Fateful Flight

Posted at 8:47 PM, 4/5/2006 in Short Stories

Hannah walked to the hangar and stopped at the door. Was she just tempting fate, she wondered for the fifth time? Ever since that visit to the fortune-teller at the mall with her sister, she had been extra careful whenever she had a flying lesson.

Doug the flying instructor had taught hundreds of people to fly and he wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her while he was up there in the cockpit. The first few lessons had been about as dangerous as driving on the road.

‘On the tenth day your feet are off the ground, you will not get home.’ The fortune-teller had delivered the vision without any expression in her voice. The rest of the reading had been pretty ordinary.

All the way home, Hannah’s sister begged her to stop the flying lessons. Rose believed in star signs, horoscopes, and palm reading. She lived her life by the stars.

Hannah was the exact opposite. Hannah wanted to be up in the sky with the stars. If she couldn’t get to them, then the clouds would do.

Hannah enjoyed her trips into the sky. Rain, hail or shine, she would turn up for her lessons at the local airfield. It was like a drug, she had to keep going back for more. Only one more lesson and she would be able to fly a short solo trip around the airfield.

The lesson was as uneventful as all the others before it were. After executing yet another near perfect fly-over, Hannah put the little plane down without a bump. Doug was impressed.

‘That was very nearly the best landing you’ve done yet! You’re a natural pilot.’ Doug signed the paperwork and handed Hannah her student file. ‘When do you want to go up solo?’

‘I’ve only got Thursday afternoon free.’ Hannah pulled off the flying jacket and packed her equipment away.

‘It would have to be the one day I’ve got off,’ grumbled her instructor. ‘I guess you’ll finally get to meet my trusty sidekick.’

Hannah had heard about the trusty sidekick, Pete, from other students. Apparently he was really hard to get along with, but was almost as good a flyer as Doug. At least I won’t actually have to be in the cockpit with him, Hannah thought.

For the next two days, Hannah thought of little else but her first solo flight. Rose continued to remind her of the fortune-teller’s warning, phoning almost hourly.

‘Doug wouldn’t let anything happen to me. The plane is going to be checked by Pete, who is just as good as Doug.’ Nothing Hannah said would convince her sister and she continued to bombard her with phone calls.

Thursday morning was foggy, cold and dark but Hannah’s spirits were high. Only a snowstorm would have kept her out of the sky today. Fortunately, it never snowed this far north. By the afternoon, the sky was still dark but conditions were clear enough for flying. Not ideal for a first time solo flight but Hannah was confident enough. If she had doubts, she could always ask Pete to come along as a co-pilot.

Pete was already checking the plane over as Hannah pulled on her jacket and strode over to the hanger. As she got closer, she could see his face frowning at her from under his beanie.

‘Are you sure you’re capable of flying this plane?’ he remarked, looking her over.

‘Most definitely!’ Hannah replied all thought of asking for a co-pilot disappearing with Pete’s remark about implied lack of skill. ‘Doug signed me off two days ago.’

His checks completed, Pete ran her through the cockpit checklist and gave her some final instructions.

‘The runaway is a little higher than this ground, so the fog will be minimal up there. Once you clear the fence, pull the usual right hand turn. Your return approach should be directly over the car park. Don’t make it a long flight, the fog will be closing in on the runaway soon enough. Good flying.’

‘Thanks, Pete.’ Hannah put on her harness and started the engine.

The engine refused to start. Maybe it was just the cold, damp air. Maybe it was a sign. She was all alone in the cockpit, no Doug to make sure nothing happened to her. Hannah shook her head. Damn Rose and her fortune-teller!

‘It’s just cold. Give it a minute and try again.’ Hannah said to herself.

She looked out the window towards the hangar and Pete gave her the thumbs up sign. Now that’s a sign! Hannah felt herself relax and when she turned the key again, the engine roared into life. Taxiing up to the runaway, Hannah saw Pete had been right about the fog. She could see the way clearly and was soon going through her take-off list.

Once up in the air, Hannah felt so free. She flew over the fence and turned right. She could see for miles up here. The fog was gathering over the low ground and the hills rose up like little green icebergs.

‘So much for fortune-telling!’ Hannah said aloud as she turned for the last leg back to the airfield. The light was just beginning to fade but she could make out her little white hatchback all alone in the car park.

And that’s when the vision’s true meaning hit her. In the fading light she could just make out the dim glow of the headlights she had left on. Just before the car battery died and they went out.

The End