Mine was a flight to hell and back

For Ronald Mutebi, a father of three planes dig up memories of an incident he has tried to erase from his mind. Although he is grateful to be alive today to tell his story of escape, the May 2013 incident when a plane he was on, caught fire, is one he will not forget.

His experience
“I can say I was looking forward to that flight. Yes, arriving in the UK to see my best friend and I was looking forward to being a best man at his wedding, after all he had made the trip to Uganda for me the previous year. But at that point, tired from the running up and down that comes with being a chairman at yet another friend’s wedding, I was especially eager to catch up on my sleep during the eight hours we would be en route to Europe.

The check in ritual was as usually done. I had a cup of coffee to keep me awake until I got into the plane. Everything happened right on schedule and we were air borne a few minutes past midnight.
While I cannot claim to be a frequent flier, I’m not that new to the experience either. I have been on a few flights around Africa and one or two long haul flights. I have never been a nervous flier. I settle in, relax and enjoy the ride. This day was no different, at least not yet.

Slumber moment
I unbuckled my belt the minute the plane levelled off, let back my chair and settled in for what I thought would be several hours of sleep. In a few minutes I nodded off into a deep relaxed sleep.
I was oblivious to what was going on in my environment until suddenly I was jolted awake by what sounded like a loud bang. When I looked around through my sleepy haze, everyone seemed normal, calm. I thought I had dreamt it and my eyelids were beginning to droop again when I felt the plane shake like it does when it hits an air pocket.

Only this was prolonged and was bunking a little from side to side. Though I shelved the sleep plan for the moment, I was still not alarmed at this moment.

No one in my line of vision seemed to be that bothered. They were all oddly alert, but there wasn’t particular sense of tension. When the movement from side to side continued for more than a minute, I saw the apprehension start to rise by degree. My neighbour had the presence of mind to switch to flight information on his screen and I thought perhaps I should do the same.

Reality unfolds
I said the first of many prayers that night. The number indicating altitude was fast going down. I remember thinking if this screen is indeed correct, we are losing altitude. We were falling and fast! The look on my neighbour’s face confirmed that we were seeing the same terrifying thing from the air crash or near crash scenes in the movies. An announcement comes on almost as soon as the drama starts happening. Our reality was different. Until this moment, we still did not know what was happening. I thought to myself, this cannot be turbulence, it cannot be.

One lady who had a window seat uttered the single most terrifying sentence I ever heard in my life. The last words you want to hear when you are in an airplane. She had pulled back the blinds to look outside and exclaimed, “It seems the engine is on fire!”

Indeed when I whipped my head towards that window, there was an eerie yellowish glow, and the barest shadow of tongues of flames, blighting the pitch black of the sky. In a matter of minutes, we had moved from a comfortable smooth flight to every traveller’s nightmare.

Emergency or alarm?
One flight attendant who was at the back of the cabin literally ran towards the front of the plane. I remember thinking, that cannot be anything else but alarm.

Another one walked to the cabin crew seats that normally face the passengers, buckled up and held her face in her palms.

I may have been scared all along but that was the moment I knew things were thick. All those I could see were in various levels of extreme panic. My neighbour, a distinguished looking gentleman until some minutes back was a trembling mess. He had produced some prayer beads which he was thumbing as he recited some words, first slowly, then so fast the beads just went by in a whizz.

A lady on the other side with her two children had started crying. The children were crying too. She had raised the arm rests on both their seats so their heads rest on her lap, close to her.

Blackout
The screen went blank and the main lights too, leaving us with the dim lights on the floor and completing the trauma of this whole experience.
I mean, everything goes berserk once the lights go off in every movie, right? What was I doing all this time? I was praying the most earnestly I have ever prayed. Probably the loudest I have ever prayed also. God save us. Oh God this cannot be. Dear God, look upon us with mercy and save us. I thought of my family, and all that is dear to me.
After some minutes though I changed my prayer.

I started facing up to the fact that death was a possibility. And if I died, where would I go. I felt I needed to put myself right. It may seem silly now but I launched into confessing my sins, and asking God to accept me. I forgot about my family and what I was leaving behind and started looking towards death.

It was not a peaceful acceptance. It was still terrifying of looking at the ugly face of death.

Captain intervenes
It was about 20 minutes from the time the ordeal started when the captain came on. He explained that we were experiencing a technical problem and that they had extinguished the fire. But the plane had lost one engine.

He consoled us, “This plane is designed to be able to fly on one engine and we will be heading back to Entebbe which is the nearest airport.”
It was a little of a relief to hear that, and for the tipsy turvy ride to finally come to an end. It felt steady now. Still that 30 minutes to Entebbe were the quietest 30 minutes ever. Nobody moved or spoke except for the member of the crew who tried to prepare us for a crash landing by taking us through the safety procedures. No one rose to answer nature’s call.

I was not going to rest until I was out of that plane and on terra firma. I mean, we could fly on one engine but now what if we lose that one too?

On landing
We landed safely, but had to stay aboard for another hour. Everyone was still jittery. Nobody wanted to be on that plane even if it was stationary and on land.

We saw how dire our situation had been when we got off the plane and saw the damage. The right wing was blackened and the engine looked charred. Workers at the airport kept telling us we were extremely lucky.

The airline who shall remain unnamed went to great extents to ensure our comfort, booking us into hotels, availing counsellors and allowing us to decide when we were ready to eventually continue on our journey.

We spent most of the night talking at the bar of the hotel where we were accommodated and that is when everyone shared what they went through in those horrible 20 minutes. Going through something like that brings people together and I made some friends I still keep in touch with to date.

His take on current situation
When I read about the recent plane crashes, I feel very lucky that I’m here to tell the story. Those minutes when you are sure you are going to die are the worst. My body froze and I felt so helpless and cold. The thought that in case of an incident there is 110 per cent chance you will all die multiplied the fear I felt at that moment. Those 20 minutes easily qualify as the worst moments of my 37 years.”

Did mutebi fly again?
A day after that incident, I still made it to my friend’s wedding. But I can assure you I have never been the same. For instance, during that 10-hour flight to London, I was afraid to even blink. I have never been as nervous on a flight as I was that night. I listened to every single sound the plane made, even when we hit the tiniest air pocket. It is the same story with all other flights I have taken since.
Life aboard a plane has never been the same again.

Flying still relatively safe

Recent reports may make it look like every flight that takes off crashes killing all on board. This is not strictly the case. Flying is still considered one of the safest methods of transport statistically at least.

For instance, according to boeing.com, out of 30 accidents involving the built for commercial flight Boeings and possibly carrying several thousand passengers in total, there were 281 onboard fatalities
According to the Aviation Safety Network Database, a site that volunteers to compile data on air craft mishaps around the world, there have been 87 reported air incidents between January 1 and the end of July involving different types and size of airplanes all over the world. From military helicopters to large passenger planes to light craft.

Approximately 946 people have perished during the same. Compare that with World Health Organisation estimates that 1.2 million people die from road crashes each year world over. We will not go into the injuries.

According to flight captain, Mike Mukula who has extensive experience flying, standards for safety in flight are very stringent. They are enforced by ICAA. Training for pilots is also rigorous so the pilots who actually take to the air are prepared for any eventuality. “Each flight is different. Every time you take the pilots seat is different. Every day the weather is different,” he says.
He has had his share of near misses.

“The scariest mishap was way back when I was flying the president from Kidepo Valley National Park and just as we took off the plane lost a tyre. I genuinely thought we were done for. We almost crashed. But we escaped unscathed. I had engine failure 15 minutes into a flight from Soroti to Nairobi. Luckily, I was able to turn back and land in Soroti again in one piece.

Another experience that rates right up there among narrow escapes in the air was a flight from Entebbe to Soroti in 1985.My wife and some members of my family were onboard. We ran into bad weather somewhere above lake Kyoga and it was so bad that there was a real possibility we could be struck by lightning. We could not turn back because then Entebbe airport was under a curfew and no plane could land after five. We weighed our options and it was either to fly through the storm or go back to Entebbe and get shot down. We opted to keep going, and miraculously made it to Soroti and landed during a heavy downpour. We could not even see the runway and had to be led by a fire truck. People kept wondering where we passed,” he narrates.

Any mishaps involving an airplane falls in one of the following categories. As a result of pilot error, technical error, natural conditions and man-made causes.
An accident or mishap or crash caused by the plane being shot at like happened to Malaysia Airlines MH17 fall under man made causes. So does any accidents caused by a hijacking, or if the plane is blown up.

On the other hand, if a plane runs into bad weather and crashes as a result like it is thought happened to the air Algeria flight, that crashed into the Sahara desert killing all on board, that falls under natural causes. Engine failures are chalked under technical errors.