The cabin speakers came on, and a reassuring voice said, “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain. We have entered the jet stream at this altitude, and the flight center tells me that atmospheric disturbances caused by the meteor approaching the West Coast at this hour are going to be causing us some rough weather for the next few minutes. So I want you all to please remain in your seats with your seat belts securely fastened. Flight attendants, please remain seated until further notice. I want you all to remember that this aircraft is built to survive severe stress. We may have a bumpy ride for a bit, but please stay calm and relax—you’re going to be completely safe.”

At that moment the plane banked sharply to the left, shuddered, and dropped five hundred feet before stabilizing once again. Several passengers grabbed frantically for the air sickness bags in the seat-back pockets. With all of the tensions they had already experienced, the sudden jolt of air turbulence was more than most on board could tolerate. It wasn’t long before the cabin took on the unsavory smell of a charity hospital.

The pilot came back on the intercom. “Sorry about that, ladies and gentlemen. We’re going to try to gain a little altitude and see if that will help smooth things out for you. As you know, this flight was originally scheduled for Colorado Springs. We’re getting reports from the tower, however, that there are some dangerous conditions ahead of us—including a number of rapidly spreading forest fires in the Rockies, along with high, gusty winds around Colorado Springs. It looks like we’re going to be diverted.”

There was animated conversation in the forward cabin as people realized their plans were being changed. After a brief pause, the captain continued, “We have been rerouted to Albuquerque. I’m sorry to change plans on you like this, but I hope you’ll understand the importance of these emergency procedures. On our present course, we’ll be landing in Albuquerque in about an hour and twenty minutes. There will be airline employees at the gate to assist you and help you make any additional travel arrangements you may require.”

Suddenly it felt very cold inside the first-class cabin. Despite the debilitating heat they had survived in Los Angeles, Carl felt a shiver run the length of his spine.

Within a couple of minutes the captain came back on the intercom. “During the remainder of our flight,” he said, “I’ll do my best to keep you up-to-date on the situation on the Coast. . . . I can tell you now that I’ve just learned that all civilian and military aircraft on the West Coast, as well as those in Hawaii and Alaska, are now being evacuated with full passenger loads to cities in the Southwest, the Midwest, and the East Coast. The authorities can’t give us any estimates at this time of how many hours are left before the air navigational network begins to malfunction, but we anticipate no problems or delays on our flight directly into Albuquerque this afternoon.”