Flight 1549 – Passengers Turned to Prayer
Survivors of the ill-fated flight that crash-landed on the Hudson River tell their stories of fear, courage, and hope in the book titled Miracle on the Hudson.
The book, written by two survivors of the flight, William Prochnau and Paura Parker, recounts personal stories from the 155 passengers and crew on U.S. Airways Flight 1549 when it struck geese shortly after takeoff and was guided to a violent but safe landing on the Hudson River January 15.
Pam Seagle, a Christian who was sitting in window seat 12A for what was supposed to have been a flight from New York City to her home in Charlotte, NC, describes that “there was the smell of smoke. There was visible smoke in the cabin, the loss of acceleration, and then just the absolute panic…fear and terror that comes with the recognition that you’re in a plane that is in trouble.”
The survivor explains that the landing that was captured on various security cameras was not as smooth as it appeared before the plane stopped and emergency personnel came to the scene to rescue passengers from the aircraft and the water.
Seagle says she turned to her faith during the tense moments. “I have always said a prayer when I take off. I have always said a prayer when we land, and there was a lot more prayer in between on this one than there typically is,” she chuckles. “But I think that we all took tremendous comfort in that, and it was really the only thing that we had to turn to at that point — prayer and a relationship with God.”
Seagle, who works for a major financial firm, reports that though the incident was terrifying, it did not frighten her out of flying as she has been back on an airplane since Flight 1549.
(source: OneNewsNow)
