Holy the Firm

Part 2 of Dillard’s narrative takes place on November 19 and opens with the image of a plane falling from the sky. Dillard describes the plane’s descent after it catches its wing on a tree and fights to stay in the air. Both Dillard and Small hear the plane fall. Julie Norwich, a seven-year-old passenger on the plane, suffers severe facial burns from a fuel explosion. Dillard imagines Julie at St. Joe’s hospital and struggles with possible responses to the young girl’s pain.

Dillard zeros in on the airstrip from which the plane took off. The strip is located in the woods close to Dillard’s house and is known to be difficult to land on. Dillard relates the process of landing as explained by a flight instructor who uses the strip to humble his overconfident students. The process involves altering the plane’s elevation a number of times to avoid wires and trees. This can be harrowing, but it is safe. Dillard reiterates that the plane that crashed experienced an engine failure but had taken off successfully otherwise. Dillard then jumps to the emergency response to the plane’s crash. A siren causes everyone to stop and wonder what happened.