MicheleWinegar24D

We had just Taken off and then suddenly there was a big boom noise and the plane shook. I was sitting near the back so I looked behind where the rear flight attendant was and saw she was moving around and that there was smoke starting to come inside the plane. (to this day any burning smell that is out of place triggers my PTSD). I could tell the plane was getting lower like it was going to land but I still had no idea what was going on. I kept thinking I should call someone but then thought against it because what if this was just something minor and I was freaking out for no reason... The those words came "This is your Captain, Brace for Impact." My heart dropped and I felt every emotion possible. Fear, anger sadness. I wasn't ready to die yet. I tried to prepare myself incase the the plane ripped apart. Maybe I wouldn't get hurt and could swim for safety. (At this point I could see out the window we were going to hit the water) The plane hit hard in the back, the water rushed up the sides making it dark and a terrible sound of metal groaning as it bent. Once it settled a bit I jumped out of my seat and ran towards the back (my nearest exit) Someone was yelling to run forward and I did as far as I could till the was a wall of people in front of me yell for everyone to hurry up. I looked down and released the back was filling up with water and I wasn't able to move forward. I thought I was now going to drowned. I stood on the seats to get as much out of the water as I could and climbed over them to get to the wing exits. The wings were full when I got there but a man (Capt Sully I believe) was Standing up at the front yelling for us to come forward into the rafts up there. Looking out that door and seeing the NY skyline and the fact that I was in the middle of the river was an amazing site. In the raft a man was holding his cell phone up so it wouldn't get wet. He let me use it to call my mom so she knew I was ok before she saw it on the new. I was one of the passengers that climbed up onto a ferry and was taken to the NY side. I haven't talked to the airlines or NTSB in quite a while. Just a bit off and on for the year fallowing the crash.

At first I had lost everything but what I was wearing. I eventually got my luggage back it had been cleaned, packed back meticulously. Every bobby pin was itemized. I was compensated for my lost luggage before I even got back to Seattle. My purse was the only thing not recovered.

People were wonderful, helping each other. I only remember push once and it wasn't even that hard. Don't get me wrong we were all panicked and yelling, But no one seemed to put the own life before an others.

haha right. You think it's frustrating just getting off a plane when it lands normally.

Yes. I'm a bartender and a guy sitting at my bar was saying that the movie "Flight" was about Capt. Sully and he was drunk when the plane crashed. I shut that down quick.