1. Identify phrases that indicate the conditions of the setting.
The red phone rings at 22:04 hours. State Trooper Ed Kierzwinski blinks and rubs his eyes. He spent
the last twenty minutes staring into the radar monitor's screen, and now its ghostly green circle burns
the inside of his eyelids.
He was watching this beautiful night turn to soup. One low bank of clouds moved in from Indianapolis.
The other swept north from Louisville, drawing strength from the Ohio River like a man drinks a
milkshake from a straw. The two storms met at New Lebanon and spread east over Dayton, gathering
strength as they approached the Ohio State Patrol helicopter hangar at Wright Patterson Air Force
Base.
Picking up the red receiver, Kierzwinski hears the first raindrops hit the hangar roof. As visibility drops
to 800 feet, he knows the next phone call will be from the air traffic control tower in Dayton, grounding
his helicopter for the night. "State Patrol," he says, trying harder than usual to sound bored.
The 911 operator is new, Kierzwinski knows, but she is efficient and well-trained. Car crash three
miles north of Urbana on State Route 68. Two females, both in critical condition. Request transport to
Columbus Children's Hospital. Does State Patrol accept the mission?
To stall, Kierzwinski takes a breath. Air Trooper 1 is a Bell 429 helicopter. Flat-out, it can make it to
Urbana in nine minutes. He'd fly north-by-northeast, maybe a quarter-mile ahead of the storm's face.
Best case: He lands, loads the patients and takes off before the rain really hits.
Worst case: The storm overtakes him. He'd be stuck trying to land an underpowered aircraft on a twolane highway in heavy wind and rain, with no radar and no lights.
Kierzwinski flips the question around. Most crash victims near Urbana go to Springfield Regional, the
closest hospital with a cramped emergency room. If these girls need transport all the way to the Level
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Flying Blind
I trauma center, 45 miles away at Columbus Children's, they must be 16 years old, maybe 17. And
they're in pretty bad shape.
Beside the phone, the flight radio squawks with static.
"Roger Dayton Tower, this is Air Medical Three. We are leaving Springfield Regional. Flying to base in
Tipp City. Over."
Kierzwinski knows that voice. It's Dale Domer, a pilot who was hired onto Air Medical when the private
company opened its first base two years ago. Between his fake Southern accent and his coltish
arrogance with a helicopter, Domer was a perfect hire for the guys who own Air Medical, whom
Kierzwinski secretly considers a couple of halfwit cowboys.
"Well, if they can fly in this stuff, we sure can," Kierzwinski says before dropping the red receiver back
in its cradle.
Six minutes later, the rotors of Air Trooper 1 are spinning. The two flight nurses, Sam Shifton and Ariel
Gupta, wipe raindrops from their foreheads as they cinch down their shoulder belts. Kierzwinski pulls
the throttle grip towards his knee and the steering stick into his lap, and the helicopter jumps off the
tarmac.
He veers east to outrun the rain. Kierzwinski takes a left turn, aims his nose for Urbana, and looks up
to see the full moon streaming in through the windscreen and lighting up the cockpit. He chuckles. If
he were in his car, he'd flip the sun visor down.
To the left he sees the moonlight bouncing off the storm wall. He thinks: That thing just got bigger. It's
six thousand feet tall now, with high winds pushing a knot of cloud forward from the main front like a
boxer throwing a punch.
Kierzwinski pulls the throttle. The Bell's nose dips, and the helicopter shudders as it reaches 178
miles an hour, its maximum speed. Urbana comes into view. Kierzwinski uses the lights of Main
Street to fly right up the town's spine. Looking left, he sees the lights from the car lots on the west
side of town become engulfed by the storm, turning the bellies of the clouds orange.
"When we land, you guys are gonna have to MOVE," Kierzwinski shouts to the nurses in back.
Finally he sees the ambulance. Kierzwinski climbs, slows, brings his tail round 180 degrees and
drops his skids in the middle of the road. Gupta shoves the sliding door aside. The ambulance crew
pushes one gurney forward. Together they lift the victim into the helicopter.
"Where's the other one?" Kierzwinski asks.
"She didn't make it," the paramedic yells back.
Kierzwinski nods. The nurses fumble with the straps as they tie the gurney to the helicopter floor,
which is jumping like a wild horse. "We've got wind!" Kierzwinski says. "Let's go! Let's go!"
The nurses take their seats and Kierzwinski lifts off. The helicopter climbs, but slowly, fighting the
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Flying Blind
storm. Kierzwinski thinks: I'm lifting, I'm lifting, we're gonna make it.
He sees the power line at the last possible moment. With the storm to his back he cannot climb any
faster, and he cannot stop. He feels the impact before he hears it, and he knows he has hooked the
power line with his skids. As Trooper 1 loses speed, time slows down. Kierzwinski pulls the stick with
all his strength, hoping to break the line. The helicopter is temporarily suspended, roaring at full
throttle but motionless in the sky. The radio comes to life.
"This is Dayton Tower. Please be advised that all air traffic is suspended until further-"
1 answer
Here are some phrases from the text that indicate the conditions of the setting:
- "beautiful night turn to soup" - This suggests the worsening visibility or possibly heavy rain as the night progresses.
- "low bank of clouds moved in" - Indicates the presence of clouds, hinting at impending weather changes.
- "gathering strength as they approached" - Suggests that the storm is intensifying as it gets closer.
- "first raindrops hit the hangar roof" - Indicates the onset of rain, showing that the storm is arriving.
- "visibility drops to 800 feet" - This provides a specific indication of poor visibility conditions due to the weather.
- "heavy wind and rain" - Clearly describes the challenging weather conditions the pilot is facing.
- "storm wall" - Indicates a significant weather front or line of storm clouds that the helicopter is approaching.
- "the moonlight bouncing off the storm wall" - Suggests a visual contrast between the calm presence of the moonlight and the threatening storm.
- "turning the bellies of the clouds orange" - Describes how the storm affects the environment, with light pollution and local atmospheric conditions.
- "fighting the storm" - Indicates the struggle the helicopter is having against the worsening weather conditions.
These phrases all contribute to a vivid picture of a challenging and potentially dangerous atmospheric setting for the characters in the narrative.
