News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
Severe hail damage was apparent as the Rhett family left the plane after a scary flight.
The Rhett family of Sisters was on their way home from a family vacation in New England last Friday when they flew into a nightmare.
Over Nebraska, Delta Flight 1889 from Boston to Salt Lake City ran into severe turbulence. Lightning flashed and big hailstones pelted the plane.
"Suddenly we just dropped," said 12-year-old Simon Rhett. "And then we'd rise up and then drop again. People were just looking at each other like 'this isn't supposed to happen.'"
As the plane was buffeted by the convergence of two powerful storms, passengers began to scream in fear.
"The screaming and the hail and lightning - it was really chaotic. Crazy," Simon recalled.
Simon and his mom, Angeline, saw bursts of fire coming out of an engine.
The plane dropped 15,000 feet in just a few seconds.
"I think basically the pilot dove out of the storm," said Angeline.
Simon recalled that the pilot came on the intercom to inform the passengers that they were going to divert to Denver.
"We have a little windshield damage," the pilot told them.
That was an understatement.
When the Airbus A320 landed safely in Denver, fire engines and police were on the tarmac. Ground crews gathered to look at the plane. When the Rhetts turned around after disembarking, they saw the full extent of what had happened during the storm.
The windscreen was a spiderweb of cracks, the nosecone of the aircraft was stove in and all the paint chipped off.
"When we looked, it was just hard to take it in," Angeline Rhett said.
The experience was as chilling in retrospect as it was terrifying in the moment.
"You really have no control and it's a long way down," Angeline said. "I really enjoy flying - but I've lost my flying innocence."
For his part, Simon has an amazing story to tell - but one he's not anxious to experience again.
"I probably will get on an airplane," he said. "But not any time soon."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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