by Hatchett
For possibly the first time in her career, Sarah was filled with uncertainty. If she mentioned ‘zombies’, then they’d immediately switch control of the plane to Paul and be booking her into the first available appointment with the company shrink, believing it was down to some stress-related illness. But, she had to explain why up to one hundred and forty-seven people in economy were attacking and eating each other…. if they were attacking and eating each other! She could probably accept the first part but the second? Was this some sort of wind-up? She’d heard some noises through the cabin door, but they had been muffled and really could have been anything. So far, she had accepted Kelly’s word, and whilst she had full confidence in Kelly and her abilities, she was struggling to believe what was being suggested. She looked at Kelly again and noticed for the first time the drying blood at the edges of her face and hair. Her uniform was also covered in a slowly congealing mess. No, there was no doubt that something serious had happened, but zombies? Sarah decided that she needed to see for herself before she could contact the Control Tower.
“Right, Paul, you’re in charge of the cockpit, I’m going to take a look.” Sarah advised as she undid her seatbelt and rose to her feet, crouching as she made her way towards the cockpit door. At her height of five feet six inches she could stand erect in the cockpit, but the claustrophobic nature of the cabin made even the shortest of people duck their heads.
“I’m coming with you,” Andy added quickly getting to his feet.
“Wait!” Kelly advised. “Make sure you have weapons and whatever you do, do not make any noise! I’m convinced these people or whatever they are will respond to noise.”
Sarah paused and looked at Andy who was already removing his SIG Sauer from its holster.
“It’s probably better to keep that in reserve in case we need it as a last resort.” Sarah suggested. “What else could we use that is quiet?”
Andy considered his options. “I’ll keep the knife handy while you take the extendable baton. It would also make sense for you to carry the spare gun if you know how to use it. I’ll leave the pepper spray here.”
“I can use a gun, I was weapons-trained when I was in the RAF,” Sarah replied as she held out her hands to receive the weapons. Putting the spare SIG into the back of her trousers and trying out the extendable baton, Sarah turned to the others. “Kelly, you watch us from the First Class. Any problems and get yourself back in the cockpit. Paul, close the cockpit door on us once we’ve left. If we start hammering on it, then open up real quick. Ready Andy?”
“Ready.”
“What about the passengers in First Class?” Kelly enquired.
“We need them to stay in their seats and remain quiet,” replied Sarah. “Perhaps the other Cabin Crew could mingle with them to try and keep them calm. There’s not much else we can do.”
Paul moved to the cockpit door, looked through the peephole and saw that John, Amy and Gemma were back. He opened the door to allow Sarah, Kelly, and Andy to leave before closing it again behind them.
13
Day 1
07:10 GMT – 1 hr 35 Minutes to Landing
Atlantic Airlines AA4520
“You take the left aisle and I’ll take the right,” Sarah ordered. They moved towards their aisle as Kelly quickly explained to the others what was planned and what they needed to do. Kelly then moved behind Sarah, ready to follow her to the break between First Class and Premium Plus.
Sarah and Andy started moving down the plane, holding a finger to their lips to prevent the passengers from speaking up. Kelly followed a few steps behind Sarah while John, Amy and Gemma moved into the First-Class cabin to see how the passengers were coping and whether there was anything they could do to help. There were the usual requests to visit the toilet, get a drink, get some food but the Cabin Crew managed to deflect most of the requests. The key question on most people’s minds was what was going on, but there was only so much the Cabin Crew could tell them and, thankfully, most people were still shaken by what had already happened to really press the point.
Sarah and Andy made swift progress through First Class then paused by the curtains leading into Premium Plus. They both edged the curtains aside to ensure Premium Plus was unoccupied and signalled to each other that it was clear before moving forward again.
Progress through Premium Plus was much slower as each of them took smaller, more tentative steps towards the central toilets. Everything was still as they approached the makeshift barricade between Premium Plus and Economy, just the thrumming of the plane’s engines to keep them company.
They stopped at the barricade and listened carefully. At first, there were no other discernible noises, but as they concentrated harder, their hearing adjusted and after a few seconds began to pick up the odd grunt or the sound of teeth being snapped together. Sarah signalled that they needed to talk, so they both took a few paces back and carefully moved into the centre seats of Row 16.
“We should take it in turns to have a look while the other one covers,” Sarah whispered.
“OK, I’ll go first then come back,” replied Andy.
Sarah stayed where she was and watched as Andy carefully moved back towards the barricade. The Cabin Crew had done a decent job blocking the aisle, but because the inner toilets were slightly closer to the front of the plane compared to the outer toilets, it meant that Andy needed to climb onto the window seats of the last row in Premium Plus, Row 20. That way, he should have a diagonal view across a lot of the economy section. Keeping low in the seat, he slowly reached forward and used the tip of his knife to edge the curtain open an inch to try and see what was happening. After a few seconds he let the curtain fall back slowly and returned to Sarah.
“What did you see?” Sarah enquired in an urgent whisper.
“It’s still quite dark in there but at least some of the shades must be open allowing some of the early morning light into the cabin. There are dozens of bodies in there; some are lying in the aisles and some are slumped over the seats but there are also more standing and staring straight ahead. There’s what looks like blood all over the place and several bodies look like they’ve been attacked by a grizzly bear. There’s no doubt in my mind that a lot of people must be dead. All the ones standing look dead as well, and how they’re able to stand with some of the injuries they appear to have, is beyond me.”
“Ok, my turn. Rather than risk looking my side, it’s probably better if I look from the same place you did.”
With that, Sarah and Andy moved back into the aisle and switched places. Andy tapped Sarah on the shoulder and offered her his knife. Sarah smiled gratefully and passed back the baton before making her way to Row 20. She followed the same procedure as Andy before moving back down the aisle and signalling to him to meet back at the front of the plane.
On the way back, Sarah gestured to Kelly to do the same. As they passed through First-Class, John, Amy, and Gemma were handing out bottles of water to the remaining passengers and trying to make them as comfortable as possible.
Sarah arrived at the cockpit door and knocked a couple of times. It was quickly opened by Paul who stood aside to let Sarah, Andy, and Kelly in before closing the door again.
“Well?” asked Paul as Sarah settled herself back into her seat.
“It’s exactly as it was described,” replied Sarah taking a deep breath. “We need to inform Air Traffic Control, but I still don’t really know how I’m going to explain it. I guess I’ll have to play it by ear.”
14
Day 1
07:20 GMT – 1 hr 25 Minutes to Landing
Atlantic Airlines AA4520
Sarah reached forward to switch her radio to the emergency frequency of 121.5MHz which would put her through to the RAF Distress and Diversion Centre (D&D), which was a sub-division of the London Area Control Centre (known as the AC) based in Swanwick, near Fareham in Hampshire. The AC had been established in 2002 and handled aircraft flying above England and Wales. Under normal circumstances
she would have contacted the AC around one hundred miles out, before they handed her off to the local control tower at Heathrow, but this was anything but normal.
“Mayday, Mayday, Mayday. This is flight Alpha Alpha four five two zero, a Boeing 767 en route from Atlanta to Heathrow. We have a significant number of dead passengers on board and would request an emergency landing at London Heathrow and activation of the emergency and security services. We’re currently flying at 36,000 feet, about one hour twenty-five minutes away and the weather is fine.”
“Roger four five two zero, this is D&D,” replied a voice through the speakers. “Can you provide more information on the problem?”
“There’s been a large-scale fight and the whole of the Economy section and Rear Galley are now barricaded and effectively out of bounds. We have around thirty-five other passengers and crew safe towards the front of the plane and the cockpit is secure,” Sarah replied. “We’re looking at around one hundred and fifty passengers in the Economy section plus four Cabin Crew, but there’s been no word from them for some time.”
“Roger four five two zero, is the fighting still going on?”
“No, everything appears to have calmed down but the last time my Cabin Crew tried to intervene it just set things off again.”
“Roger four five two zero, could this be considered a terrorist event?”
“No.”
“Roger four five two zero. I see that you have a Sky Marshall on board. Is he around?”
“Yes, he’s here in the cockpit with me. I’ll switch to speaker,” Sarah replied as she bent forward to flick one of the myriad of switches on a panel in front of her. “You’re now on speaker.”
“This is Andy Graves. I can confirm that I have seen the problem first hand. We are dealing with a major situation which cannot be resolved in flight.” Andy paused and looked at Sarah with a ‘do I or don’t I’ expression before adding, “the closest explanation I can give you is that we appear to be dealing with a zombie-type event.”
“Roger four five two zero, can you repeat?”
Sarah gave Andy an ‘I told you so’ look before confirming what Andy had said.
“Roger four five two zero, can you explain why you think it is a zombie-type event?”
Sarah was about to respond before Andy interjected. “Some of the bodies we have seen in the Economy section are fatally injured, yet some are still standing. They are not moving much but appear to respond aggressively to noise.”
“Roger four five two zero, is there anyone else who can corroborate what you’re saying?”
“This is Kelly James, Cabin Crew Supervisor, and I can confirm what has been said.”
“This is Paul Richards, First Officer, and whilst I’ve not seen anything with my own eyes, I have no doubt that what has been said is true.”
“Roger four five two zero, we’ll look to see if we can divert you. Stand by.”
15
Day 1
07:40 GMT – 1 hr 05 Minutes to Landing
Atlantic Airlines AA4520
“Alpha Alpha four five two zero, this is D&D,” came a voice through the speaker a few minute later.
“This is four five two zero,” Sarah replied.
“Four five two zero, you will proceed to London Heathrow as planned. A diversion is not possible; no other airports in the vicinity have the necessary security to deal with up to one hundred and fifty people. You will fly via Ockham, Surrey beacon before turning over Orpington and flying into Heathrow passing over Mitcham. Heathrow have been alerted and they are putting together a suitable plan, which will include stacking other planes to give you a clear run. Please confirm.”
“Roger D&D,” replied Sarah, “we will continue on to Heathrow as outlined.”
Sarah turned off the speaker and picked up the flight plan. After a few minutes she turned to her colleagues. “Right, we’ll begin our descent at 08:10 giving us thirty-five minutes until landing. We’re currently cruising at five hundred and twenty-eight miles per hour, so we’ll reduce our altitude at a rate of two thousand feet per minute and level out at six thousand feet. Once we pass the Ockham beacon, we’ll only have forty-five miles to go, so I will slow the plane to around two hundred and sixty miles per hour. At that point, it will only take around ten minutes before we land at Heathrow. That gives us just over half an hour before we begin the descent. Any questions?”
There were shakes of the head all around.
“I’ll go check on the passengers in First Class and keep a close eye on the barricade at the central toilets,” Kelly advised.
“I’ll come with you,” Andy added, getting to his feet.
Paul let them out of the cockpit and closed the door behind them.
16
Day 1
07:40 GMT – 1 hr 05 Minutes to Landing
Heathrow Terminal 3
The Security Briefing Room was just one of several offices and rooms within the Security Command Area, located near Passport Control on Level 1 of Terminal 3. The room was a typical conference room with a large table, and chairs which could seat up to twenty people.
Jack Robinson, the Head of the Aviation Security Operational Command Unit (SO18) of the Metropolitan Police, sat at the head of the table. He was in his late-forties with dark hair going grey at the edges. At five feet eleven inches tall with penetrating blue eyes he was an imposing figure who commanded authority. Jack was divorced but had two sons, Jack Jr and Kyle, both of whom were at the Metropolitan Police’s training college in Hendon. His unit handled the policing and security for all London airports and he had around four hundred officers under his command, the majority of which were trained for the use of firearms.
To his left sat Harry Williams, Managing Director of Airport Coordination Ltd, coordinator for the airport on behalf of the owners Heathrow Airport Holdings Ltd (formerly known as BAA). Next to him sat Simon Nicholls, from the National Air Traffic Control Services (NATS) then Ben Maynard from Heathrow Medical. To his right sat his three team leaders, Mick ‘Irish’ Randall, whose team was responsible for protecting people, Derek ‘Des’ Jones, whose team was responsible for protecting the infrastructure and buildings, and Ted ‘Bear’ Keogh, responsible for counter-terrorism.
Jack tapped the table for quiet and the murmuring died down at once with all eyes turning to him. “Thank you all for coming at such short notice,” he addressed the attendees. “I appreciate that fifteen minutes isn’t much notice, but it is what it is.” He quickly introduced everyone around the table, although they were all familiar with each other to some degree. “Right, let’s get down to it. A Mayday message came in at 07:20, twenty minutes ago, and I put the airport on amber alert. The Mayday came from an Atlantic Airlines 767 which is about an hour and a half away. Details are sketchy, but according to D&D there has been a riot within the Economy section of the plane and up to one hundred and fifty passengers are believed to be injured or dead. We don’t know what caused the riot, but we understand that things have now calmed down. The cockpit is secure, and the Cabin Crew have blocked off the economy section. There are around thirty-five passengers and Cabin Crew towards the front of the plane.”
“Is this a terrorist incident?” Bear enquired.
“At this stage we don’t think so, but that’s not to say it isn’t,” replied Jack. “We need to work out how we’re going to deal with this situation and we need to do it quickly. As I said, the plane will be landing in an hour and a half. Right, let’s have first thoughts from each of you.”
Harry Williams sat forward in his seat, bumping his considerably large gut against the table. “I’ll notify the different airport services about what is happening, although it probably won’t impact them in any way. This will include the airlines, HM Revenue and Customs, the UK Border Agency, Commercial Services and Public Transportation.”
“I’ll alert my colleagues in NATS,” Simon Nicholls advised, pushing his glasses back on his nose, “and determine which runway and which gate to direct the pl
ane.”
“Make sure the gate is as isolated as possible, preferably at the end of a long corridor,” Jack ordered. “I don’t want any riot escalating once these passengers have disembarked. We want to be able to manage them quickly and effectively. It would be useful if a couple of nearby gates are vacated so that we can use them for grouping the passengers.”
“I’ll prepare the medical centre to receive casualties and arrange for ambulances in case we need to ferry any seriously injured people to nearby hospitals. I’ll also have a team on standby at the gate,” advised Ben Maynard.
“Good. We’ll keep the current security status as amber until this is resolved. Get going and keep me informed.”
Harry, Simon, and Ben rose from their seats and left the room. Jack turned to his team leaders.
“Thoughts?” he enquired.
“There isn’t much information so it’s difficult to determine our best course of action,” Des noted. He was blond haired and the smallest and youngest of the group at a height of five feet eight inches tall and aged thirty-three. “I would suggest that we have a show of force at the gate to dissuade anyone stupid enough to try and start something.”
“I agree,” added Irish, a thirty-four-year-old dark-haired man who, despite the nickname, came from the East End of London. “I think Des can sit this one out and leave it to me and Bear to sort out.”
“Makes sense,” added Bear, a thirty-six-year-old scouser from Liverpool. “I can’t see this having any impact on infrastructure, but it will definitely affect people and may be terrorist related. I’ve got thirty people on duty now, but they’re spread between the terminals. What about you Irish?”
“I’ve got thirty-four people on site, again spread around the terminals, and a further thirty or so on standby who could be called in if necessary. What do you want to do Boss?”
