Letter to Editor in August. 26 Globe and Mail
Copyright Globe and Mail
Passengers calm
By SCOTT MORTON
Bedford, N.S.
My wife and I were passengers on Air Canada Flight 873 from Frankfurt to Toronto last Monday, which was diverted into Iceland as a result of an emergency situation. The smell in the cabin prior to diversion was unmistakable. The sight of cabin attendants scurrying about, opening overhead luggage compartments and looking for a source added to the sense of urgency. As a former military pilot having flown out of Keflavik, I was relieved when our captain announced he was headed for this field with its complete crash facilities. From the time of initiation of the diversion to the final stop on the runway, well over an hour, my fellow passengers behaved in a very disciplined fashion. Emergency evacuation cards were quietly read and conversations involving the use of emergency oxygen masks were had. The overall sense in the airliner was one of quiet preparedness. That atmosphere promptly changed when the aircraft came to a complete stop on the runway and everyone realized they had actually made it to the ground in one piece. Cheers for our captain were unrepressed and everyone onboard was extremely thankful to all those involved in the safe recovery of Flight 873.
Kudos for both pax and crew
