Sunday, October 24, 2010
Angry Arab in the cockpit
I was in the MEA plane on the way to Beirut. I was going out from the restroom to return to my seat. At that point, the co-pilot was emerging from the cockpit. He greeted me warmly and said that he was a big fan. I thanked him. Thereupon, he insisted that I join him in the cockpit. I explained that I have a terrible, multi-dimensional fear of planes and that I would be too nervous and that I may puke on the flight control buttons. I returned to my seat. A flight attendant then came to my seat, and said that the two pilots are insisting that I join them in the cockpit. I proceeded to enter the cockpit, and sat on the third seat behind them. The chair was not comfortable and it does not recline. I expressed displeasure and threatened--yet again--to puke on their devices. The view from the cockpit was so wide but I was too nervous to enjoy. The pilot was then explaining to me how things work and how they know something was wrong. I asked him to not explain how things go wrong, as hard as they both tried to reassure me. As we began our descent on Beirut, i basically closed my eyes completely. The pilot would sometimes turn back toward me to talk, and I would nudge him to look straight ahead and focus on the plane. That is my story.