"As the plane got closer to Miami, I had this terrible feeling he was dying. Maybe he was telling me that he was going. I felt anger, panic, despair and helplessness"
About this Quote
The line “Maybe he was telling me that he was going” is the emotional pivot. Gibb doesn’t claim certainty; he offers a half-believed explanation that lets him keep talking to the person even as the person slips out of reach. That “maybe” is the whole psychology of anticipatory grief: the need to make meaning quickly, to convert helplessness into a story where at least someone is speaking.
Then he lists emotions like chords stacked too tightly: anger, panic, despair, helplessness. Anger leads because it’s the only feeling that pretends to have agency. Panic admits the body has already decided the outcome. Despair is the mind catching up. Helplessness is the final, humiliating truth: love doesn’t grant control, not even to a famous musician with a lifetime of converting feeling into sound.
In context, it reads like a backstage moment from a life spent performing composure. The intimacy here is that he doesn’t perform it. He reports it. That restraint is what makes it hit.
Quote Details
| Topic | Fear |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Gibb, Robin. (2026, January 16). As the plane got closer to Miami, I had this terrible feeling he was dying. Maybe he was telling me that he was going. I felt anger, panic, despair and helplessness. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/as-the-plane-got-closer-to-miami-i-had-this-93492/
Chicago Style
Gibb, Robin. "As the plane got closer to Miami, I had this terrible feeling he was dying. Maybe he was telling me that he was going. I felt anger, panic, despair and helplessness." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/as-the-plane-got-closer-to-miami-i-had-this-93492/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"As the plane got closer to Miami, I had this terrible feeling he was dying. Maybe he was telling me that he was going. I felt anger, panic, despair and helplessness." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/as-the-plane-got-closer-to-miami-i-had-this-93492/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.





