"I see smoke!" the young girl shouted, hoping she could be heard above the roaring engine of the tiny, ancient plane that was now circling over a thousand feet above the grassy airfield. She was sitting on a wooden box next to the pilot. Her daddy was behind her, all of his attention focused on the instructor as he prepared to take his first jump.
That's the part of the day I remember. The part where my daughter's sharp eyes alerted the crew to danger in time for the pilot to turn the plane around and make a safe landing before the insulation surrounding the fuel line burned completely through.
It was summer in North Carolina. I was pregnant, and it was hot--especially at that airfield. My Awesome Husband Greg was Operations Manager for WMAG. On-air personality, Rod Davis, was going to do a live broadcast as he parachuted from a plane. As Ops Manager, there was no way that Greg Fischer was not going to be involved!
My daughter, Meagan, who was eight, was also eager to participate. They gave her a shirt...
We gathered at the tiny airfield for the jump. First, Meagan and I watched as the guys took instructions, and then practiced rolling off the tail gate of a station wagon as it drove across the grass--without chutes.
A few more instructions, and they suited up.
Meagan didn't even look to me for permission when the pilot asked if she'd like to go up in the plane. That left me on the ground, nervous and uncomfortable, with a bunch of men I didn't know. I was only half listening to their muttered conversation, when I heard one of them say, "Uh-oh. They're coming back." Another one said, "There's smoke."
What, me worry?
The funny thing is that I don't remember how I felt as I watched the smoking plane land, and my husband and daughter get off safely. Meagan came running over to me, eager to let me know that she was the one who first saw the smoke. The plane didn't burn, but the jump had to be postponed for a few days to allow for repairs.
The day of the jump, Greg did great. Although I couldn't possibly have seen his face from where I stood on the ground, I have a clear image in my head of how he must have looked just before he stepped from the plane and trusted the attached tether to open his chute. He said he had never been so nervous in his life. He also said that, given the opportunity, he would jump again. He still says that.
Rod's live broadcast went well, but he scared all of the spectators as he pulled the wrong rope on his chute and floated over the expressway and some power lines before he landed, safely, but out of sight--of us, and his target.
Meagan was not allowed to go up in the plane again. But she did make a final inspection.
I've never asked her if she'd like to jump.
