Hovering And Lurching Over Storm-Torn Texas

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SCOTT SIMON, host:

You have to be prepared for just about anything when reporting a breaking story like a hurricane, but NPR's Carrie Kahn tells us in her Reporter's Notebook, she wasn't quite ready for a helicopter ride over Texas in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike.

CARRIE KAHN: I thought I was going on a short, 45-minute ride with the Coast Guard to survey damage along the Texas coast, but after arriving at Houston's Ellington Air Field, two other reporters and I were told that flight time would be four and a half hours and that we were headed offshore to inspect oil rigs and platforms in the Gulf.

Ever since I was a kid, I've been plagued by terrible motion sickness. I can't tell you how many family road trips I've ruined. But it's not everyday you get to fly in a huge Coast Guard J-Hawk helicopter. And immediately after I slammed into Galveston, it was impossible to report on damage in some of the harder hit areas. I really wanted to go. Then Coast Guard officer, Paul LaRouche(ph), launched into what he said was a safety briefing.

Mr. PAUL LAROUCHE (Coast Guard Officer): I just want to go over the crash position for this seat.

KAHN: You said the crash position.

Mr. LAROUCHE: Yes, I did. We're not going to crash, don't worry.

KAHN: I laughed along with him but my empty stomach was starting to churn. I walked over to the pilot and I said, I should tell you that I get air sick. He didn't laugh. In fact, he said in a rather stern way that if I were to get sick they would have to abort the mission. At that point, the two other reporters shot me dirty looks. I shrugged and said, no problem, I'd be fine. And at takeoff, I was.

(Soundbite of a helicopter taking off)

KAHN: Even in flight, I was able to look out the open door and witness Ike's wrath, but as we took a sharp turn and left the shoreline, I knew I was in trouble. Within minutes we reached the first oil rig. To give inspectors on board a good view, the pilot circled the structure a few times, then turned straight into the wind and hovered. Needless to say, by the second rig, somewhere between the circling and the hovering, I was in a panic.

I'll spare all the details, but despite the pilot's threat, the mission was not aborted and everyone was more than happy to let me lie down for the next three hours of flight. By the time we landed, the sun had set and the beautiful, full, orange moon was rising in the east. I took all the jabs and jokes the crew dished out with a queasy smile and I was just happy that the drive back to Houston was long so I could recover enough to write about the real story: Ike's devastating fury.

SIMON: NPR's Carrie Kahn.

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