I took a trip home to Canada for a week or so. I had trouble breathing and I thought it might be the Paris air. I suspected, though, that it might be more like repressed emotions.
On my return, we were heading for Paris, but the plane, a 747, was diverted to Lyon because Paris was socked in with fog. Lyon airport couldn’t really accommodate all these aircraft, but they kept landing anyway. We were not allowed off the plane which was surrounded by armed guards in fatigues with rifles. Boy, these French meant business. It was 8:00 in the morning.
At one point there was a large bang; the airplane rocked and all the electrical systems failed. The lights went out and the GPS (ground power system) shorted out. It got very hot inside the cabin and passengers were going up to the cock pit to put their heads out the port hole to get some air. Others were walking out onto the small landing of the stair case. The French army didn’t approve of this and ordered everyone back into the airplane. We were there from 8 in the morning until we could leave for Paris at 5:30 pm.
We were to learn that when another 747 was landing on the crowded runway, its wing got caught under our tail, causing the power outage. A crane had to come and lift our aircraft off of the other airplane’s wing. This took the whole afternoon. When I heard of this I was suspicious that the fuselage had been cracked and I refused to fly on the airplane. I was instructed to stay on the airplane as de-boarding was going to be in Paris, not Lyon. I was conflicted andI suspected putting this aircraft back in the air without being checked was not a good idea. It could be fatal, but I had no choice. They had guns. Don was at the airport with the kids since 8 in the morning and was never informed of the accident. It was never was discussed by airport personnel nor was it in the news.
I was so happy to see all of them there waiting for me and be on terra firma!
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