Flight 232: A Story of Disaster and Survival by Laurence Gonzales Page A
Authors: Laurence Gonzales
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Schemmel later wrote in a memoir. As he prepared for the crash, planning his own survival, he resolved that he would help Sylvia and Evan as soon as the plane stopped. He told himself to stay calm, to avoid panic, and above all to help others. He noted the emergency exit, 3-Right, two rows ahead of him. As he looked back down the aisle, he saw Ramsdell smile and give him a thumbs up. Schemmel returned the signal. Two rows behind Ramsdell , fourteen-year-old Tony Feeney, a skinny kid with big glasses, watched the two men signal each other. They looked so competent and confident in their business suits. Feeney wondered if they had a secret plan. He wondered if they thought they were going to die. The teenager was traveling alone to Chicago to attend Michael Jordan’s basketball camp. Now he thought that if those two business guys had a plan, he was going to follow them out of this mess.
After her first visit to the cockpit, Jan Brown quickly briefed Barbara Gillaspie, Jan Murray, and Rene Le Beau. Brown then hurried to the aft galley to let Susan White, Donna McGrady, and Tim Owens know what was going on.
Before takeoff, Jan Brown had noticed Janice-Long Brown and her eleven-year-old daughter Kimberly Allison on board. She had made a point of going back to greet them. Janice had been a flight attendant with United. “Out of this packed airplane, I spotted her. They always got us mixed up. Our mailboxes were together.” About a year after she started flying, Jan Brown met Janice Brown, and the more senior woman helped Jan Brown to get flights that were more convenient so that she could spend extra time with her children. Janice had married a successful businessman and didn’t really need to fly anymore. She now wore a Piaget watch. Kimberly had a single pierced ear. As Jan Brown hurried back to brief her flight attendants in the aft galley, she passed down the port aisle and her eyes met Janice’s. “It was like this nonverbal conversation we had. She looked at me like: How bad is it? And I looked at her like, It’s as bad as it could possibly be .” Jan Brown desperately wanted to ask Janice for help, “but I couldn’t because she was traveling with her daughter.” Jan Brown later berated herself for not moving them up to the two empty seats in row 9. Everyone in that row survived. Of course, she could not have known that beforehand. Still, many people would feel undeserved guilt long after the crash.
Jan Brown hurried down the aisle past Karin Elizabeth Sass, thirty-two, who was pregnant with her second child. Brown encountered Tim Owens and whispered that they were going to deliver a “quick and dirty” briefing to the passengers. Owens followed her aft. They joined Susan White and Donna McGrady in the rear galley. “Okay,” Jan said. “We have no hydraulics. We have no way to steer and we can’t brake. Be prepared for fire. Also, be prepared to ditch, because there’s a river near there. Just be prepared, because I don’t know how this is going to turn out.” Then she added, “Don’t bother reconciling the liquor.”
At twenty-seven, Tim Owens was the only male flight attendant on board. He had joined United Airlines a month before. As soon as Brown explained the situation, she returned to the forward cabin. The others watched her go. Then Donna took the hands of Owens and White and led them in a prayer right there in the galley behind Martha Conant’s back. “It wasn’t the longest prayer,” Owens later said, “because we were kind of busy at the time, but it was powerful and succinct.”
As she passed up the starboard aisle, Jan Brown knew that she had to keep a tight grip on herself. Earlier, she had seen her own hand shake. She knew that she would have to stand before the congregation in this doomed cathedral and lift a microphone to her lips and speak the words of preparation. And she would not be able to if she was palsied with fear. She had no desire to try to evacuate a plane full of
After her first visit to the cockpit, Jan Brown quickly briefed Barbara Gillaspie, Jan Murray, and Rene Le Beau. Brown then hurried to the aft galley to let Susan White, Donna McGrady, and Tim Owens know what was going on.
Before takeoff, Jan Brown had noticed Janice-Long Brown and her eleven-year-old daughter Kimberly Allison on board. She had made a point of going back to greet them. Janice had been a flight attendant with United. “Out of this packed airplane, I spotted her. They always got us mixed up. Our mailboxes were together.” About a year after she started flying, Jan Brown met Janice Brown, and the more senior woman helped Jan Brown to get flights that were more convenient so that she could spend extra time with her children. Janice had married a successful businessman and didn’t really need to fly anymore. She now wore a Piaget watch. Kimberly had a single pierced ear. As Jan Brown hurried back to brief her flight attendants in the aft galley, she passed down the port aisle and her eyes met Janice’s. “It was like this nonverbal conversation we had. She looked at me like: How bad is it? And I looked at her like, It’s as bad as it could possibly be .” Jan Brown desperately wanted to ask Janice for help, “but I couldn’t because she was traveling with her daughter.” Jan Brown later berated herself for not moving them up to the two empty seats in row 9. Everyone in that row survived. Of course, she could not have known that beforehand. Still, many people would feel undeserved guilt long after the crash.
Jan Brown hurried down the aisle past Karin Elizabeth Sass, thirty-two, who was pregnant with her second child. Brown encountered Tim Owens and whispered that they were going to deliver a “quick and dirty” briefing to the passengers. Owens followed her aft. They joined Susan White and Donna McGrady in the rear galley. “Okay,” Jan said. “We have no hydraulics. We have no way to steer and we can’t brake. Be prepared for fire. Also, be prepared to ditch, because there’s a river near there. Just be prepared, because I don’t know how this is going to turn out.” Then she added, “Don’t bother reconciling the liquor.”
At twenty-seven, Tim Owens was the only male flight attendant on board. He had joined United Airlines a month before. As soon as Brown explained the situation, she returned to the forward cabin. The others watched her go. Then Donna took the hands of Owens and White and led them in a prayer right there in the galley behind Martha Conant’s back. “It wasn’t the longest prayer,” Owens later said, “because we were kind of busy at the time, but it was powerful and succinct.”
As she passed up the starboard aisle, Jan Brown knew that she had to keep a tight grip on herself. Earlier, she had seen her own hand shake. She knew that she would have to stand before the congregation in this doomed cathedral and lift a microphone to her lips and speak the words of preparation. And she would not be able to if she was palsied with fear. She had no desire to try to evacuate a plane full of
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