Fear of Flying

Used to be a fan of flying...  Now, though?  Not so much.

I prefer my feet and solid ground to stay in touch.

Once I'd hop a flight to destinations near and far.

Nowadays I only go if I can go by car.

Wouldn't have a qualm if I were flying on my own

But a flight with my 2 sons - though both are fully grown -

Makes my stomach hurt to picture what it would feel like

Sitting with them, knowing that our plane's about to strike

Into buildings, oceans, mountains... Wanting to provide

Comfort, strength - while watching, helpless, as my children died.

I can't bear to think about them falling from the sky

Thus, this former aviator's now afraid to fly.

Malaysian Airlines MH370 - Progress?

Chinese "ping detector."

After weeks of searching and not finding anything,

2 teams looking for the missing aircraft heard a ping.

Chinese took a microphone, attached it to a stick,

Stuck it in the water, hoping that would do the trick.

They think they heard something at the proper frequency

For the black box of a plane that has been lost at sea.

Experts don't know what it is the Chinese may have heard;

Could have been a pod of whales, a migratory bird,

Could have been an echo from a distant shipping lane,

But they doubt the Chinese ping is coming from the plane.

Further south, about 300 miles, another ship

(This one, the Australians') has also heard a blip.

It is towing special sensors, built for hearing pings.

I'm afraid the Chinese sailors just imagined things.

Even if Australia's on to something and they find

Wreckage from the aircraft, it will not bring peace of mind.

Data may show how and where the plane fell from the sky

But it isn't likely that it's gonna tell us why.

That's a secret someone's taken with them to the grave;

Burying the answers underneath the bounding wave.

U.S. Navy "ping detector" being towed by Australia's Ocean Shield.

Malaysian Airlines MH370 - An Update

Possible wreckage.

13 days since it took off and started for Beijing

Searchers for the missing aircraft may have found something.

Satellite reconnaissance shows pieces of debris

Floating near Australia and not the China Sea.

"How can we just lose a plane this day and age?" asked I.

Learned it's not impossible, but someone has to try.

Had to know the circuit breakers that they'd have to pull.

Had to plan how they'd subdue a plane that's almost full.

Seemed to know the traffic patterns other aircraft flew.

Tried to hide from radar but it's better than they knew.

Even though they climbed, then dove below 5,000 ft.,

They were not completely hidden from the U.S. fleet.

Satellites show something near where our N.T.S.B.

Said they thought the wreckage of the aircraft had to be.

Even if this is the plane we still may never know

Why someone would choose to strike this devastating blow.

What did all those passengers and loved ones ever do?

Who was flying?  Was it really someone from the crew?

Did they have to do it?  Was a gun held to their head?

Sadly, there's no question - 2 weeks later - they're all dead.

Malaysian Airlines MH370 - What the Hell?

(Map courtesy of IBTimes.co.uk)

How can planes go missing in this modern day and age?

Disappear without a trace - at all - at this late stage?

If it's true that cell phones ring, why not use GPS?

How come no one on the plane got out an S.O.S.?

Why did it take so long for the rescuers to learn

Once they lost transponder signals, radar showed a turn?

They were looking in a spot the military knew

Wasn't near the place the plane had vanished into blue.

What the hell is going on?  I want an explanation!

Why did all those people never reach their destination?

5 days of uncertainty on where the plane last flew.

Still no trace of wreckage or of passengers and crew.

Thoughts and prayers go out to those who've lost someone they love.

Hoping they find solace but, when push comes down to shove,

I bet they want answers more than anything right now...

When and where the plane went down but, mostly, why and how.