For the better part of the last 45 minutes I've been watching ATC recording videos on YouTube. Don't ask why. I just was. I am haunted tonight by the words from one particular crash.
I will never forget the crash of TWA 800, a majestic Boeing 747 (N93119), back in 1996. It was the first airplane crash I can remember really being aware of.
All seemed normal on the CVR, TWA's captain, Captain Kevorkian, mentioning the jetliner's altitude and heading, until some pilots started reporting seeing "an explosion" that went down into the ocean. Center started calling to the airplanes it hadn't heard from in the last 30 seconds.
"TWA center."
"TWA center."
No response from the Trans World Airlines jumbo jet.
"TWA if you hear center, ident."
The other pilots listened respectfully as center called their fallen colleague. In the heavy silence, one pilot remarked, "I think that was him."
"I think so," Center replied.
The pilot's murmured prayer, "God bless him."
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