This Team of Southwest Airlines Pros Flew a Grieving Mother From PHX to LAX With Abundant Compassion- and Plenty of Support
These days we often hear about negative experiences (or worse) when it comes to airline travel. From doors falling off jets and poor headwork in the cockpit (both on the ground and in the air) to unruly passengers and their antics, travel by air holds less and less appeal these days. It seems only the bad news makes it to your feed or the “news”, but good things happen too. The following story was written by David Dale, who is a retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, a Captain with Southwest Airlines, and a contributor here at Avgeekery.com.
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Did You See That Lady Crying?
“Did you see the lady in the wheelchair crying when you came down the jetway?” my first officer (FO) asked as I slid my black roller bag under the cockpit jumpseat.
“Yeah, I did. There were people comforting her. What was going on?” I asked.
“She just found out her daughters were shot in Milwaukee last night.”
It Was a Day Like Any Other Out West…At First
Our scheduled trip in early January, 2015, had a minor schedule change as we passed through Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport on the way to Los Angeles. Instead of keeping the plane we just brought in, we had to give up our plane for an “unscheduled tail swap” and fly a different Boeing 737 to California. Sometimes this is required for routine maintenance or perhaps the weather conditions, such as forecasted icing or thunderstorms, meant that a crew needed our plane if theirs had a deficient aircraft system that we wouldn’t need in the sunny southwest. In any case, my First Officer Brett and I now had to quickly perform a Bag Drag, gathering up our flying gear and luggage and hustling from the C Terminal to the D Terminal in the hopes of departing on time in the next 45 minutes.
I sent Brett on ahead to begin his preflight as I spoke to the crew taking over our jet, telling them that the plane was performing fine and that they would encounter a few bumps during their climb out over the desert. The captain would pass this information along to the flight attendants so they would know to stay seated for their safety until the ride smoothed out. Once the handoff was complete I headed up the jetway and hurried over to the moving sidewalk to speed up my trek to the new gate.
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A Passenger in Distress, But In Good Hands
As I approached the operations agent at the open door of the jetway, I saw a middle-aged African American lady sitting in a wheelchair, wearing a blue denim jacket and black pants. Her forehead rested in her left hand as she sobbed uncontrollably. A Southwest gate agent and a lady pilot in a white short-sleeve shirt and black tie knelt on either side of her chair, patting her arm and offering her tissues. I didn’t stop to ask about the situation, 1) because she was being tended to, and 2) we were supposed to Load and Go as quickly as possible.
I walked onto the airplane and introduced myself to the lead or “A” flight attendant, then turned to place my luggage in the cockpit when my FO told me about the horrific incident.
Introductions and Assurances
After stowing my gear, I got back out of the cockpit and met the grieving mother in the jetway with the young blonde lady pilot holding onto the wheelchair behind her. I bent down and told the mother, “I am so sorry to hear about what happened, ma’am. We will do our best to get you to Los Angeles as quickly and safely as possible.” She sobbed, clutching her tissues and whispered, “Thank you.”
The young lady acting as her escort was a United Airlines first officer, Kristina, going to LAX for a trip later that evening. She graciously agreed to sit with the despondent mother during the planned one hour flight.
Our operations agent joined me in the cockpit and said that lady was called earlier this morning with the news that her two daughters were shot at around 2:00 AM and this flight to LAX was the quickest way to get her up to Milwaukee.
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Still Have to Check the Boxes
Brett and I competed our preflight activities, loading the flight plan in the computer and making sure the systems were set for engine start and takeoff. It would be “my leg” since he had just landed the previous flight into Phoenix. I briefed him on the planned departure procedure and what actions we would take if there was an engine failure during takeoff. This is standard procedure so that all aircrews are mentally prepared for that emergency. Plan for the worst. Hope for the best.
With our Boeing 737-700 now loaded with passengers and their luggage, the ground crew pushed the plane off the gate with their blue four-wheeled “tug” as the FO started both engines, first the #2 engine on our right wing, then the #1 engine on our left wing.
Once the ground crew completed the pushback, they disconnected the tug and waved goodbye as Brett extended our flaps to the takeoff position. He then configured the electrical, hydraulic, and air conditioning system for takeoff. Next, Brett coordinated our taxi instructions with Phoenix Ground Control as I taxied westbound along the two-mile long runway for an eastbound takeoff, before an eventual turn westward toward LA. Runways are assigned by the airport and dependent upon prevailing windings to strive for a headwind.
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The Magic Words Get Immediate Attention
With the grieving mother in mind, I taxied at 35 miles per hour (pretty fast for a large jet on the taxiway), hoping to get airborne as soon as possible. With about a half mile to go to the end of the runway, the Tower controller advised us, “Southwest 467, due to flow (airspace congestion) into LA your takeoff time will be 0940, 13 minutes from now.”
This can be a normal circumstance flying into busy airports but it is definitely not what I wanted today. I could not imagine being that mother as we sat for 13 minutes at the end of the runway waiting for takeoff clearance.
I told the FO, “Call up Clearance Delivery on Radio #2 and tell them we have a family emergency onboard.” This was an unusual radio call but I hoped the information might decrease our planned delay.
It must have worked. While Brett was still listening for a reply Radio 2, Tower announced on Radio 1, “Southwest 467, cleared for takeoff, Runway 7 Left.”
I tapped Brett’s arm, pointing to Radio 1 and told him, “We are cleared for takeoff.” Then replied to Tower, “Southwest 467, Cleared for takeoff, 7 Left.”
I rang the cabin bell, signaling to the flight attendants that we were about to takeoff. Brett read off the items of the Before Takeoff checklist and I responded to each item, verifying that the aircraft was configured for takeoff as we rounded the corner, pointing down Runway 7 Left as I increased power to Takeoff Thrust.
Within 7000 feet we were airborne, the First Officer raising the landing gear handle as we accelerated to Flap Retraction speed.
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More Support from the Ground Enroute
In a normal flight, our flight management system (FMS) would navigate us to the series of about six waypoints of the Standard Instrument Departure (SID) followed by about 20 enroute waypoints before joining the Standard Instrument Arrival (STAR) guiding us to the approach for a westbound landing into LAX on Runway 24 Right. That didn’t happen this day.
Our loving mom in back will never know the behind-the-scenes work that took place to speed her journey to LA for a connecting flight up north. Without us requesting, Phoenix Departure Control cleared us to the final furthest westerly point of the SID. Once we contacted Los Angeles Center we were cleared to a point at the beginning of the STAR. My FO did not request these shortcuts but when you say “Family Emergency” it triggered priority handling. I only wanted to avoid a 13 minute delay but received gracious handling from the air traffic controllers.
Runway 24 Right is the furthest runway north of the LAX terminal. Normal procedure is to land on this outside runway and takeoff from the close-in Runway 24 Left. Again, without our request or declaration of an aircraft emergency, Los Angeles Approach Control cleared us for a visual approach to Runway 24 Left, shaving off more time on this expedited flight. As I touched down and decelerated, we noticed a lot of aircraft stopped on the taxiway to our left. I turned left off the runway and, with other airliners giving way, we were cleared for a direct taxi to our gate.
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It Always Feels Great to Help Those In Need
We landed on time and Kristi and our flight attendants continued to help the grieving mother with her luggage to a waiting wheelchair for her next flight.
As the excitement came to a close and silence set in at the gate, Brett pulled out his phone to text his wife about this unexpected humanitarian flight. All that we knew in Phoenix was that a mother’s two daughters had been shot at a party long after midnight. We assumed that meant shot and killed. The first officer’s wife relayed the news that one daughter had been seriously injured by the gunfire but both girls were thankfully alive.
The teamwork, compassion, and graciousness provided that January, 2015 day by all aviation personnel, including the Southwest flight attendants, operations agents, air traffic controllers, and Kristi, the off-duty United pilot, is something I will always remember.
-David Dale
Lieutenant Colonel, USAF, Retired
Captain, Southwest Airlines
Ready For Takeoff – Stories from an Air Force Pilot