Airport 2010: Chapter 2. (Finally!)
The Misfits: Airport 2010
Chapter 2: Ohi Flight Crew Number 2
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
9:18 a.m. (EST)
in flight, over east-central Pennsylvania
aboard Trans Global Airlines flight #383
McDonnell-Douglas DC-9-15
FAA registration # N94S (TGA fleet #9004)
Even as Fernando and Kaiden and company were arriving to start their day, their friends, many miles away, were already in the middle of their day, having started much earlier...
Over the freezing skies of eastern Pennsylvania, a small 75-passenger "baby" DC-9 jet operating TGA's flight #383 was bathed in a weak morning sun as it descended into Allentown's Lehigh Valley International Airport.
"Global 3-8-3 turn right, heading zero-six-zero, descend and maintain six-thousand."
"Roger, 383 turning right zero-six-zero maintaining six-thousand" Jason Tyler replied as Megg put the jetliner into a descent out of 7,000 feet to 6,000. They were already in line with Allentown's runway 6, and both of them were paying special attention to their landing charts as neither one had ever landed in Allentown before.
This had been a special assignment for both of them. They were bringing N94S home to Miami after spending nearly a week at Toronto's Lester Pearson International Airport, and they were landing in several places for the first time in their piloting careers. The jet had been chartered by a Ft. Lauderdale based vacation outfit to transport cruise ship passengers back to Toronto, and bring more down to Ft. Lauderdale to catch their cruise ship at Port Everglades. Unfortunately, on the return trip to Florida, the jet suffered a nasty birdstrike on takeoff that ruined the number 2 (starboard) engine and forced it to limp back to Toronto for an emergency landing. It was down for several days for an engine replacement and by the time it was ready to fly back, she was left "orphaned" without a crew to take her back and far away from home. So TGA dispatch sent Megg and Jason from Miami, flying "non-rev" on an Airbus A300 up to Toronto to pick up the plane, then they plugged the jet into two flights that were normally operated from the New York base, but had no manpower to fly them due to a flu outbreak that knocked out many pilots and flight attendants there. On Monday night they flew flight 1277 from Toronto to Boston, then they "repositioned" the empty plane to Burlington, Vermont, and on Tuesday they flew flight 1382 to Washington, DC via Plattsburgh, Albany, New York City's LaGuardia Airport, and Erie, PA. Then they repositioned the empty plane in Elmira for the final trek home the next day. It was an exhausting assignment and they would have a few days off after this.
This flight, unlike the previous two, was assigned to the Miami base so that meant they'd see familiar faces working the cabin. They found it a bit of a relief as it meant they were finally getting close to home. They'd alll met up aboard the empty plane a coupe of hours before and had a very enjoyable time chatting and laughing and listening to music until it was time to get to work.
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Flashback....just a few hours
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
6:46 a.m. (EST)
Elmira-Corning Regional Airport
Elmira, New York
It was daybreak, and their plane was sitting quietly at the gate at Elmira's airport, soon to begin it's morning-long trek as flight # 383 to Miami via Allentown, Harrisburg and Washington, DC (Dulles Airport). Later it would be in the air, full of holiday travelers, but at the moment the little jet was quiet and powered off. Inside the cabin there was only one occupant sitting in one of the seats. His name was Jason Tyler and he was going to be the co-pilot on the flight. He'd been up early that morning and quietly made his way to the airport ahead of his fellow crew members. He needed some quiet time to think about what was happening in his life and what the future held.
Jason was a talented young singer and songwriter, going by the stage name of "Jasontyler", a combination of his first and middle names. He loved anything having to do with music, and had for as long as he could remember. His guitar, "Jayden", was his most cherished posession. With his flying earnings he had also been able to purchase a keytar to add to his musical arsenal, and for a time he had acheived some success on the internet and a couple of live venues, before a bad breakup with a girl, and lack of money derailed his attempts at producing and releasing his first demo LP. He found himself sliding into depression and eventually he turned to flying as an escape. He had taken some flying lessons when he was younger, and during his down time he started taking them again. It was his only solace in dealing with the dual crushing disappointments in life. Determined to make the money he needed to produce his demo, he signed up with TGA's Young Apprentice Flyer program, and eventually earned his pilot's license and eventually gained employment with TGA as one of their youngest First Officers, assigned to the airline's DC-9's which were their entry-level aircraft.
During that time Jason realized he loved flying. He'd always seen himself as a "pointy-eared intergalactic elf" and he figured that being up in the sky placed him quite close to the "intergalactic" part of that description. He racked up the hours of experience quickly, and at the same time there was a raft of pilots retiring, so he as a result by Christmastime he was already close to being promoted to Captain, and graduating to the left seat. His upgrade flights were to begin after New Years, and by Valentine's Day he would officially be commanding a DC-9 jet. It was all good, but the good news left Jason feeling conflicted. He loved flying but now it was also eating his time that he could spend working on his music. He felt the inspiration returning more and more everyday. He'd brought Jayden with him on the last few flights so he could tune up his skills during layovers. And all his Misfit co-workers back home in Miami drafted him to perform at the Christmas party which was happening later that night. He was excited to get a chance to perform again in public, but he was nervous too and he'd been very pensive during this entire special assignment that had been given to Megg and him.
He sat and thought and agonized about his next step in life. A solid career versus fulfilling his ultimate dreams. He decided to break out Jayden, and he started strumming his prized guitars' strings....he played Moon/Stars, one of his compositions which was somewhat appropriate given what he was about to spend the next 6 hours or so doing.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At the same time, inside the terminal at Elmira's airport, an attractive young woman strode towards the gate, where TGA flight 383 would be departing in about 2 hours on the first leg of a multi-stop domestic service, travelling down the Eastern Seaboard with an ultimate destination of Miami. She wore the timelessly classic gray and yellow TGA Flight Attendant's uniform and towed her luggage behind her, and she carried a large case on her shoulder as well. Stacy "Sky" Sanchez hadn't been able to sleep much herself, and she decided to get up and head for the airport early. She left her crewmate, "T.K.", a message on the table in their room and took an earlier shuttle bus. She wanted to take some time for herself to reflect on things, and figured she'd get to the plane early and sit inside and think. And play. She also enjoyed playing the guitar and she was carrying it slung over her shoulder.
Sky hadn't been having an easy go of things lately. She'd just recently transferred to Miami from the small base in her hometown of Cleveland, where she had grown up. She hadn't intended to, but a bad breakup with her previous boyfriend had left her heartbroken and depressed. She found solace in her own music, much like Jason did in his, and in her job. When her ex began stalking and hassling her, she decided that it was time to escape and start a new life, so she put a restraining order on him, put in for a transfer and just after Thanksgiving it was granted and she moved to Miami. It took away the stress, although she missed her family and old friends tremendously. She was starting to really make friends in Miami though, and that helped a lot. It also helped that Jason was working there as they'd grown up together in Cleveland before Jason's family returned to Florida. They'd both been so busy that they hadn't had a chance to sit down and catch up on things so she was glad that he was a crewmember on this flight.
In general, though, she was still very down about things. So this trip she also brought her guitar with her and played it a little last night before going to sleep. T.K. had given her a lot of encuragement in her music playing, which helped a lot. She tossed and turned a lot and she was unable to sleep much beyond about 5:30 in the morning, so she decided to get up and out early and head for the empty plane and play a few songs until it was time to actually work.
As Sky walked down the jetway, however, she heard music coming from the plane. She was curious to see who was playing such good guitar so she quietly stepped onto N94S, walked to the center aisle and looked in and saw Jason strumming and singing. Sky smiled...she knew Jason lived and breathed music, even when they were kids. They also hasn't really worked together yet as their schedules didn't coincide until todays flight. She smiled broadly as she watched him finish up another tune that he called Don't Be Scared. The lyrics really hit home to her. As he was finishing up, Sky tiptoed up on him as he had his eyes closed. She stood next to the row of triple-seats he was occupying while he finished. She'd never heard him perform before and was amazed at his skills and abilities.
When Jason finished he opened his eyes, looked over, say Sky standing there and was so startled he almost jumped through the overhead luggage bins.
"Oh I'm so sorry!" Sky exclaimed.
"Nahh it's cool!" Jason answered, trying and failing to play it off, something that made both Sky and Jason giggle.
"You're really good." Sky said.
"You really think so?" Jason asked, in some disbelief.
"Yes for real!"
"Aww thanks, I'm trying."
"So am I." And at that, Sky unzipped her shoulder case and took out her own guitar and that got the conversation going as she plopped down on the row of twin-seats across from Jason. They chatted about many things in their lives and about music, and they each found out that the other was a devoted fan of the acoustic singer Lights, and soon they were playing Lights songs on their guitars and jamming and having fun. At that moment their mutual problems just floated away with the sound of music.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile....
"Okay now, Captain...Madge....Majj...Mac..." the flight dispatcher struggled with Megg's last name. "Wait, no, I before E except after C...no wait that doesn't apply...ummm...Macie....jewski?"
"Yayy, that's it!" Megg cheerfully said in her thick Chicago accent "See it's pronounced just like it's spelled, Maciejewski. But you can just call me Megg."
"Ahh, Okie dokie Megg. Here's your paperwork for the flight. Have you ever flown out of here before?"
"Nope this is my first time here."
"Ahhh ok, welcome to Elmira!"
"Thanks I enjoyed staying here."
"Oh and watch out there's a big storm spreading out to the south, be really careful up there."
"I will, I hope to outrun this thing."
Megg was filling out the flight plan for the journey to Florida...during the short hops they'd only climb to about 18,000 feet, and cruise at 30,000 feet during the last and longer segment to Miami. She wrote in a higher cruising speed as well for that last leg so they can get down there ahead of the approaching storm. The latest weather charts were a bit reassuring as the storm was dragging it's feet just a bit, but she didn't trust it. If all went well they'de be touching down in Miami by about 1 o'clock. She didn't want to risk getting stuck, since she had a hectic day ahead. She and Jason were going to stay on standby after arriving in Miami, which she hated the thought of, but she hoped to not get sent out on a one-way journey at least. Once they went off duty she was going to hang out at the party for a while, which she didn't want to miss. After that, and most importantly, she was going to hop onto TGA's 9:45pm "nightcoach" flight home to Chicago and wait for her mom, who was a flight attendant and working a late flight from New York City that was due in about the same time as the Miami flight, then they'd go home for the Christmas holidays. She was going to have a long day, she figured on not hitting her bed till at least 2 in the morning, but it was so worth it to be able to spend the holidays at home. It was going to be like a Christmas postcard with all the freshly fallen snow up there, plus the family reunions and parties with friends.
"It's gonna be a great Christmas." she said to herself.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A little while later Megg was making her way towards the plane when she ran into T.K. at the gate. T.K. had decided to make her way to the airport as well once she woke up and realized the rest of the crew had left early. They both shared a big laugh at the oddness of how they all wound up trickling down to the airport one by one instead of traveling together like airline crews typically do. They both peered through the frosted-over windows and they could just made out the plane sitting at the gate with the jetway attached to it.
"Well it's certainly there, isn't it?" T.K. asked jokingly.
"Shall we board?" Megg replied.
"Certainly, after you."
"No, after you."
"Noooo, after you!"
Both of them made big, sweeping and wildly exaggerated hand gestures to each other with each "after you" and eventually they dissolved into laughter. A little Misfit fun was always to be had, it helped keep the atmosphere light and the passengers loved it. There were a few early birds at the gate already, and they were looking at leaving Elmira nearly full with 64 passengers, adding the 4 crewmembers would make a total of 68 onboard. Not a bad haul, Christmastime was when this particular flight, along with it's northbound equivalent, 382, really earned it's cash. They expecting that number to gradually go down as they stopped over and dropped off passengers in Allentown and Harrisburg, more than they were scheduled to pick up, then the plane will nearly empty out in Washington and a full load of people bound for Florida will board the last leg. It had already been seriously overbooked by Thanksgiving and TGA decided at the beginning of December to pull a Greyhound bus type maneuver and add a "second section" to that leg today. Designated as flight 2383, a larger trimotor Boeing 727 will fly out right behind them. TGA tended to do that just so nobody would be left out in the cold during heavy travel periods, it cost the carrier extra money but they gained much in the way of customer satisfaction and positive mentions in the press.
As they walked down the jetway Megg and T.K. heard the sounds of music coming from the plane. Both of them smiled as both knew their respective crewmate was probably strumming away inside. Once they got onboard they were surprised to see both Jason and Sky jamming in a duet. Megg and T.K. waited politely until they finished then clapped for them, which started them both as they were looking at each other, not forward, until then.
"So this is where you went!" T.K. told Sky, breaking into a big grin.
"You little rascal!" Megg playfully teased Jason, who blushed. Then she tossed the package of paperwork at Jason. "This stuff might be of interest to you" she laughed.
"Oh you checked in already?" Jason asked Megg.
"Ya I just wanted to get that over with."
"Maybe I should go check in too."
"Nahhh you got time, you don't have to actually be here till an hour before departure time and that's a ways off still. I want to hear you two play!"
"Yeah, please serenade us!" T.K. added.
Sky and Jason both smiled at each other and they started playing another tune together. The rest of the time before their flight just flew by as the talked and laughed and just caught up on things. Jason and Sky connected on a very high level that early morning thanks to their shared passion. Both looked forward to spending some time together after they got home later in the day, and Jason asked Sky to jam with him at the party later in the evening. Sky at first shyly refused but the other 3 convinced her to give it a try.
And at 7:45am, right on time, First Officer Jason Tyler Moncada officially checked in for his flight at the TGA office :)
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8:05 am (EST)
One of the most important duties of the First Officer is to perform a "walk-around" visual inspection of the aircraft. As such Jason had to bundle up tight as he ventured out into the 17 degree weather to walk around N94S. The 42 year-old bird sat at the gate, like a mechanical artifact, awaiting yet another day's work...or discovery by an archeologist, whichever came first. As a short -15 variant, she was one of just a handful of original -10 series DC-9's still flying in the Western Hemisphere and as such required extra love and attention. And despite the freezing weather, Jason took his time and checked her out thoroughly. He started at the nose landing gear, walked around the front and made his way around the fuselage and the wings. He peered into the rear-mounted Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7 engines and made sure the tail assembly, wings and their moveable panels as well as the landing gear were all in good shape, that the rear airstairs were closed and locked, and all the sensors and pitot ports were clean and unobstructed. Blocked sensors mean bad indications which in turn mean bad settings for takeoff which in double turn mean BIG trouble so those were critical. Everything checked out fine, though. They were ready to start the first engine and begin boarding.
Jason climbed aboard the jet after he did the walk-around check. Megg was finishing up setting the switches and dials as Jason came in the cockpit. Sky had helped him take off all the layers he was wearing. The pale rising sun was doing little to warm things up.
"It's all good" Jason reported.
"Great!" Megg said "I want to get out of here and get home."
"You're still coming to the party, right?"
"Of course I want to see you perform. I'm gonna catch the last flight to Chicago when I go home that'll be like 9:30."
"Sweet!."
Megg was glad to see Jason actually talking today. He'd been awful quiet since the day before and she'd been worried. The little musical interlude had done him some good. They quickly did the final cockpit prep and fired up the #2 engine once the catering truck left and the galley door was closed. The passengers came onboard pretty quickly and by 8:35 they got the final clearance to go from the gate agents. T.K. closed and locked the main cabin door, Jason started the #1 engine and they pushed back from the terminal.
Right on time, at 8:45am and with Megg flying, TGA flight 383 roared down the runway and took off enroute to it's first stop, in Allentown, PA.
Chapter 2: Ohi Flight Crew Number 2
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
9:18 a.m. (EST)
in flight, over east-central Pennsylvania
aboard Trans Global Airlines flight #383
McDonnell-Douglas DC-9-15
FAA registration # N94S (TGA fleet #9004)
Even as Fernando and Kaiden and company were arriving to start their day, their friends, many miles away, were already in the middle of their day, having started much earlier...
Over the freezing skies of eastern Pennsylvania, a small 75-passenger "baby" DC-9 jet operating TGA's flight #383 was bathed in a weak morning sun as it descended into Allentown's Lehigh Valley International Airport.
"Global 3-8-3 turn right, heading zero-six-zero, descend and maintain six-thousand."
"Roger, 383 turning right zero-six-zero maintaining six-thousand" Jason Tyler replied as Megg put the jetliner into a descent out of 7,000 feet to 6,000. They were already in line with Allentown's runway 6, and both of them were paying special attention to their landing charts as neither one had ever landed in Allentown before.
This had been a special assignment for both of them. They were bringing N94S home to Miami after spending nearly a week at Toronto's Lester Pearson International Airport, and they were landing in several places for the first time in their piloting careers. The jet had been chartered by a Ft. Lauderdale based vacation outfit to transport cruise ship passengers back to Toronto, and bring more down to Ft. Lauderdale to catch their cruise ship at Port Everglades. Unfortunately, on the return trip to Florida, the jet suffered a nasty birdstrike on takeoff that ruined the number 2 (starboard) engine and forced it to limp back to Toronto for an emergency landing. It was down for several days for an engine replacement and by the time it was ready to fly back, she was left "orphaned" without a crew to take her back and far away from home. So TGA dispatch sent Megg and Jason from Miami, flying "non-rev" on an Airbus A300 up to Toronto to pick up the plane, then they plugged the jet into two flights that were normally operated from the New York base, but had no manpower to fly them due to a flu outbreak that knocked out many pilots and flight attendants there. On Monday night they flew flight 1277 from Toronto to Boston, then they "repositioned" the empty plane to Burlington, Vermont, and on Tuesday they flew flight 1382 to Washington, DC via Plattsburgh, Albany, New York City's LaGuardia Airport, and Erie, PA. Then they repositioned the empty plane in Elmira for the final trek home the next day. It was an exhausting assignment and they would have a few days off after this.
This flight, unlike the previous two, was assigned to the Miami base so that meant they'd see familiar faces working the cabin. They found it a bit of a relief as it meant they were finally getting close to home. They'd alll met up aboard the empty plane a coupe of hours before and had a very enjoyable time chatting and laughing and listening to music until it was time to get to work.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flashback....just a few hours
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
6:46 a.m. (EST)
Elmira-Corning Regional Airport
Elmira, New York
It was daybreak, and their plane was sitting quietly at the gate at Elmira's airport, soon to begin it's morning-long trek as flight # 383 to Miami via Allentown, Harrisburg and Washington, DC (Dulles Airport). Later it would be in the air, full of holiday travelers, but at the moment the little jet was quiet and powered off. Inside the cabin there was only one occupant sitting in one of the seats. His name was Jason Tyler and he was going to be the co-pilot on the flight. He'd been up early that morning and quietly made his way to the airport ahead of his fellow crew members. He needed some quiet time to think about what was happening in his life and what the future held.
Jason was a talented young singer and songwriter, going by the stage name of "Jasontyler", a combination of his first and middle names. He loved anything having to do with music, and had for as long as he could remember. His guitar, "Jayden", was his most cherished posession. With his flying earnings he had also been able to purchase a keytar to add to his musical arsenal, and for a time he had acheived some success on the internet and a couple of live venues, before a bad breakup with a girl, and lack of money derailed his attempts at producing and releasing his first demo LP. He found himself sliding into depression and eventually he turned to flying as an escape. He had taken some flying lessons when he was younger, and during his down time he started taking them again. It was his only solace in dealing with the dual crushing disappointments in life. Determined to make the money he needed to produce his demo, he signed up with TGA's Young Apprentice Flyer program, and eventually earned his pilot's license and eventually gained employment with TGA as one of their youngest First Officers, assigned to the airline's DC-9's which were their entry-level aircraft.
During that time Jason realized he loved flying. He'd always seen himself as a "pointy-eared intergalactic elf" and he figured that being up in the sky placed him quite close to the "intergalactic" part of that description. He racked up the hours of experience quickly, and at the same time there was a raft of pilots retiring, so he as a result by Christmastime he was already close to being promoted to Captain, and graduating to the left seat. His upgrade flights were to begin after New Years, and by Valentine's Day he would officially be commanding a DC-9 jet. It was all good, but the good news left Jason feeling conflicted. He loved flying but now it was also eating his time that he could spend working on his music. He felt the inspiration returning more and more everyday. He'd brought Jayden with him on the last few flights so he could tune up his skills during layovers. And all his Misfit co-workers back home in Miami drafted him to perform at the Christmas party which was happening later that night. He was excited to get a chance to perform again in public, but he was nervous too and he'd been very pensive during this entire special assignment that had been given to Megg and him.
He sat and thought and agonized about his next step in life. A solid career versus fulfilling his ultimate dreams. He decided to break out Jayden, and he started strumming his prized guitars' strings....he played Moon/Stars, one of his compositions which was somewhat appropriate given what he was about to spend the next 6 hours or so doing.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
At the same time, inside the terminal at Elmira's airport, an attractive young woman strode towards the gate, where TGA flight 383 would be departing in about 2 hours on the first leg of a multi-stop domestic service, travelling down the Eastern Seaboard with an ultimate destination of Miami. She wore the timelessly classic gray and yellow TGA Flight Attendant's uniform and towed her luggage behind her, and she carried a large case on her shoulder as well. Stacy "Sky" Sanchez hadn't been able to sleep much herself, and she decided to get up and head for the airport early. She left her crewmate, "T.K.", a message on the table in their room and took an earlier shuttle bus. She wanted to take some time for herself to reflect on things, and figured she'd get to the plane early and sit inside and think. And play. She also enjoyed playing the guitar and she was carrying it slung over her shoulder.
Sky hadn't been having an easy go of things lately. She'd just recently transferred to Miami from the small base in her hometown of Cleveland, where she had grown up. She hadn't intended to, but a bad breakup with her previous boyfriend had left her heartbroken and depressed. She found solace in her own music, much like Jason did in his, and in her job. When her ex began stalking and hassling her, she decided that it was time to escape and start a new life, so she put a restraining order on him, put in for a transfer and just after Thanksgiving it was granted and she moved to Miami. It took away the stress, although she missed her family and old friends tremendously. She was starting to really make friends in Miami though, and that helped a lot. It also helped that Jason was working there as they'd grown up together in Cleveland before Jason's family returned to Florida. They'd both been so busy that they hadn't had a chance to sit down and catch up on things so she was glad that he was a crewmember on this flight.
In general, though, she was still very down about things. So this trip she also brought her guitar with her and played it a little last night before going to sleep. T.K. had given her a lot of encuragement in her music playing, which helped a lot. She tossed and turned a lot and she was unable to sleep much beyond about 5:30 in the morning, so she decided to get up and out early and head for the empty plane and play a few songs until it was time to actually work.
As Sky walked down the jetway, however, she heard music coming from the plane. She was curious to see who was playing such good guitar so she quietly stepped onto N94S, walked to the center aisle and looked in and saw Jason strumming and singing. Sky smiled...she knew Jason lived and breathed music, even when they were kids. They also hasn't really worked together yet as their schedules didn't coincide until todays flight. She smiled broadly as she watched him finish up another tune that he called Don't Be Scared. The lyrics really hit home to her. As he was finishing up, Sky tiptoed up on him as he had his eyes closed. She stood next to the row of triple-seats he was occupying while he finished. She'd never heard him perform before and was amazed at his skills and abilities.
When Jason finished he opened his eyes, looked over, say Sky standing there and was so startled he almost jumped through the overhead luggage bins.
"Oh I'm so sorry!" Sky exclaimed.
"Nahh it's cool!" Jason answered, trying and failing to play it off, something that made both Sky and Jason giggle.
"You're really good." Sky said.
"You really think so?" Jason asked, in some disbelief.
"Yes for real!"
"Aww thanks, I'm trying."
"So am I." And at that, Sky unzipped her shoulder case and took out her own guitar and that got the conversation going as she plopped down on the row of twin-seats across from Jason. They chatted about many things in their lives and about music, and they each found out that the other was a devoted fan of the acoustic singer Lights, and soon they were playing Lights songs on their guitars and jamming and having fun. At that moment their mutual problems just floated away with the sound of music.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Meanwhile....
"Okay now, Captain...Madge....Majj...Mac..." the flight dispatcher struggled with Megg's last name. "Wait, no, I before E except after C...no wait that doesn't apply...ummm...Macie....jewski?"
"Yayy, that's it!" Megg cheerfully said in her thick Chicago accent "See it's pronounced just like it's spelled, Maciejewski. But you can just call me Megg."
"Ahh, Okie dokie Megg. Here's your paperwork for the flight. Have you ever flown out of here before?"
"Nope this is my first time here."
"Ahhh ok, welcome to Elmira!"
"Thanks I enjoyed staying here."
"Oh and watch out there's a big storm spreading out to the south, be really careful up there."
"I will, I hope to outrun this thing."
Megg was filling out the flight plan for the journey to Florida...during the short hops they'd only climb to about 18,000 feet, and cruise at 30,000 feet during the last and longer segment to Miami. She wrote in a higher cruising speed as well for that last leg so they can get down there ahead of the approaching storm. The latest weather charts were a bit reassuring as the storm was dragging it's feet just a bit, but she didn't trust it. If all went well they'de be touching down in Miami by about 1 o'clock. She didn't want to risk getting stuck, since she had a hectic day ahead. She and Jason were going to stay on standby after arriving in Miami, which she hated the thought of, but she hoped to not get sent out on a one-way journey at least. Once they went off duty she was going to hang out at the party for a while, which she didn't want to miss. After that, and most importantly, she was going to hop onto TGA's 9:45pm "nightcoach" flight home to Chicago and wait for her mom, who was a flight attendant and working a late flight from New York City that was due in about the same time as the Miami flight, then they'd go home for the Christmas holidays. She was going to have a long day, she figured on not hitting her bed till at least 2 in the morning, but it was so worth it to be able to spend the holidays at home. It was going to be like a Christmas postcard with all the freshly fallen snow up there, plus the family reunions and parties with friends.
"It's gonna be a great Christmas." she said to herself.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A little while later Megg was making her way towards the plane when she ran into T.K. at the gate. T.K. had decided to make her way to the airport as well once she woke up and realized the rest of the crew had left early. They both shared a big laugh at the oddness of how they all wound up trickling down to the airport one by one instead of traveling together like airline crews typically do. They both peered through the frosted-over windows and they could just made out the plane sitting at the gate with the jetway attached to it.
"Well it's certainly there, isn't it?" T.K. asked jokingly.
"Shall we board?" Megg replied.
"Certainly, after you."
"No, after you."
"Noooo, after you!"
Both of them made big, sweeping and wildly exaggerated hand gestures to each other with each "after you" and eventually they dissolved into laughter. A little Misfit fun was always to be had, it helped keep the atmosphere light and the passengers loved it. There were a few early birds at the gate already, and they were looking at leaving Elmira nearly full with 64 passengers, adding the 4 crewmembers would make a total of 68 onboard. Not a bad haul, Christmastime was when this particular flight, along with it's northbound equivalent, 382, really earned it's cash. They expecting that number to gradually go down as they stopped over and dropped off passengers in Allentown and Harrisburg, more than they were scheduled to pick up, then the plane will nearly empty out in Washington and a full load of people bound for Florida will board the last leg. It had already been seriously overbooked by Thanksgiving and TGA decided at the beginning of December to pull a Greyhound bus type maneuver and add a "second section" to that leg today. Designated as flight 2383, a larger trimotor Boeing 727 will fly out right behind them. TGA tended to do that just so nobody would be left out in the cold during heavy travel periods, it cost the carrier extra money but they gained much in the way of customer satisfaction and positive mentions in the press.
As they walked down the jetway Megg and T.K. heard the sounds of music coming from the plane. Both of them smiled as both knew their respective crewmate was probably strumming away inside. Once they got onboard they were surprised to see both Jason and Sky jamming in a duet. Megg and T.K. waited politely until they finished then clapped for them, which started them both as they were looking at each other, not forward, until then.
"So this is where you went!" T.K. told Sky, breaking into a big grin.
"You little rascal!" Megg playfully teased Jason, who blushed. Then she tossed the package of paperwork at Jason. "This stuff might be of interest to you" she laughed.
"Oh you checked in already?" Jason asked Megg.
"Ya I just wanted to get that over with."
"Maybe I should go check in too."
"Nahhh you got time, you don't have to actually be here till an hour before departure time and that's a ways off still. I want to hear you two play!"
"Yeah, please serenade us!" T.K. added.
Sky and Jason both smiled at each other and they started playing another tune together. The rest of the time before their flight just flew by as the talked and laughed and just caught up on things. Jason and Sky connected on a very high level that early morning thanks to their shared passion. Both looked forward to spending some time together after they got home later in the day, and Jason asked Sky to jam with him at the party later in the evening. Sky at first shyly refused but the other 3 convinced her to give it a try.
And at 7:45am, right on time, First Officer Jason Tyler Moncada officially checked in for his flight at the TGA office :)
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8:05 am (EST)
One of the most important duties of the First Officer is to perform a "walk-around" visual inspection of the aircraft. As such Jason had to bundle up tight as he ventured out into the 17 degree weather to walk around N94S. The 42 year-old bird sat at the gate, like a mechanical artifact, awaiting yet another day's work...or discovery by an archeologist, whichever came first. As a short -15 variant, she was one of just a handful of original -10 series DC-9's still flying in the Western Hemisphere and as such required extra love and attention. And despite the freezing weather, Jason took his time and checked her out thoroughly. He started at the nose landing gear, walked around the front and made his way around the fuselage and the wings. He peered into the rear-mounted Pratt & Whitney JT8D-7 engines and made sure the tail assembly, wings and their moveable panels as well as the landing gear were all in good shape, that the rear airstairs were closed and locked, and all the sensors and pitot ports were clean and unobstructed. Blocked sensors mean bad indications which in turn mean bad settings for takeoff which in double turn mean BIG trouble so those were critical. Everything checked out fine, though. They were ready to start the first engine and begin boarding.
Jason climbed aboard the jet after he did the walk-around check. Megg was finishing up setting the switches and dials as Jason came in the cockpit. Sky had helped him take off all the layers he was wearing. The pale rising sun was doing little to warm things up.
"It's all good" Jason reported.
"Great!" Megg said "I want to get out of here and get home."
"You're still coming to the party, right?"
"Of course I want to see you perform. I'm gonna catch the last flight to Chicago when I go home that'll be like 9:30."
"Sweet!."
Megg was glad to see Jason actually talking today. He'd been awful quiet since the day before and she'd been worried. The little musical interlude had done him some good. They quickly did the final cockpit prep and fired up the #2 engine once the catering truck left and the galley door was closed. The passengers came onboard pretty quickly and by 8:35 they got the final clearance to go from the gate agents. T.K. closed and locked the main cabin door, Jason started the #1 engine and they pushed back from the terminal.
Right on time, at 8:45am and with Megg flying, TGA flight 383 roared down the runway and took off enroute to it's first stop, in Allentown, PA.