Timing is everything

Timing may be important in business, but in business travel it can mean the difference between life and death. I’ve had enough close calls on the road to know.

A few years ago, on a flight from Istanbul to New York, the captain calmly announced that we needed to make an emergency landing. The hydraulics on both wings were inoperable, but those in the tail still worked. No one panicked but the mood onboard was tense. Passengers gave each other worried looks, and crew members wore stoic expressions. We dumped fuel and, after a torturously slow descent, landed safely in London.

Few business travelers have two close calls in a day and live to tell the story. I’m one of them. On the morning of July 7, 2005, I was on the tube headed to Paddington Station to catch an express train to Heathrow Airport for a flight back to New York.

Close Call No. 1: Our train made a jarring stop at Marble Arch and a conductor ordered us to leave without delay. To avoid mass panic he cited an “electrical surge” as the reason for the evacuation. But the reality was far more grim. Three terrorist bombs had just detonated elsewhere in the tube system. If any one of three bombers had chosen another train that morning, I could have been among the casualties.

At the time, I felt lucky to escape the resulting chaos and catch a taxi to the airport. But I wouldn’t feel that way after Close Call No. 2. About an hour after takeoff, the acrid smell of burning plastic filled my nostrils. White smoke seeped into the cabin, and the plane suddenly executed a series of steep turns. The pilot announced we were diverting to Shannon, Ireland, for an emergency landing.

My blood pressure rose as the flight attendants changed into fluorescent emergency vests and began demonstrating a series of detailed crash-landing procedures — things I’d never before witnessed in my 25 years of flying. One of the crew members asked me and several other able-bodied passengers to help with the evacuation, and I was shown storage compartments containing an array of emergency gear including oxygen masks, emergency tools and first-aid kits. Still, no one panicked.

When our plane made a flawlessly smooth emergency landing at Shannon Airport, we breathed a collective sigh of relief and the passengers broke into spontaneous applause. Minutes later, I found out how lucky we’d been. A fire had broken out in the cockpit, which could have easily doomed our flight. I also learned for the first time how close I’d come to being blown up by a terrorist bomb.

I’ve always known that there are inherent risks in travel. I’ve considered myself lucky to have such good timing, too. But please — enough with the close calls.

Phil Otterson is an executive vice president for Tauck World Discovery.

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

Be the first to comment