Review: Return to Dwight and Nile- The crash of PSA flight 182

Ever since I was a child I’ve been fascinated by aviation. At my school library there was a book on aviation that detailed some of the famous air crashes. As I leafed through I came across a photo that completely knocked me out. It was of a Boeing 727 rolled over pointing to the ground with flames coming off the wing. I read more about it. It collided with a Cessna over San Diego. As I looked at the photo I immediately thought of the people on board and what that must have felt like for the last several seconds of their lives; the feeling of dropping, of being out of control, of knowing you were going to die. I could hardly look at the picture any longer. Since then I’ve occasionally come across the photo and still find myself returning to those horror thoughts I had at the school library.

I was reminded of this crash recently when I came across a twitter account @PSAFLIGHT182. The avatar was that picture again that brought back those memories. I pressed the follow button to find out more. I discovered it was the twitter account of David Fresina who had experienced this tragedy as a child on the east coast via live TV footage. David decided to make a film about the people of the area affected by the crash and how they coped with what they saw and experienced.

The title Return to Dwight and Nile reminds us that this wasn’t just a plane crash but a tragedy that effected a whole neighbourhood and surrounding areas of San Diego. There were people who witnessed the tragedy driving along the nearby expressway, kids at nearby schools and those living in the blocks around the crash scene who were all effected deeply by what they saw and the horrific aftermath.

The style of the documentary is simple and without the endless repetition of modern productions. The interviewees drive the narrative and let us know their feelings and expereinces at each of the key moments. We hear from a mother who was injured with her baby while driving near the crash scene, two firemen who were some of the first responders, a police officer and the principal of a nearby school where a gym was used as the morgue. We also hear the experiences of PSA staff and a son waiting for his mother at the airport.

Some of the most interesting moments are during the interviews with staff of PSA. There were 38 airline staff on that flight. Included in the DVD is a short film with interviews at a PSA reunion. There is such a great spirit that still lives on in the form of a US Airways A319 painted as a PSA retrojet based at San Diego.

What I love about the film is how the combination of news images of the crash scene plus the experiences of those interviewed effectively portray the horror these people experienced without the need to show the graphic scenes.  The documentary creates an intense minds eye view of what they saw.

This film is very useful in understanding how people dealt with the trauma. There is a therapeutic value. People seem to go through the healing process as the film progresses. As one of the two firemen describe how he felt at the scene the other man is surprised and almost upset that he didn’t say that before as he had similar feelings. Even after more than 30 years we realise how vivid these memories remain and no day goes past where they don’t think of it. I’m going to share this film with a trauma psychologist I know.

My only problem with the film is that the pace tends to drag a little. You could argue that the cutting of scenes from interview to crash scenes and back to interview could be used as a way to add a sense of urgency to the narrative as the drama unfolds. However you could argue that the way it’s done is a more natural flow.

Although it wasn’t the main point of the film it could have mentioned the impact this crash had on aviation safety and how it wasn’t until the Aeromexico collision in 1986 that authorities finally moved to make collision avoidance systems mandatory in aircraft and improve traffic control. It was, however, that lack of action allowing Aeromexico to happen that astounds me. It caused another community to go through the same trauma.

I highly recommend this documentary. I hope it succeeds and gets a wider audience and assists in the long term healing pr0cess of literally tens of thousands of people affected by this horrible event in 1978.

For more information on how to obtain a copy of this documentary go to:

returntodwightandnile.com

or follow David Fresina on twitter @PSAFLIGHT182

Reviewed by David Heath -

Twitter: @RealDavidHeath

The First 35 years

It’s my birthday this Thursday 17th of February. I’m 35 which is the foot hills of middle age. Here’s a summary of my pre-middle aged years.

0- born
1- can’t remember
2- the taste of Ribena
3- sand pit
4- yelled at an opera singer to get off the stage
5- started school
6- School in Providence RI for 1 year. Nearly died from choking on a bone in soup in Canada
7- Nothing stands out
8- grandfather died
9- was a guest on the Big Dog show
10- first experienced mental illness in my family
11- finished primary school got very sunburnt at the breakup day pool outing
12- grandma died from horrid cancer
13- went around the world with parents for 9 months. Nearly died by stepping out in front of a truck due to traffic on different sides of the road (mum stopped me)
14- watched my home town slowly rebuilding itself after an earthquake
15- Toured NZ with a music camp orchestra.
16- used my dad’s Sun Sparcstation to access the Internet on a 21″ Trinitron display. Beat my 9″ B&W Mac screen.
17- Finished HSC got a surprisingly good result given I stopped studying for a while. Nearly died during my driving test.
18- started Uni
19- Quit uni- had alcohol first time got drunk at party, stole “for sale” signs in neighborhood.
20- Came out – partied – started uni again.
21- partied
22- partied
23- partied- started new uni course
24- quit uni course – got first job in a call centre. Moved away from home to Sydney – partied
25- worked, partied, worked. Parents moved to England. Visited them. Partied- Got stuck in England at 9-11 as I had onward journey to US the next day.
26- Back in Newcastle, working, partying, eating. Visited parents in England, dad had a surprise for me, brought mum home.
27- travelled to US then visited father in UK. Had more surprises for me!
28- worked in Sydney again for a month
29- worked in Sydney for 5 months on projects off and on living in a hotel. partied x 10
30- Moved to Sydney- partied. was told at 132kg I was too fat.
31- restructured to a new job- partied- then quit drinking – no more parties! Lost weight
32- another new job (but same company). Finally felt like I was being an expert at something again. under 100kg for the first time since about 14.
33- met someone I thought might be very special
34- special person encourages more fitness and I start regular gym. Under 90kg.
35- moving in with someone who I now think I’ll be with for a few years. Starting challenging “new” job. Need to plan next 35 years.

Post holiday blues

I had a wonderful trip to Hong Kong in July for 6 days. However, when I returned I felt almost completely incapable of working. I was so sad to be back I was already beginning to plan my next trip without considering the wishes of my employer, partner or my financial situation. It was almost like I was in a post-holiday trance. Absolutely nothing was making sense. I saw dozens of emails unread and virtually froze with anxiety with the need to read them all within a day.

Previously my thoughts on travel were that it was pointless and no way to escape. In the early noughties my parents lived in England for a few years. I travelled to Britain three times between 2001 and early 2003. What I felt was that by traveling I could leave all my troubles behind me. What I noticed during the travel was nothing much had changed. I realised there was something that leaving Australia wasn’t solving. It was something very close to me. I was with it always. It was me!

I began to realise that travel was not the answer to all my problems. I was going to have anxiety, anger, and other negative emotions wherever I was even on the other side of the world. I had to confront those properly.

I’ve read “The Art of Travel” by Alain de Botton twice. This book also reinforced my realisation that the pleasure of travel was a state of mind that could be had whether you travelled in a plane for more than 10 hours or just walked down the road for 30 minutes. It made me feel that largely travel was worthless unless you had a need. Travel presents us with a different way at looking at the world, however it doesn’t present us with a different way of looking at ourselves. We are transported with our troubles, they don’t get left behind at the departure gate.

So like a lot of things we do that are important to us travel has joy in the moment but upon return it can really derail getting on with your real life. Perhaps I should go back to my long weekend walks rather than 10 hour flights. Well at least until I’ve worked out how to enjoy and make the most of what I do 220 days of the year.

I want to start being able to come back from a break looking forward to Monday. Is that unrealistic?

1 Aug 2010