Thoughts From 35,000 ft: Bombs and Plane Crashes

When I first started this job the first question I would be asked about my job would always be, "Is it so much fun?" but the second question was almost always "Aren't you scared?".  No, is my standard response because to be honest I never really have been.  They say you are more likely to die crossing the street than on a plane.  But, now I know why people ask...because of today's incident in Brussels, because of 9/11, and because terrorism is rampant all over the world and it's proven that using planes to create mass panic works.

Sure I have thought about how I could die on a plane, I know that given 2 minutes there are a handful of people I would text, but I don't think about it every time I step onto an aircraft.   I don't know if I could do my job if every time I got on a plane I considered what I would say in a goodbye text to my parents, my brother, my best friends, and the select other few people who fall in the "given the opportunity I need to say goodbye" list.  I have never been good at saying goodbye to begin with so if I was starting every day contemplating what I would say, I would be a wreck the entire day!

Every human being, including you, is born with the potential to be and do more than anybody in this world. You were born to have an impact on somebody, just like every single breathing soul on this earth.

—  James & Allie

I do consider terrorist attacks all the time though.  But it seems like fluke plane crashes are more common than a hijacked aircraft or planted bomb these days.  I am trained to notice every person who walks on board my flight.  Determine who could help in an emergency, who might need extra help in a situation, and notice any suspicious characters.  I have seen every plane crash, I remember 9/11, I have read all those articles, and watched all the movies, not to mention heard all the stories of incidents from people I have worked with.  I think this is why I think about it so much.  It is a constant topic of conversation.  I know that the aviation industry is one of the largest targets for terrorist organizations so I have to consider it with all the violence our world is enduring at the hands of terrorists.  

This morning when I so happened to be awake at 3 am when news of the Brussels attack hit media, my first thought was holy shit it's happening again.  I then thought about everyone I know who works our international flights and accounted for where they might be to rule out Brussels.  I then started reading all the articles and watching the videos.  I myself was supposed to be walking out the door to go meet a friend in Florida but I was glued to my couch.  I had woken up 30 minutes earlier and decided not to go then heard of what had happened.  I realized all I could do was write.  I sit here writing this and watching planes land and my heart gets a certain tug at every descending plane.

So far 21 people have been killed in Brussels, 2,977 people died on 9/11,  224 people died on the Russian charter flight back in October.  These are just 3 incidents, but when you look at a timeline of events, it has been going on since 1933 and several plots have been foiled, such as the infamous "shoe bomber".  While recently in NYC I went to the 9/11 memorial, being a flight attendant I knew it would touch me a little differently than if I hadn't chosen this career.  I did't know that the first names I would come across would be cabin crew, I didn't expect it to move me to tears, and I didn't expect to just want to sit there and soak it all in.  I stood there starting at the names of the Flight 11 cabin crew thinking I hope I never know anyone who dies like this.  Writing this breaks my heart all over again because some my favorite people in the whole world now are cabin crew like me.  You never think it will be you or anyone you know till it is.

"No matter what anybody tells you, words and ideas can change the world"

-Dead Poets Society

I just hate that I live in a world filled with so much hate and violence.  I hate that it seems like nothing is being done to make it stop.  I hate that it could be me or someone I know who ends up in an airport or on a plane that is used as a weapon of mass destruction.  What I don't hate is my job.  I refuse to let some horrible, awful person make me feel scared when I haven't before.  I won't stop getting up, putting on my wings, and welcoming people aboard my flights.  I guess the point is that this world we live in is messy and violent and at times it's heartbreaking.  We have a choice though, to be scared and let that fear consume us or we can stand together affected by what happened but determined to effect change.  We have to make this world a safer place, we have to stand up, we have to fight.  As a flight attendant I bow my head to all those people who lost their lives, to the people who lost someone, and to all of those who are scared.  My heart is with Brussels but my mind is desperately trying to find a way to change the world.

xxx
your favorite flight attendant
B