Finch checked his bag. He simply could not believe it. At just the age of 15, he was allowed to travel to Newark himself! Finch glanced at his watch again. 12.30am. The fifth time he checked his watch. He paced around his room impatiently, wishing that time could pass quicker. After pacing a marathon, he looked at his watch again. Sixth time. Finally it was 3.30am. He rushed to the taxi waiting below his house, which delivered him to Changi Airport in just 20 minutes. He looked at his ticket. SGair 21(NOT Singapore Airlines 21), departing at 5 in the morning.
"Ladies and Gentleman, SGair flight 21, bound for Newark Liberty Intl Airport, is now open for boarding." The announcements blared through Terminal 2. "
"All ready." Finch whispered to himself. He admitted to himself that he was nervous. It was his first time going overseas on his own.
"Gentleman, may I have a look at your boarding pass please." The lady at the counter requested.
After getting past the gates, he settled himself into the business class. He stared in amazement. A king-size bed in the corner, a 42-inch LED TV placed in such a way that you could lie on the bed and watch the TV. There was also a refridgerator filled with snacks and drinks. Finch was on cloud nine- it was as if he was in a 5-star hotel.
5.15am- SGair 21 taxied to Runway 20C. Rain was pouring down heavily and thick fog was making taxiways and runways hardly visible. 5.17am- Tower controllers cleared SGair 21 to take off. 4 huge massive Rolls-Royce Trent 500 engines powered the A340-500 into the sky of Singapore. Droplets of Hydrogen compounded with Oxygen streaked past the windows as Finch looked out, and he cast a glance at the Trent 500 engines. For a horrifying moment, he thought he saw a crack on the pylon that held engine no.4. He gasped and went to look for the crack again. However, as the plane cruised to an altitude of 3700 feet and clouds soon obstruct him from seeing anything.
"Maybe it's my own illusion," Finch pondered.
5.42am- The plane reached its cruising altitude of 42000 ft, travelling North-East above the North Pacific Ocean at a speed of Mach .85. Finch shuddered, what if something happened to the plane? The thought of plummeting towards into an ocean and dying haunted him.
N the cockpit, Captain Jones was eying his instruments and chatting with his co-pilot. Another routine work. 10 hours in the cockpit. He chose this route to earn $400000 every year- $100000 more than the Singapore –Los Angeles route Just then, a loud bang echoed throughout the plane, with such a force that the plane banked right sharply.