Aaron knew Sam was not familiar with the airspace or else he would not have headed directly toward the towers near Cedar Hill. It was pretty clear that he had spotted the towers a bit too late to avoid them, especially with Aaron cutting him off every time he attempted to change direction. Sam began to curve to the left, and Aaron pulled around to give him two choices: straighten out or experience a mid-air collision. As he ducked back the other way, Aaron countered. If he was going to get out of this situation, he would have to show some true piloting skills and find his way around the towers--and their guide wires.
Sam had not flown a plane in decades, and clearly his reflexes were nothing compared to the pilot behind him. When the towers came into view in front of him, he did his best to try to steer completely around them. However, with Aaron on his ass, he couldn’t find a way to negotiate the airspace without flying right through them. He managed to make it past the first one with no problems, making a wide arch to his left, rolling up so that the plane was almost vertical; however, as he neared the narrow space between the next two towers, his left wing didn’t quite clear the guide wire that secured the tower in high winds, and before he even realized what was happening, the wing ripped from the fuselage, sending the AgCat into a tight spiral.
From her viewpoint on the ground, Cadence could see the wing come off of the plane, hitting Aaron’s plane, which had already begun to pull up as he attempted to get out of the way. It looked to her like the Cessna didn’t sustain any trauma as he continued to fly over the top of Sam’s spiraling deathtrap. She pulled up, unsure of exactly where the debris may land and watched as Sam clearly tried to fight gravity, a battle he would surely lose.
In the AgCat, panic began to set in as Sam realized he had no control over the aircraft. He attempted to use the ailerons to level the wings, but since one of them was missing, it was useless. Looking out the window, he could see the ground rising up to meet him and instinctively covered his face to protect himself from flying glass. The plane hit the ground with a jolt and skidded several feet before bursting into flames. Sam hit his head upon impact, and he could feel his skull crack just before he lost consciousness. However, the heat from the building flames brought him back around pretty quickly. He found himself hanging upside down from what was left of the fuselage, held in only by the five-point harness of the safety belt. He tried to unclip himself, but one of his arms was clearly broken. Blood was streaming down his face from his head injury and several lacerations across his forehead, eyes, and nose. He was certain he had a multitude of internal injuries as well, as he could hardly breath. As the flames grew closer, he was finally able to unbuckle, the drop to the ground aggravating his already grievous injuries. Just as he began to pull himself out of the burning vessel, he felt hands on his arms, pulling him away from the wreckage. He looked up to see familiar brown eyes and muttered the only words that he could possibly even consider at this point, “Cadence, dear God, please shoot me.”
Cadence had been glad she had pulled up as the spiraling plane passed right over her head and landed just a few yards in front of her. She had come to a screeching halt, cowering down behind her motorcycle to protect herself as she watched the aircraft burst into flames. Despite the possibility that she could also be burned, she had run as quickly as possible to pull Sam out of the plane; she wanted him alive.
As soon as she had him clear of the wreckage, she was able to turn her attention elsewhere. Christian and Meagan were coming into view now, having cut across a field from the highway nearby. She could also see that Pam wasn’t too far away in the SUV. And then she turned her attention to the other plane and realized something was very wrong.
It was evident Sam was going to clip the guide wire before he even hit, and Aaron had instinctively pulled up to avoid any debris coming off of the AgCat. However, he also had to be leery of the towers and guide wires himself, and that extra danger had kept him from pulling up quickly enough. The sound of metal being sucked into the intake of the engine was followed quickly by the deafening silence of a cut motor. He didn’t have time to think about filling the rest of the team in on his predicament as instinct took over, and he began to survey the area for a safe place to put the plane down.
It was imperative that he do his best to keep air over the wing of the plane by keeping the nose down so that it would continue to glide. He could see a field on the other side of the next tower, and so he carefully threaded the wounded aircraft around the obstacle, as the motor continued to grind in an attempt to bring itself back to life. He was rapidly losing altitude and knew he needed to make a decision immediately if he was going to avoid the same predicament Sam currently found himself in.
Cadence watched from the ground as the Cessna began to drop. “What’s happening?” she asked. She heard footsteps behind her and knew that Christian and Meagan had arrived. There was no initial answer from Aaron, and so they waited, holding their collective breath.
“He doesn’t have a parachute,” Christian reminded her.
Cadence turned around and glared at him, not bothering to say, “I know.” She asked her question again. “What’s going on?”
Finally, his familiar voice came across the IAC, as calm as ever, “Lost my engine.”
She waited for further explanation. There was a row of trees looming, and she realized the plane was about to disappear on the other side of them. “What are you going to do?” she asked, fighting the panic that was rising up in her throat.
Tree branches brushed the bottom of the plane, and Aaron knew he needed to make a decision. Without responding to Cadence, he turned his IAC off (there was no reason for anyone to see what might be about to happen) and followed his gut, hoping that he had made the right choice.
