Karl Brennan's Interview
On Sunday, December 22nd at 7:00 pm on Fox 32, reporter Katie Allen plays videos of Karl Brennan's miraculous rescue of the crashing commuter jet and the aftermath, and mentions how the "flying man" (i.e. Brennan) has quickly become the talk of Chicago. She then segues into the interview, stressing that Fox 32 has obtained the first official interview with Mr. Brennan.
When the interview begins, Allen and Brennan are seated in a casual setting. Brennan is wearing the Rockefeller Center sweatshirt he was seen in at the airport.
Allen begins speaking, "Thank you for your willingness to talk to me Mr. Brennan, Karl... Before we get into what happened this morning, can you tell me and the viewers a little bit about yourself? Who are you?"
"Thanks for having me," Brennan says. "That's... Well, the simple questions are the toughest right? Who are we, why are we here," he gestures. "What's the meaning of it all? We're all layered, complex aren't we? I'm a man, a son, a friend, a coworker. I'm a native Chicagoan and love it but I enjoy traveling, both for work and on vacation. I love the city but enjoy nature, getting out and hiking, climbing, rafting, and the like. I live a pretty normal life I think. Well, I did. But that change is why you're talking to me today."
"Indeed, it is," Allen says with a nod. "Can you tell me about that change? When did you first notice it? And what exactly does it entail?"
“I really don’t know much about it myself. It just happened.” Brennan shrugs. “I know that’s not very satisfying as an answer. It’s not to me either. I was just on the plane, that engine exploded and tore a hole in the plane and I got sucked out of that hole, along with one of the crew, apparently. God, I hope it was just us. They’ve accounted for everyone, right? Somewhere along the way, I passed out. I don’t know how long but it couldn’t have been too long since I didn’t hit the ground. When I came to, I was flying. Crazy, I know. I can’t explain it but there it is. Doing it wasn’t complicated, in fact, the less I thought about it the better it seemed. Once I realized I wasn’t dead, I saw the plane and the flight attendant who had gotten pulled out. I got to her and we caught up to the plane, which looked like it was having trouble, made sense with an engine out, damaged wing, and a hole in it - about the only thing here that does make sense.
“Anyways once she was inside again I went back out to see if I could do something, find some way to help the pilot put it down safely. I felt--still feel--full of energy, thought maybe I could use that with this flying and be some kind of extra engine or something. I tried to help what they seemed to need to do, like I knew we needed to slow down at the end so I was pushing back against it. I don’t know how much what I did helped but it seemed to work.
“So I don’t know what happened to me, but I’m glad it did. It kept me alive. And if it let me have the ability to help the others on that flight, I’m grateful for that too. I don’t know the how or why, but I’m very glad for the what and the when.”
"Yes, everyone is accounted for and safe," Allen says with a smile. "Thanks to you...
"So you didn't know you could fly until this morning when you were pulled out of the plane? Do you know if there are any other, um, amazing things you can do?"
"I don't really know. Until earlier today I didn't know I could do that, don't think I was able to before. I certainly never did before today. I haven't tested anything out, I wouldn't know how to really find out.
"Um, I do feel kind of strong, but I don't know how much. I mean, I worked out before and did some active things, but not like this. I guess we could demonstrate a little..." Brennan looks into the camera "Can you get a wider shot or something?" he asks as he stands up and steps over next to Allen.
"Hold on, I'm going to try to pick you up..." He kneels down and lifts up the chair she is sitting in one-handed, standing back up as he does so, then keeps going up another foot or so, hovering in mid-air holding the chair off to the side.
He slowly descends to touch the ground again and lowers the chair back down. "You're pretty light of course. I feel like I could do more, but I don't know how much more," he explains as he returns to his own seat.
"Oh, my, that's impressive," Allen says, adjusting her clothing and hair as Brennan sets her chair back down. She looks at the camera and adds, "I assure our viewers that no studio magic was involved." She gathers her thoughts for a moment, then looks back to Brennan.
"After the plane was safely on the ground, you didn't stick around for long. Rather, you flew away before anyone could ask you any questions. Why? And why are you sitting down with me now?"
"At the airport, no one was really asking me much. I wouldn't have had answers even if they did. With people staring and taking pictures it seemed like I was more of a distraction at that point, so I left so they could get back to treating people and getting things situated, concentrate on other things. And I needed to try to figure things out.
"I haven't gotten very far with that yet. I'm here with you now because you found me so fast," Brennan answers with a shrug.
"I know it's news, that people will want to know, and with all the pictures and video at the airport, I knew people would track me down, people would recognize me. I wasn't going to be able to hide from it so why try? I did hope to have some more time to adjust, to think about it, and figure more things out, but you found me pretty fast. I don't have a lot of answers. I don't know how it happened or what's next yet. At some point soon I hope to have more of those answers but not right now."
"Well, when you have some of those answers, you know how to get a hold of me," Allen says with a chuckle. "Is there anything else you'd like to share with our viewers?"
"I do," Brennan agrees, nodding. "I'd just like to tell them to be grateful for every day, as you never know what might happen. And if you get some kind of second chance, make the most of it.
"Thanks for having me on."
