to get on our rebooked flight with TAP airlines.They wouldn' t honor Comntinental's rebooked ticket. WE wait in line behind a 100 people to get help from Continental. . Finally we are rebooked. We get to Brussels. They confiscate my wife's contact lens solution. We take the commuter flight to Zurich. They lost all our luggage. They give us a $150 and two sets of underwear and a toilet kit bag. We get to Zermatt having already missed one day at our three day Spa hotel. We have no clothes, no hiking boots, no swimsuits. We shop for clothes in Zermatt. A cheap sweatshirt is $50.00. MY wife's contact solution is $30.00. A cheap swimsuit is $75.00, Did we hike in the mountains? It is a little difficult when all you have are sandals. The shoes in Zurich were $300.00 . We didn't buy them.  Our luggage doesn't arive for four days when we are at another hotel in Italy. The only compensation from Continental was a $100.00 flight voucher. When we return to Milwaukee. Our flight home is delayed 5 hours in Newark. We arrive home at 2;00 in the morning. Will I fly out of Newark again? Never. Will I fly TAP airlines? Never. Did I use my Continental Voucher ? No.

The ultimate freedom while traveling is knowing you've got nothing to hide.

I was waiting in line at the gate to board a connecting flight from Mexico City to LAX from a flight originating in Acapulco, when I was asked to leave the line for closer "random inspection." I was wearing a loose tank-top, shorts with empty pockets, & flip-flops. I couldn't have concealed much more than a bikini & I'm a guy!

I removed my sandals & went barefoot. I pulled my empty shorts' pockets inside-out, then pulled the front of my tank-top up over my head & rested it on the back of my neck... exposing bare chest, nipples & all. I finished by spreading eagle, arms & legs wide. The man circled me once, then told me I was OK to go. He decided against using his metal detector up my crotch, whew!

My wife had been eyeballing me to tone it down since so many people in the line had begun to laugh out loud. I didn't realize my sincere efforts to expedite the inspection would be viewed in amusement, but at least the expression on my face remained stolid for the duration. I'm just glad the guard-guy didn't get PO'd for me making him look goofy inspecting a 3/4 naked father of 3 in the company of his entire family & a whole bunch of laughing people.

If ever confronted again with the same situation, I'll do the same in a heartbeat...nothing to hide always works & I don't mind being laughed at.

My wife and I were returning from a 25th anniversary celebration in Hawaii when I heard someting come from the overhead that I thougt only happened in the movies. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the captain. Is there a doctor onboard?" We were about an hour west of San Diego at the time and, yes, there was a doctor onboard. The cabin crew and the doctor worked feverishly on an older lady who was laying in the isle at the rear of the plane. Unfortunately they were not able to revive her. I could hear her husband tell someone that the couple had also been celebrating an anniversary in Hawaii. When we landed in San Diego a team from the medical examiners office came aboard and no one was allowed to deplane until they were satisfied that no foul play was involved in the woman's death.

My wife and I were returning from a 25th anniversary celebration in Hawaii when I heard someting come from the overhead that I thougt only happened in the movies. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is the captain. Is there a doctor onboard?" We were about an hour west of San Diego at the time and, yes, there was a doctor onboard. The cabin crew and the doctor worked feverishly on an older lady who was laying in the isle at the rear of the plane. Unfortunately they were not able to revive her. I could hear her husband tell someone that the couple had also been celebrating an anniversary in Hawaii. When we landed in San Diego a team from the medical examiners office came aboard and no one was allowed to deplane until they were satisfied that no foul play was involved in the woman's death.

The oddest thing I ever saw was in the mid-80s, on a flight from Paris to Minneapolis. I was about 17, returning from a class trip. I was sitting in an aisle seat, diagonally across from a well-dressed man who boarded the plane with no jacket, only a leather briefcase. He spent the entire flight sitting board-straight in his seat, eating nothing, drinking nothing, not sleeping, not talking, not watching the movie, etc. Right before we landed, he pulled out the briefcase from under the seat in front of him and opened it on his lap, revealing bundles of money. He counted them over for a second, closed the briefcase, and restowed it. He got off the plane calmly, with the rest of the passengers.