I am a plane crash survivor, AMA!

Is there anything in particular that you did to survive, of was it just luck?

Well, as soon as the engines turned off (mind you we were 10,000 fee in the air), I just started praying. Thankfully, I walked out of the airplane without any injuries.

Years ago I was in a MD80. The plane took off, got up to 35k feet. And then one of the engines decides to take a crap. Luckily the plane maintained cabin pressure. But we dropped like a rock from the 35k down to 5k in just a couple of minutes. And everything that wasn't bolted down, was floating in the air. It wasn't until we got down to about 5k feet that the pilot finally gets on the intercom.

We were never in any danger, but nobody knew that at the time. I feel for you. My experience fucking sucked.

Omg, that sounds very scary! I'm sure your stomach just dropped!! Thankfully, you were all were alright.

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I'm not sure if they were praying or not, maybe some were and I just wasn't sure. All I know is I made it out, and I am very grateful.

What did the pilot do or say when he knew it was, essentially, too late?

We had two pilots actually, a male and female pilot. As soon as the engines turned off in midsky, they started scrambling all over the cockpit. Since we were in Guatemala, they did not speak English. Finally, as we started to circle around, they turned to us and said in an accent, "Please make sure your seatbelts are on..." That was it, that's all they said...

Holy shit...I couldn't imagine. Did they make it out?

Three of us survived; my mother, myself, and another gentleman. My mother and the other guy were severely injured.

What went through your mind when you realized the plane was going to crash? Sorry about your loss😞

Honestly, I was scared, but I didn't ever think it was going to be as horrific as it was. I never once thought about death or injury. I really thought everything was going to be ok, but it didn't turn out that way.

What were your thoughts the moment before impact? Perhaps your life flashing before your eyes? I am genuinely curious, Thank you and sorry for your loss.

I was really scared, but I really thought everything was going to be ok. I was expecting a hard landing, but nothing as horrific as the crash was. My dad said before we hit the field, "Here we go!!" So I really believe he knew he was going to die, those thoughts never crossed my mind.

What was it like after the crash? What emotions did you feel? What were your thought processes?

Sorry for your loss

After we crashed, I noticed I was hanging upside down, my first thought was, "Thank you God, I'm alive." My second thought, "I need to get out of this airplane."

Did you lose your consciousness as you hit the ground or do you remember everything ?

I remember everything, I never lost consciousnesses. One second we were attempting to land, the next second we were crashed and I was hanging upside down.

Then what? You were in a field. How long were you hanging? Did help come?

I actually got out of the airplane right away. As I was walking away from the plane, a man from the village came over to me and pushed me over towards a driveway. He sat me down. People were running towards the plane, and maybe seconds later it eventually blew up.

Do you fly today? Or do you choose another form of transportation?

I do fly, I have extreme anxiety when I fly, but I make it through. What are the chances that it will happen to me again?

This might be a difficult question and you don't have to answer if it's too hard for sure but did your family have an idea it might be an end and did you, your father, and your brother have a moment in the chaos to have some last words or, "I love you"'s?

Yes, my dad initiated "I love you's" and "Goodbyes."

So the cause of the crash was engine failure in a single engine plane, is that right? And he had to do a forced landing in jungle?

Yep, we were in the mountains of Guatemala. Thanksfully, there was a field that the pilots noticed and we attempted an emergency landing in that particular field.

When the plane finally crashed what was the actually crash like? Do you remember the feeling of crashing from 10,000 feet?

I fly a lot and it always crosses my mind.

We didn't nose dive into the ground, we "glided" to attempt an emergency landing... it was actually a VERY rough landing!!

You said you were on your way to build a school in rural Guatamala.

Whose plane was it? How did your group end up on it? Where did the pilots come from? Were they experienced flyers?

Everything was already arranged for us, the pilots did the best they could... it was the airplane that malfunctioned.

At what point does you mind move from "This is unsettling, I hope it gets better soon" to "Gosh, we're actually gonna crash"?

Well, airplanes make noises, so when it became silent, my stomach just dropped! It was a very unsettling noise. But, when we were approaching the field, the trees were just whipping by, going so fast, and I knew we were going way too fast for a landing...

Where were you sitting? Back, front, aisle or window seat?

I had a window seat.

Was it (is it) hard to sleep at night? Where were you going? What did your parents do for a living?

I drank a lot after I got home, so I didn't even start thinking about my life until months after the accident (I was 19 at the time). We were going to build a school house in a remote village in the mountains of Guatemala.

Thank you for your response, I am terrified of planes. Something about giving over control to a complete stranger and the fact you are so hopeless that high up if something goes wrong. Ignore the trolls, they only get out from under their bridges occasionally.

Planes can be scary, I don't think I will ever fly in a little one again, commercial of course.

When people realized that the plane was going down, how did they react?

Everyone knew something wasn't right.... panic, cussing, and then an unnerving silence...

There is a little girl that just survived a plane crash where she lost her parents and sister. If you could comfort her or speak to her, what would you tell her?

Yes I reached out to her. I'm sure she wouldn't want to talk about it and defer conversation to something else. But, when she is ready talk about things at HER pace....

That is awesome that you have already reached out to her. I imagine in time she might one to speak to someone that has gone through something that traumatic as not not many other people have been through or relate. I'm sorry for your loss but congrats on the book.

Thank you

What did the crash itself feel like? What was everyone doing as they realized the plane was going down?

Boom, Boom, Boom,... silence....

Did help come quickly? What happened after the crash?

Fortunately, we crashed by a village, so people were running towards us. After the plane blew up, ambulances came (which are actually vans).

Did you hit anything when you crash-landed? Tree/Building/House etc?

Nope, just bouncing up and down on the field. The wing ended up hitting the ground which is how it ended up crashing.

Was it anything like the movies?

What movies are you referring to?

I have to ask, did you have your tray table up and were you in the upright or bent over "crash" position?

We were in a small Cessna, not a commercial airplane. No tray tables in this type of planes.

Have you seen any other films that have come out that have brought back memories of the crash?

FLIGHT!

Sorry people are attacking you over a completely irrelevant detail such as your religious/spiritual beliefs. I hope you keep answering questions.

What happened after the plane crashed?

Well, I ended up making it out of the wreckage, realizing my dad and brother didn't make it. And other details, which I explain in more detail in my book, that I shouldn't mention here. But, eventually I ended up making it to a small hospital where I realized my mother was still living. We were in the USA one/two days after.

How much of the plane was destroyed in the crash?

It blew up!

What was going through your head as you realized there was a probably chance of death?

How did the plane crash?

Very impressed that you are sharing your story. x

In all honesty, death never crossed my mind. I never thought death was a possibility. I really thought everything was going to be ok.

The plane crashed because as we attempted our landing, we were going way too fast. As we were bouncing up and down, our wing ended up hitting the ground, which ended up leading to the crash. We landed upside down.

When was the last time you communicated with the other survivors, if ever?

My mom is one survivor, and our relationship is strained. The other survivor I recently reached out to telling him about my book.

What were your thoughts the moment before impact? maybe your life flashing before your eyes? I am genuinely curious.. thank you + sorry for your loss

"Please God let everything be ok..."

If you could remember...what was everyone's reaction like on the way down? Screaming? Yelling? What was the procedure like?

It was actually VERY quiet!! Nobody was talking, nobody was saying anything... the last words I remember were my dad saying, "Here we go!" and my mother saying "Stop it! Stop it!" and we crashed...

What kind of injuries did your brother and dad suffer that caused their death? Sorry for your loss and if its too sensitive of a question to answer I'd understand

They died on impact. I never saw my brother, but when I saw my dad, he was crushed by debris.

Might be a dumb question, but did any of the instructions from the safety demonstrations done by the flight attendants prior to take off ("in the event of an emergency landing")pop into your head?

nope, we just braced ourselves for the unknown...

Do you have flashbacks? How long did you spend in phycology? Who is the closet person to you now? Thank you for doing the AMA is it hard to talk about it sometimes?

I don't have flashbacks, fortunately, I got into therapy a month or so after the accident which helped with PTSD. I spend about two years in therapy.

My husband is the closest person to me now. It used to be really hard to talk about it, but it is something I have come to accept, not understand, but I am ready to share my story.

When did you really realise that you just lost your brother and father? How did you spend the hours and days after the crash?

Well, when we crashed it was completely silent. When I noticed my mom was alive, I went back into the airplane to try and get her out. As I was doing this, I saw my dad's leg. I started calling out for him, he was buried in debris. He didn't move nor did he say anything back. I knew he was dead. I also just knew that my brother was dead .... I couldn't see anything because of the crash.

What type of plane and what brought her down?

Cessna Caravan, engine failure.

Just wanted to pop in and give you a friendly FYI that most of Reddit is extremely opposed to the idea of God and I have come under heat for talking about Him on here. Thank you for sharing your story, I'm not sure if this audience will appreciate the message you are trying to share, but I do. Also, Reddit removed my comment because it wasn't a "question" so here is a question mark at the end?

I am not even talking about religion, I am simply here to answer questions about the crash, oh, and promote my book! :)

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Well, I do not consider myself religious, I consider myself spiritual. I think accidents happen, it was a man made airplane, and that there was a malfunction. We don't always understand why God would just "kill off people" but I trust they are in a different place now.

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Are you feeling pushed? I'm sorry, that is actually NOT my agenda, my agenda here is to answer any questions regarding my crash.

You really are uncomfortable with this talk, aren't you?