I can’t explain why airplanes
sometimes fall out of the sky.
Even after half a lifetime
spent learning to fly.
Aerodynamics, meteorology,
jet engines, and hydraulics.
Oxygen, electrical systems,
fuel and avionics.

Fortunate to attend,
lucky to complete training.
Spent a season flying the around world
and complaining.
Then I got called back
to where it all began.
Creating new aviators
from pedestrians.

I’ve been rolled upside down
by mistake.
But my plane flew out of it
once clear of the wake.
One autopilot tried diving us
straight into the ground.
But emergency procedures kicked in
and we went around.

So why do some airplanes
simply break apart?
Raining down with men and women
dear to my heart.
Watching the flight recorder
and hearing the tape.
Why did God chose them
but let me escape?

Billions of dollars
and millions of hours.
Over-engineered
and often over-powered.
But sometimes things go wrong
and good people die.
And I cry out loud
and still wonder why God, why?