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My cousins had learned English in school as their second language so I didn't have any problems communicating. This wasn't my only trip as I could go for long weekends. I went to England twice and I believe I had a couple of trips to Germany each time. There was one very memorable occasion regarding travel however. This relates to an airplane crash! Pat tells the story about how she was home in Sale, Australia, when she heard over the news that an airplane flying from England to Zurich had crashed; the very flight she believed Derek to be on! She contacted someone and was told he was alright; he had actually flown a day earlier than expected. What a relief! First I knew of it was when my cousin pointed it out on the news: 'Hey, that's the plane you were going to come one!' It is one of those things that you hear about and don't ever think it could happen to you; but it did happen to me! THE DC 3 INCIDENT One incident, I remember clearly, that occurred at Sale was when a DC3 was coming in after a mission that had involved observing fishing boats. The wind was blowing ferociously and the pilot had a hard time setting down. He had to land because he was dry (no fuel left) so another bloke and I had to bring him in. I directed him past other aircraft on the field to where I knew some concrete blocks were and we were able to secure the plane. The DC3's were the safest aircraft to fly and were in service for many years. You had to be able to make quick decisions sometimes.