“Like the impression that, for a few minutes, you became a special person…”
“The cockpit door of the Tunisair Boeing 737-500 remained open…” © Wikimedia
Written by Jean-François Borgin
30,000 feet, the sky is necessarily clear at this altitude. To the east is the Alps mountain range. A few minutes ago, I took my place with my parents on Tunisair Flight 6315. From the T3 terminal in Paris Charles de Gaulle, I recognized a Boeing 737-500 parked in the parking lot” charters‘, next to another in Air Méditerranée colours. Once again … not far away.
“Our device just came out of a major check, it looks like new.”, Our captain explains at the microphone. Behind his words, one detail of the cabin environment struck me: The cockpit door has remained wide open since takeoff, revealing myriad buttons and the flight attendant leaning on her elbow as she drinks her coffee. “Maybe by going to the bathroom before I see more…”I say to myself.
Neither one nor two! Then I sneak into the central aisle of the plane to the first seats. Between the hostess’ elbow and the little column door, from the height of my ten years, the dream is within reach. “But what are you doing here?” A flight attendant asked me from the back of the plane.
” He revealed to him many of the technical characteristics he had learned by rote of the plane, and he quickly understood my motives for going into the nervous center of the plane.”
“Gentlemen, a young traveler would like to visit you … Can I? » Explains the young host, he was jovial. Thus opens the door to a place that has been closed to the public since the 2001 attacks. Like the impression that you have become, in a matter of a few minutes, a special person. I had no idea then that this moment would turn into a few hours…almost a complete flight. The jump seat opens and the young co-pilot, pressed into the right seat, asks me to stay for the duration of the cruise. An opportunity for me to prolong the dream.
Before us is the blue sky and the Mediterranean, and on the other side is our destination: Monastir. Then I explained to the captain my passion for air transport and my dream of becoming an airline pilot. But landing is already close and the two pilots are preparing for their arrival with their heads buried in their navigation records. Will be for next time…but definitely other planes with other equally friendly crews.
Jean Francois Burgin
Jean-Francois is the youngest editor at Aerobuzz.fr, but not the least passionate…
“Organizer. Social media geek. General communicator. Bacon scholar. Proud pop culture trailblazer.”