A Small Diversion
I was flying from San Francisco to Boston in February with a massive winter snowstorm pounding the East Coast. Logan Airport in Boston closed and the 737 was diverted to a little airport somewhere in New York. The approach was in pure whiteout conditions, incredibly turbulent, engines screaming at every jump and jolt, lights flickering on and off.
The guy sitting next to me had a panic attack and started clawing at his seat belt, trying to get out of his seat. I grabbed his collar with my right hand and started shaking the heck out of him and yelling at him to stay seated and hold on and everything would be OK. This was sort of like my old water rescue training. Then absolutely without warning, there’s the mother of all jolts as the plane slams down onto the runway.
Some loose stuff in the cabin got thrown around as the pilots deploy probably every single braking device the plane carries. I’m pretty sure I saved that guy from injury if he’d made it out of his seat. Anyway, the plane sat on the ground for about two hours, got de-iced, and then we flew to Boston without further incident.
Story credit: Reddit / ThadisJones