“One thing, John. Is there another squall line around?” Ted realised the weather radar would tell them that.

“You like turbulence? I think there is but I certainly do not want to land in the rain.”

“Think radiation,” was Ted’s response. “We have been flying around in what one suspects may be a highly radioactive environment.”

“Got it. I think we can land just in front of the rain and then that will wash us down.” The captain turned back and spoke to his other pilot, so Ted did not hear what he said. The aircraft turned steeply again and then dropped even lower as it roared back over the runway which they proposed to land on. At this height, the ground flashed past.

Suddenly, Mark became all agitated. “There is somebody calling us.”

Ted listened as Mark spoke on the radio and then shouted at the captain, over the noise which the low-level flying was creating, that he had a Virgin flight out of San Francisco over England on the radio asking for advice. They had heard the AA pilots talking to them, but they were out of radio range to them at that point.

It was all happening in the cockpit. Mark was talking to the Virgin flight as the captain and senior pilot were preparing to land the plane. Flaps were called for. More revs came from the engine and the undercarriage deployed as Mark was telling the Virgin flight that they were landing at Bordeaux “From the northwest. Landing on that runway,” Ted heard Mark say. “Good luck. See you. Out.” The runway loomed up in front of the plane. Then, with great softness, the wheels were on the ground, followed by the roar as the engines went into reverse thrust.

We are down, thought Ted as he looked at his watch that read 8am. Exactly the time he had been due to arrive at Heathrow. Only snag was that this was Bordeaux, so it was 9am. Now we find out how bad things really are, Ted thought as the aircraft slowed to taxiing pace.