This past week, Lyle and I flew from Edmonton to Vancouver. As usual, I registered as a legally blind passenger. When I boarded the aircraft I was wearing my low vision badge and I used my white cane. Lyle’s seat had been changed to an exit row and I was now four rows back from him and on the other side of the aisle. Essentially I was travelling alone. I was mildly annoyed when I wasn’t given the required safety briefing but I didn’t complain. The flight was already delayed by over an hour and I just wanted to get going.
We had a relatively uneventful flight over the mountains, but as we approached Vancouver Airport the trouble began. We were flying in heavy rain on final approach to the runway with the flaps and wheels down. At about 300 feet above the ground the airplane suddenly lurched forward and the power surged. Immediately the cabin lights were turned off. The airplane veered crazily from side to side as we made an abrupt turn into the clouds. I felt as if we were out of control and I imagined that the pilots were struggling from flying visually to a sudden return to instrument flying conditions. We eventually regained altitude and went around for another approach. This time we came in for a smooth landing.
Lyle and I have flown hundreds of times over the years, but for me this was the most frightening experience ever. I was very concerned about a possible crash landing. I think that that day I wasn’t the only one flying blind. For that short period of time the two pilots on the flight deck were also flying blind. We all had a lucky escape.
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