What I hate the most is that so many people call this unthinkable nightmare a miracle and I suppose living through a plane falling from the sky and bursting into flames could make one think of it as such. Not me. A miracle would be if the other thirteen people hadn't been killed. Two of us made it. In fact, we walked away having to evade large scraps of twisted and flaming metal.
We were all flying the red eye out of St. Louis for a short flight that was supposed to take just under this side of an hour. I'm not even sure what happened. It was late and the sky was overcast and misting. I saw some lightning in the sky, but nothing remotely close to us.
The flight was uneventful until there was a loud bang, a sound like bending or breaking metal. Screams rang out from the cabin as wind was rushing around flames. I had a broken leg and I knew I couldn't do anything. I wasn't able to move well so I was stuck. Originally I was seated by the wing, but due to my leg I was moved for comfort.
The aircraft was violently shaking and all I could do was hang on and pray. There was this ungodly whirring sound that permeated the cabin as we plummeted to Earth. The wind was causing it as it filled the compartment. I felt nauseated from the free fall glide.
Adrenaline and fear are strong motivators in any situation. I don't remember the actual crash. I was laying in the grass in immense pain. My lungs were filled with smoke and I had some burns and more broken bones than I had when I first got onto the plane.
I turned onto my stomach and sat up slowly. The plane wasn't far from me and the heat from the flames was hitting my face. The smell of aircraft fuel is disgusting. Smoke was billowing from the wreckage and I could see the wing was missing. The wing I would have been sitting at.
It suddenly hit me. The screams that filled the cabin were deafening. There were none now. I wanted to help. I hobbled to my feet and approached the wreckage. Out of the broken wing section stood another passenger. I couldn't make her out but she was looking over the opening then toppled the eight feet or so to the burning ground. I thought she was a goner.
All what was on my mind at the time were the people in that plane. The screaming was ringing in my head, unbearable.
Fire crews arrived to the scene and rushed me to an ambulance. The fires were put out and I saw them helping another survivor, the woman who fell out of the wreckage, to a gurney. I was relieved that someone else had made it.
We were the only two. Five other passengers were still in the cabin. The remaining six were found in the surrounding wooded areas, apparently thrown from the aircraft when the wing was torn off.
I'm happy to be alive for my kids and wife. I've flown since, but not if I could help it.
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