[ WP ] When they asked for any doctors on board , you did n't think your PhD would help ...

The airplane speakers played their signature `` ding'' as they turned on. However, instead of the voice of the pilot, I heard the voice of a flight attendant. 
 
 `` Hello passengers. We are currently experiencing some difficulties in the cabin. If there are any doctors on board this flight, may they please offer their assistance in the cockpit? Thank you.'' 
 
 There were worried murmurs throughout the cabin. However, my daughter's face lit up. 
 
 `` Daddy! Daddy! You should go an help! You'll be like a hero! In the movies!'' 
 
 Unfortunately, I had to crush my daughter's dreams of having her dad be a hero. 
 
 `` Ally, they're looking for medical doctors. Doctors like the one you see when you get a check-up or flu shot. When some people refer to me as doctor, it's because I have a doctorate, which is different. It's a thing given to people who know a lot about something.'' 
 
 `` Oh! That means maybe you know how to help them since you know a lot!'' 
 
 I was about to explain that my doctorate was in physics, which is n't too helpful when the pilot's ill. The only thing I could do was pray to whatever gods there were that we survive. But my daughter was very insistent and I did n't want to disappoint her and tear down whatever views she had of me in these next few moments. I sighed and got up to walk towards the cockpit. 
 
 The flight attendant standing by the door saw me approach, leading to a wave of relief for her. 
 
 `` Oh thank goodness! A doctor! Quickly, come on in! The pilot is unconscious and it's the co-pilot's first flight on an actual plane! He's having a mini panic attack!'' 
 
 Oh shit. 
 
 `` By the way,'' she asked, `` what's your name?'' 
 
 `` Uhh, Dr. Gamble.'' 
 
 We entered the cockpit before the flight attendant asked me, `` so what should we do to revive him?'' 
 
 I checked the pilot's pulse while the others watched my diagnosis. There was a pulse, but not a super noticeable one. I shook the pilot. He did n't wake up. I tried slapping his face lightly, no reaction. 
 
 `` Ummm, uhhhh...'' the co-pilot stammered, `` do you know what you're doing?'' 
 
 `` Well... Actually... No...'' 
 
 `` Wait, what?'' was the response I got from both the flight attendant and the co-pilot. 
 
 `` I thought you said you were a doctor!'' the flight attendant yelled at me. 
 
 `` Technically, yes. I am Dr. Gamble, PhD in physics.'' 
 
 `` Oh my god, we're all going to die! We're going to crash into the ocean like a cannonball!'' the co-pilot said. He then curled up in a ball and started hyperventilating. 
 
 However, his last statement lit up a lightbulb in my head. I'm a physicist. This plane is like a projectile flying through the air with thrust behind it. It's not even high level physics. Stuff you might even see in high school! Then I remembered the physics behind skipping a stone across water. What if, we could bring the plane down in the water safely at a low enough speed to not be torn apart by the impact? I quickly did some rough estimations in my head before I looked up and said the four words we all needed to hear. 
 
 `` I have an idea.''
