{"id":3745,"date":"2019-01-29T11:11:41","date_gmt":"2019-01-29T11:11:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=3745"},"modified":"2019-01-17T09:37:21","modified_gmt":"2019-01-17T14:37:21","slug":"angel-in-the-cockpit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=3745","title":{"rendered":"Angel in the Cockpit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Me:\u00a0 Are you ready for take off!<\/p>\n

Prodigal:\u00a0 Yes, this is going to be a fun flight!<\/p>\n

Me:\u00a0 I think it will be too.<\/p>\n

This is from the book\u00a0 Where Angels Walk by Joan Wester Anderson<\/p>\n

David Moore and his wife, Florence, discovered in July 1971 that Florence’s mother was dying of cancer.\u00a0 The Moores lived in the small town of Yoakum, Texas, then, but they began driving\u00a0 back and forth to Hendersonville, North Carolina, to visit the sick woman.\u00a0 After one trip, David decided to leave the car in North Carolina for Florence to use, and take the bus back to Texas.<\/p>\n

“It was the worst idea I ever had,” he says, laughing.\u00a0 “Forty-six hours of riding and listening to babies cry!\u00a0 On our budget I couldn’t afford to fly, but I made a vow to walk if I had to–anything to avoid getting on another bus!”<\/p>\n

The following week, as David packed and planned a hitchhiking route to Hendersonville, Henry Gardner phoned.\u00a0 Henry had heard about David’s transportation problems, and he volunteered to fly David to North Carolina in his small Cessna 180 and get in some sight-seeing at the same time.\u00a0 David acccepted gratefully.<\/p>\n

David had never flown in a small plane, and he was nervous as the two men taxied down the runaway early the next morning.\u00a0 But the little aircraft lifted gracefully, and he sat back to handle this unfamiliar duties as navigator.\u00a0 Within a half hour, however, as they neared Houston, they ran into fog.<\/p>\n

“This is no problem,” Henry reassured an increasingly nervous David.\u00a0 “We have aviation maps on board, and look- you can see the Houston radio towers rising above the fog.\u00a0 All we have to do is watch the towers, and we can tell where we are.”<\/p>\n

He was right, and their journey continued.\u00a0 But the fog worsened, and just outside of Jackson, Mississippi, the plane’s radio and instruments died.\u00a0 Now the pair couldn’t see anything on the ground, nor could they talk to people in the control tower.<\/p>\n

Just as David was becoming desperate, the fog lifted for a moment to reveal the airport directly beneath them.\u00a0 Henry took the plane down smoothly, and within minutes that had found an airport mechanic.\u00a0 Relieved, the two men grabbed a quick lunch and were soon airborne, with instruments and radio restored and fuel tanks filled.<\/p>\n

Everything went smoothly for a while.\u00a0 The sun had come out, and David’s tension diminished.\u00a0 He began to enjoy the flight and his bird’s-eye view of the ground.\u00a0 As they traveled northeast, he could see Atlanta off to his right.\u00a0 “I was getting excited, ”\u00a0 David says, “knowing that soon I would be with my wife and daughter again,”.<\/p>\n

But as the plane passed Greenville, South Carolina, the fog, which had been patchy and broken, turned once again into a continuous gray mass.\u00a0 There was enough visibility for Henry to clear the first mountain range, but as the two looked into the distance, they saw a solid wall of fog, and their hearts sank.\u00a0 Henry radioed Asheville Airport for instructions.<\/p>\n

“Our field is closed because of fog,” the air-traffic controller responded,” and we have no capability for instrument landing.\u00a0 Return to Greenville and land there.”<\/p>\n

“But I can’t, Henry protested.\u00a0 “We’re almost out of fuel–we won’t have enough to fly back to Greenville.”<\/p>\n

There was a silence.\u00a0 Then, “Okay,”\u00a0 the radio voice snapped.\u00a0 “We’ll get the ground crew ready.\u00a0 Come in on an emergency landing.”<\/p>\n

David gripped the sides of is seat.\u00a0 They seemed to be flying in a dense gray blanket, and the Asheville control tower couldn’t possibly see them.\u00a0 How were he and Henry going to land?\u00a0 We can use the aviation maps, just like we did before,”\u00a0 Henry reassured David, and after a brief scan of the blueprint, he began his blind descent.\u00a0 The airport runway should be beneath them–but what if it wasn’t?<\/p>\n

Suddenly a voice came over the radio:\u00a0 “Pull it up! Pull it up!”<\/p>\n

Henry immediately pulled up on the stick.\u00a0 As he did so, the men saw a split in the fog, and the view beneath sent tremors of fear through each of them.\u00a0 Instead of being over the runway, they were above an interstate highway!\u00a0 Had they descended a few feet farther, they would have hit a bridge and certainly crashed.<\/p>\n

The two looked at each other.\u00a0 They were almost out of fuel, and inside the grayness it was impossible to know where they were.\u00a0 Henry tried to descend again, but almost hit the tips of trees poking above the fog.\u00a0 Again, he pulled up sharply.\u00a0 There seemed to be no way out of their dilemma.\u00a0 Without enough fuel–or guidance from the control tower–how could they possibly land?<\/p>\n

Then, with enormous relief, the heard the controller’s composed voice breaking into the tense silence in the cockpit.\u00a0 “If you listen to me,”\u00a0 he said, “I’ll help you get down.”<\/p>\n

“Go ahead,”\u00a0 Henry radioed back in relief.<\/p>\n

The controller began his instructions.\u00a0 “Come down just a little,” he said,\u00a0 “Now over to the right.\u00a0 Down a little more…..”<\/p>\n

David gripped the seat, praying intently.\u00a0 Thank God the controller had been able to pick them up on radar, despite the airport’s apparent lack of the necessary instruments.\u00a0 But would they make it in time?\u00a0 It seemed impossible.\u00a0 The fuel needle hovered on E but the voice went on with calm authority:\u00a0 “Not so fast.\u00a0 Easy, easy now….”\u00a0 Was this nightmare flight ever going to end?\u00a0 And would he see his wife and daughter again?<\/p>\n

“Raise it up a little now.\u00a0 No, you’re too far left.”\u00a0 The journey seemed to be taking forever.\u00a0 But all of a sudden the controller said, “You’re right over the end of the runway.\u00a0 Set it down….now!”<\/p>\n

Obediently, Henry dropped the plane through the fog, and the two men recognized the beginning of a runway just ahead, with lights along both sides.\u00a0 It was the most welcome sight they had ever seen.\u00a0 Within minutes, they had touched down.\u00a0 Tears of gratitude and relief filled David’s eyes when he saw Florence standing at the end of the runway.<\/p>\n

The plane taxied to a stop, and the two men offered a quick prayer of thanksgiving.\u00a0 Then Henry turned the radio on again.\u00a0 “Thanks so much,” he told the air-traffic controller, his voice shaky with relief.\u00a0 “You probably saved our lives.”<\/p>\n

But the controller’s response stopped both men in their tracks.\u00a0 “What are you talking about?\u00a0 We lost all radio contact with you when we told you to return to Greenville.”<\/p>\n

“You what?”\u00a0 Henry asked incredulous.<\/p>\n

“We never heard from you again, and we never heard you talking to us or anyone else.”\u00a0 the controller told them.\u00a0 “We were stunned when we saw you break through the clouds.”<\/p>\n

David and Henry looked at each other.\u00a0 Who had\u00a0 guided them through the grayness and onto safe ground?\u00a0 They would never know for sure.\u00a0 But even today David never hears a small airplane without thinking of that flight.\u00a0 “I know now that, insignificant as I may be in this big world, God always has His eye on me.”\u00a0 he says.\u00a0 “He sustains me through the storm and the fog.”<\/p>\n

As for God his way is perfect;\u00a0 the word of the Lord is tried; he is a buckler for all them that trust in him.<\/p>\n

2 Samuel 22:31<\/p>\n

Jennifer Van Allen<\/p>\n

www.theprodigalpig.com<\/p>\n

www.faithincounseling.org<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Me:\u00a0 Are you ready for take off! Prodigal:\u00a0 Yes, this is going to be a fun flight! Me:\u00a0 I think it will be too. This is from the book\u00a0 Where Angels Walk by Joan Wester Anderson David Moore and his wife, Florence, discovered in July 1971 that Florence’s mother was dying of cancer.\u00a0 The Moores … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3745","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nAngel in the Cockpit - The Prodigal Pig<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/www.theprodigalpig.com\/?p=3745\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Angel in the Cockpit - The Prodigal Pig\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Me:\u00a0 Are you ready for take off! 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