Yes it was an event that literally changed our lives. It gave us the awareness of how your life can really end in a second, without being able to do anything. We felt a fear we had never felt before and which is impossible to describe. From that moment on we thought about enjoying life more. We try to do the things we like most and we get angry much less. Our vision of objectives has changed profoundly. Are you curious to know what happened? This is a brief summary of what happened on flight AA206 on the night of 02/16/2018.

We had spent a week relaxing and snorkeling in Florida – between Miami and Key West. A beautiful trip at the end of which we felt truly recharged. Ready to get back to work! We board at Miami airport to return to Milan. Check-in, checks, boarding. Everything perfect. We are sitting on the plane, a Boeing 767 that is at least 20 years old. There is no type of entertainment on board and there is not even the possibility of charging our devices.

But it's night and we plan to get some sleep. The departure is quiet, they serve us dinner and then distribute earphones to follow the collective TV. We have a video every 4 files. We spend the first few hours of the flight reading, doing crosswords, and before falling asleep we play a bit’ on cards. We've been sleeping for about an hour when we hear the captain's announcement. It's almost 4 in the morning. The captain in a calm and composed tone informs us that the plane has a technical problem with the engine and it is necessary to land as soon as possible. We don't know where. We raise the window curtain. AND’ dark. Nothing can be seen. Let's take a look at the monitor in the middle rows, where you can see the route. We are in the middle of the ocean.

A few minutes later the monitor is turned off for safety. Nobody speaks anymore. We all sit in absolute silence. More announcements follow. After a few minutes the captain informs us of the imminent landing on a small island in the Azores. We are relieved. We won't end up in the sea.

Our landing is something terrible. A terrifying impact. We see sparks from the windows. Once on the ground we were informed that the plane had been traveling for over 3 hours with one engine off, the second engine working but broken and a mechanical problem with the brakes. 323 unharmed passengers landed by chance at Lajes airport, thanks to a pilot who used reverse thrust to stop the aircraft on a very short runway. Every time we think about that night we feel miraculous.

Here you can find the full story: https://www.foodeviaggi.it/atterraggio-di-emergency/