Flying blind
Chris Petersen (chris.petersen@sanjose.vlsi.com)
Fri, 07 Mar 1997 14:26:16 -0800
>One day at a busy airport, the passengers on a commercial airliner are
>seated, waiting for the cockpit crew to show up so they can get under way.
>The pilot and copilot finally appear in the rear of the plane, and begin
>walking up to the cockpit through the center aisle. Both appear to be
>blind. The pilot is using a white cane, bumping into passengers right and
>left as he stumbles down the aisle, and the copilot is using a guide dog.
>Both have their eyes covered with huge sunglasses.
>
>At first the passengers do not react; thinking that it must be some sort of
>practical joke. After a few minutes the engines start revving and the
>airplane starts moving down the runway. The passengers look at each other
>with some uneasiness. They start whispering among themselves and look
>desperately to the stewardesses for reassurance.
>
>Then the airplane starts accelerating rapidly and people begin panicking.
>Some passengers are praying, and as the plane gets closer and closer to the
>end of the runway, the voices are becoming more and more hysterical. When
>the airplane has less than 20 feet of runway left, there is a sudden change
>in the pitch of the shouts as everyone screams at once. At the very last
>moment the airplane lifts off and is airborne.
>
>Up in the cockpit, the copilot breathes a sigh of relief and tells the
>pilot: "You know, one of these days the passengers aren't going to scream,
>and we're gonna get killed!"