Trouble in the Air

I found this short true story in a devotional titled He Cares for You,

I really enjoyed it and thought I would share it with ya'll.

It was a cold January day when Al Hensen taxied his single-engine Cessna toward the runway at the Eau Claire, Wisconsin airfield. Al was going to fly alone that day. It was not his first solo flight, but he had not had very many flights by himself. He was still considered a "student pilot."

His plan for the flight was to fly Rhinelander, Wisconsin and return a round trip flight of about 250 miles.

"This looks like a great day for flying," he thought as he waited for clearance from the control tower to take off. "A few clouds to the north, but they don’t look too bad." Having received clearance, Al took off and climbed smoothly into the cold, still air. Turning to the northeast he climbed through 6000 feet. Reaching his flying altitude of 6600 feet, he leveled off. Then looking down, he saw the "few clouds" had become a solid cloud cover underneath him. He could not see the ground. All he could see were clouds below and sky above. He was worried because he had never flown in conditions like this before, and he was not rated for instrument flight.


Al was scared, realizing the danger. He was alone in a plane, separated from the safety of being able to see the ground by a cloud layer, and did not know how to get through the layer. He made a right decision-he radioed for help.

Al recognized the difficulty he was in and called for help. There are people today who are in real danger because of sins, but they do not recognize their danger. Satan has "blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them." 2 Corinthians 4:4.Having kept these people from seeing their danger, Satan will keep them from doing what Al did- calling for help. Help for the sinner is very near. The Lord Jesus said, "He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." John 5:24.

Do you recognize that you are a sinner in need of a Saviour? You have to admit this before you can be saved. Al could have flown for a long time in the wrong direction if he had not recognized that he was lost. A sinner too, must recognize that he is lost, away from God and then God in His love and mercy can save him. "The son of man [the Lord Jesus Christ] is come to seek and to save that which is lost." Luke 19:10.

Al’s radio call reached the air traffic control center at Minneapolis, Minnesota. Two controllers, Ron Cattrick and Dick DeCrammer, located Al’s plane on radar. Their job then was to come up with a plan to bring him down safely. They told Al to turn until he was headed back to Eau Claire where breaks in the clouds were reported.

Meanwhile, a commercial pilot of a DC-9 taking off from Rhinelander volunteered to help guide Al to a break in the clouds. With the help of the controllers, the pilot was able to locate Al.

During the flight back toward Eau Claire, the engine of Al’s plane stopped twice. He was given instructions by the DC-9 pilot on how to start it. Just as a large opening appeared in the cloud cover, the engine quit again…this time it was out of gas! There was no way to start it. Al headed toward the ground, having no place to land, no fuel, no power...

To Be Continued...