Out of the Blue

Sometimes great stories drop right out the sky…

Literally.

Folks in our little Northwest community were all abuzz last summer when a Cessna made an emergency landing on the interstate.

I was listening to a local radio station when people began calling in with the news —

“Holy carp! A plane just landed on I-5!”

“I heard some sputtering over my head and the next thing I knew, there was a Cessna in the northbound lane!”

“I saw it taxi right up an off-ramp and park at the AM-PM!”

With all the excitement and whoop-de-doo, it was like New Year’s Eve, 4^th of July, and a pony for Christmas all rolled into one.

The next day, it was front page news. And, for me, that’s when the story got really interesting.

Apparently the pilot was flying in from Spokane (250 miles away as the crow… er…Cessna flies) for the plane’s annual maintenance checkup. Oh, delicious irony — it bailed 4 miles from its destination.

In another juicy ironic twist, it was the first time the pilot had taken his girlfriend for a ride.

Did I mention she’s got a wicked flying phobia?

I can just hear Mr. Pilot now — “Oh Honey, it will be fun. And trust me, everything will be fine. I mean, what could possibly go wrong?”

An iced carburetor from flying high over Mt. Baker, that’s what.

And while, mercifully, no one was hurt — the plane did clip a sedan from behind and shatter the rear window.

Can you imagine the “What the...” shock of that poor driver? And I’m wondering how he explained the damage to Dad… “I swear I wasn't texting! A plane came down right out of the blue and…”

Yeah, right.

PROMPT: What is the strangest thing that ever happened in your neck of the woods?

Sometimes the best place to find a great tale is right in your own back yard. So grab a local paper today — stories are sure to be flying from your fingers in no time.