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'A Sudden, Terrible Stillness'

A passenger on Continental flight 1404 describes the crash.

Newsweek Web Exclusive
Dec 21, 2008 | Updated: 5:16  p.m. ET Dec 21, 2008

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  • Posted By: ScharfPA @ 01/10/2009 7:13:46 AM

    My wife and children are those referenced in this article. I can not find the words to describe the gratitude I have that they are still with us. I am amazed and thankful there were no fatalities. I am in the military and currently deployed to Afghanistan. My wife and two children (3y/o and 6 m/o) were traveling from Denver to Houston to spend the holidays with her parents. My family did get on a plane to Houston the next day but, as you can imagine, it was not without emotion. They spent the holidays with family and are now back home in Colorado Springs returning to a somewhat normal life. I can???t wait to see them again.

  • Posted By: ScharfPA @ 01/10/2009 7:11:26 AM

    My wife and children are those referenced in this article. I can not find the words to describe the gratitude I have that they are still with us. I am amazed and thankful there were no fatalities. I am in the military and currently deployed to Afghanistan. My wife and two children (3y/o and 6 m/o) were traveling from Denver to Houston to spend the holidays with her parents. My family did get on a plane to Houston the next day but, as you can imagine, it was not without emotion. They spent the holidays with family and are now back home in Colorado Springs returning to a somewhat normal life. I can???t wait to see them again.

  • Posted By: Flight1404survivor @ 01/08/2009 4:24:51 PM

    My 9-year-old daughter was on Continental flight 1404 with me, and 2 days ago I received two boxes that Continental FedEx-ed to us, containing clothing that had somehow been salvaged from the two carry-on bags that my daughter and I had taken aboard Continental flight 1404. I was pleasantly surprised at how much was able to be salvaged, and that the clothes smelled like fabric softener instead of like smoke or fire-fighting foam. In my opiinion, Continental has treated us quite well, and has seen to it that we have been able to replace the things that were destroyed in the wreckage of the flight. Remember that luggage, clothes and computers are simply THINGS, and that all 105 people on board got off that burning and broken jet with our lives. In my opinion, the flight crew was extremely professional and composed in the face of extreme duress. God is good, and on the evening of December 21, 2008, He was absolutely great. My symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome are slowly dissipating and lessening, and I am getting on with my otherwise normal life. Praise God for His healing.

    • Posted By: Flight1404survivor @ 01/08/2009 4:29:01 PM

      This is Flight1404survivor again...in my previous post, I meant to say that God was great the evening of December 20, not December 21. I thank Him every day now for the second chance my daughter and I have been given with our lives.

  • Posted By: Ican'thearyou @ 01/08/2009 8:59:45 AM

    ToniSuzanne is a flight attendant. And a typical one. Your nescience shows ToniSuzanne.

  • Posted By: ToniSuzanne @ 01/04/2009 8:36:24 PM

    He managed to grab his bag?WHY? What for?
    I'm a flight attendant...CARRY ON BAGS ARE THE NUMBER ONE OBSTACLE IN AN EVAC.
    BTW, I've read a description by the mom of the two kids. One of them was a "lap child"...wonder if she rode to Houston with hi on her lap?

  • Posted By: TUFIK HABIB @ 01/03/2009 10:18:22 PM

    Thank God everyone came out alive from this ordeal. May you all live long and prosper. There is one thing the author mentioned which caught my attention: he grabbed his bag. When evacuating an aircraft, one should leave all personal belongings behind and just head for the exits.

  • Posted By: TUFIK HABIB @ 01/03/2009 10:16:06 PM

    I am so happy everyone got out alive and is now in good health. There is one thing the author mentioned which caught my attention though. While evacuating an aircraft, one should forget about bags and any other type of personal belongings. Just head to the exit.

  • Posted By: Flight1404survivor @ 01/01/2009 1:20:29 AM

    My daughter and I were on this flight also, sitting one row in front of the author Jeb Tilley. I recognize him and his wife Ashley, and am thankful that we all got off the burning, broken airliner alive. Kudos to the pilot and co-pilot, who did the best they could under terrible circumstances. Reading this article brings back with vivid clarity the overwhelming terror of those violent, bone-jarring impacts. I am so blessed and thankful that everyone got off that plane alive. God obviously loves us, and I have gained a new perspective on the fragility and unpredicatability of precious life. God bless all my fellow passengers, as well as the Continental flight crew and pilots, because we have clearly been given a second chance on our lives.

  • Posted By: can545 @ 12/29/2008 1:27:47 PM

    I READ THIS STORY AND REALIZED CHRISTMAS CAME A LITTLE LATE THIS YEAR FOR THESE FOLKS, B UT IT CAME LIKE GANGBUSTERS. LIFE IS TOO SHORT--BE THANKFUL EVERY DAY YOU HAVE YOUR HEALTH AND YOUR FAMILY.

    MERRY CHRISTMAS !

  • Posted By: jeffcoaster @ 12/28/2008 2:12:47 PM

    We will be praying for all of you. Hope you all adjust to the way things were. Thank God that nobody died!

  • Posted By: Jeslynn @ 12/26/2008 11:25:42 PM

    Dear emm87,
    It is unclear to me whether you happened to be on that flight or not, because unless you were u really have no right to tell anyone what was done or how anyone should feel. I was on that flight, so please do not try to tell me who I should be thanking just yet, the results are not in on who or what is to be "blamed" for this incident. I am truly thankful that myself as well as everyone else aboard that plane is alive and that many of the injured are getting better. I DO also know that the fear from that night will never leave my memories, so I would like to ask you to STEP BACK and ask yourself- doU really know what you r talking about?

    • Posted By: Jeslynn @ 12/27/2008 1:13:40 AM

      ok so i didnt continue reading onto the next page, i apoligize emm for my harsh words. I guess that I am just very sensitive about this matter right now, and again I am sorry if I was rude, I truly don'y want to sound like most of the people whose comments I read on the next page.




  • Posted By: GALLERY84.COM @ 12/26/2008 9:02:50 AM

    MY HEART GOES OUT TO YOU ALL

  • Posted By: sjc07 @ 12/25/2008 9:44:52 PM

    emm87 - I would hope that others who were on the flight with you will step back and realize that to determine the cause of this unfortunate accident - it has to be fully investigated. No determination will be made for several months. As you have found out Continental Airlines - takes care of its passengers - it appears to me that you were taken care of by Continental Airlines - to the fullest ability of the airline. Have you felt that they are going to walk away and leave you stranded to deal with your issues on your own? Continental's concern and interest is making sure that their customers - you and everyone on that airplane are treated with fairness and the utmost respect - This is what I get from your comments below. I urge any person who was on that airplane to STEP BACK and ask themselves one question - ARE YOU STILL ALIVE? That pilot had to have fought the massive energy of that airplane to the point of not having it explode - correct? News reports that I have seen - advise that if that airplane had stopped on the runway - with the massive loss of fuel - that airplane would have most likely exploded -- however that pilot knew that he or she cared enough for every person on that airplane and knew that the safest place for the airplane to stop for the safety of everyone was on the grass and dirt - Have any of the other passenger thought that this pilot SAVED their lives? Just a passing thought.

  • Posted By: sjc07 @ 12/25/2008 3:52:28 AM

    emm87- If the airline has been good to you, I would think that you are not alone and that everyone on the airplane is being taken care of with the utmose respect and care of its passengers.

  • Posted By: emm87 @ 12/24/2008 4:04:41 PM

    SJC, excellent point. With every new piece of information that trickles out, i believe more fully that we all owe the pilot tremendously for choosing not to take off. Does anyone have any information regarding him? Because i really think he saved many, many lives.

    Also, regarding the crew working the flight- does anyone know if they are being taken care of as well as we passengers by Continental? The airline has been very good to me thus far; i can only hope the same has been extended to the flight attendants.

  • Posted By: emm87 @ 12/23/2008 11:54:18 PM

    Chill about the bag, guys. I was on this plane. I was in row 17. My bag was in my lap, and it came with me, along with the book i'd beenr eading. Of course, everything i own fell out of the bag- cell phone, iPod, wallet with IDs and cash, etc, and it wasn't until i was halfway up that hill that i even realized i'd brought it.

    You panic. Or you don't panic completely, and you think, "I really believe i'm going to die in this plane, and i don't want to be ashamed of these last moments here, so i'd better be as good as i can. Where are the infants i saw in the terminal?" But there are some things you have little control over because, sorry, your mind id occupied with surviving, or the fire outside the window, or the two mothers screaming, "I HAVE A BABY," or the grown men old enough to be your father screaming, "WE'RE ALL GONNA DIE," and many people being in agreement that, "THE PLANE IS GONNA BLOW UP."

    So seriously. Chill about the bag.
    And Mr. Tilly, little less drama and broderline-sensationalism next time, please. I feel your writing style detracted from the simple terror of the situation, turning the incident into a Hollywodd-esque adventure than the confused, frenzied mess it really was.

    And forgive me my spelling errors. My glasses fell off as we dropped into the ravine. I did not stop to find them.

    • Posted By: sjc07 @ 12/24/2008 10:54:47 AM

      Thank you emm87. Mr Tilly was not the only passenger who took a bag. So far I dont recall any comments for concern for those still in the hospital. Have you ever been in a car accident? You are in the driver's seat. You take the brunt of the force of the car. The captain took the brunt of the force of the airplane to his or her body. Is anyone concerned for the recovery of the captain who appears to be the most seriously injured of any person on that aircraft? Enough of slamming the airline company for being associated with other airlines. Enough of complaining about Mr Tilley. Enough of the compaining about the airline who safely got everyone off the airplane. Did one person loose their life? Every person expressing their opinion should be thanking Continental Airlines for hiring employees who are concerned about their passengers. It took 4 seconds for the piolts to call for an abort of takeoff after the initial problem came up. Why isn't anyone here concerned for the recovery of those still in the hospital? Why hasn't anyone praised the efforts of the crew and the crew that flew the airplane to Denver who were flying back to Houston for saving everyone's life. Did you know that one of the crew member's who flew the airplane to Denver went back *three times* to get passengers off the airplane? These are the people who should be praised here, but no - everyone is complaining about Mr Tilley.

  • Posted By: midi @ 12/23/2008 10:56:54 PM

    Headlines we would like to see....."Man found at back of burning plane. He was dazed and confused, trying tofigure oout how he got all those footprints embedded in his back....Authorities believe he was inadvertently tramples by other passengers were trying to evacuate the burning plane.....he had stopped to grab his cell phone and carry-on bag......he thought that being "clear headed" was better than following the FA's orders to leave everything and get off the plane....he seemed to be the type who thinks he knows what is best for everyone so he doesn't need to follow established rules and procedures.......Doctors call this condition "rudeness, egotism, "you can't tell me what to do", and just plain old stupidness"......There is no cure for this either.....so the rest of us will just have to put with jerks like Jeb Tilly and all the morons who have posted here that they would have done the same thing.
    Merry Christmas to all......including Jeb Tilly.....and be thankful your actions and any other passengers who did the same thing, did cause anyone to die from this terrible accident.

    And a very special TY for the FA's, who, I'm sure, did everything in their power to provide a swift and efficient EV, despite passengers like Jeb Tilly.

  • Posted By: sjc07 @ 12/23/2008 7:19:22 PM

    It is very disappointing to read some of the comments. If the crew had not acted as they did, lives would have been lost. The pilots saved lives on that airplane. It took seconds - seconds for them to decide to abort take off. They knew that if the airplane took off, that it would be a disaster. So what about a "bag" - not one passenger lost their life!

  • Posted By: sjc07 @ 12/23/2008 7:11:20 PM

    It is very disappointing to read some of the comments from several people. If the crew had not acted as they did, lives would have been lost. The pilots saved lives on that airplane.It took seconds for them to decide to abort take off. They knew that if the plane took off that it would have been a disaster.

  • Posted By: ditchqueen @ 12/22/2008 11:48:27 AM

    Airplane safety is getting worse everyday. Most of airplane repairs are outsourced to Mexico.. no joke. Only a handful of Airlines have mechanic hubs in the US. In fact United may close theirs soon. People expect low cost flights and complain about costs, this inadvertenly compromises safety. Airlines need to pay their staff, airplane repairs, plane upgrades, fuel and they need to "rent" their runways. (their not free). The airlines still need to turn a profit like any other business. In order to keep tickets cheap they have to squeeze us in like cattle, nickle and dime us and outsource. I don't think most of you truly realize where and how these planes are being repaired, just look at the Southwest mess recently. Pilots are being laid off and expected to fly more hours, would you feel safe driving a car after being up all night or only getting 3 hours of sleep? We are asking the piliots to do this. My family has been in the airline industry since the 60's. I have seen the changes first hand and can tell you I am nervous to get on a plane every time. The airlines are hurting, so they need to cut costs somewhere, You can thank Clinton for making this all possible with NAFTA.

    • Posted By: Winter360 @ 12/23/2008 5:41:55 PM

      That's funny. See, Carter is the Democrat I'd have blamed - for airline deregulation in '78 which pushed price wars leading to our super economy flight fares, which the airlines are now stuggling (and failing,) under. But maybe we don't get to blame Carter because the Republicans are big deregulation supporters too? Look, it's bipartisan airline failure!

    • Posted By: ditchqueen @ 12/22/2008 12:01:08 PM

      The pilots, FA and emergency crews should all be hailed as hero's. The passengers should be credited with doing a great job evacuating since a plane burns in about 90 seconds. It is wonnderful they all made it out, I understand people angry about him taking his bag, but when you think you're about to die you don't really think straight. Your body automactily goes into "flight or Fight" Some people in life and death situations actually die because their brain "tricks" them into bad decisions. Leave this man alone. Until we are in that situation, who are we to judge.

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