csua.org/u/dgs -> www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-passenger22sep22,0,1782210.story
Large Text Size Large Text Size Change text size For Passengers, Humor, Tears -- Then Cheers By Jill Leovy, Times Staff Writer For Matthew Ash, a 24-year-old Gardena resident on a church trip to New Y ork's Catskill Mountains, the first sign of trouble came from an icon of a JetBlue plane. The plane on the animated map at his seat "wasn't going anywhere," he said, "just hanging around in Los Angeles."
A few minutes later, he heard the calm male voice of Flight 292's pilot, Scott Burke, speaking over the plane's intercom: "For those of you who m ay have noticed we are flying in circles," Ash recalled the pilot saying , "we are currently experiencing difficulties with the front landing gea r" The landing gear had not retracted, the pilot said. A young woman at his side turned to him nervously: "So what does that mea n?" Just after that, the situation took an abrupt, bizarre turn. The back of each seat on a JetBlue plane is equipped with a small televis ion set. As passengers watched, live, in-flight broadcasts of MSNBC and Fox News began to show their airplane. Ash glanced at the television of the passenger next to him: "At first I just thought, 'Of course, Fox New s,' " he said, discounting the story as sensationalized. Passengers reacted with a range of emotions some quietly upset and conc erned, but most very calm. Once h e saw the humor of it, the sense wouldn't leave him: "It was just such a n absurd situation," he said. But his humor faded as he listened to television commentators talking abo ut the flight. "One guy was saying, 'You know, I'm just speculating, but the landing gea r will break off, and the nose will drive into the pavement,' and this a nd that." It went on like that, one expert after another saying the noise would be horrific, that it would be awful. The news broadcasts continued to be beamed to the passengers until shortl y before the end of the flight, when the headlines beneath the televised images began saying the plane would make an emergency landing, Ash said . In the meantime, the pilots and crew talked extensively to the passengers , relating instructions, going over landing procedures and calming fears . They moved as many passengers as possible to seats in the rear of the cabin, leaving several rows in front empty, he said. Crew members explained that the plane had to land with its nose in the air and the damaged front wheel held of f the ground as long as possible. One passenger gave a stewa rdess a kiss as she bent over him. The crew sought out the handful of doctors on the flight, including Ash's flying companion, moved them to specified seats and told them to be rea dy. Even in the worst-case scenario, we would be OK," Ash recalled. But as the plane drew closer to the ground, emotions intensified, he said . As the plane approached the runway, the pilot told passengers to brace th emselves. As the plane touched down, Ash heard the voice of the man who had been pl aced in the empty seat next to him. The man was murmuring quietly: "Stop , stop, stop," as if exhorting the plane to obey. But other than that, there was quiet in the cabin and calm. The landing i tself was surprisingly smooth, he said "Like driving a car with a flat tire." It was only slightly rougher than a normal landing, he added. Then the plane came to a halt, and the cabin erupted in cheers. When the pilot emerged to stand among the passengers, the cheers redouble d, and the pilot was hugged and applauded. But Ash also recalled a few passengers who did not join the celebration. They remained frozen in their seats, he said, in the same position they had assumed for the landing, too terrified to move.
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