CRASH survivor Michael Nedd yesterday recounted the final moments of the Caribbean Airlines flight as it crash-landed at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport, saying God intervened and placed him next to the emergency exit.
Nedd, 54, a Guyanese national, was speaking during a telephone interview from his home in Georgetown, said he and his wife, Deborah, 48, were among the 157 passengers and six-member crew who were flying in from New York, in the United States.
The crew was changed at Piarco during the journey.
The couple had travelled to the United States where they spent five weeks attending a church conference.
"It was a bumpy flight. I know it was raining because when we got to Guyana and I looked out my window, I could see asphalt and the tarmac was wet," said Nedd.
"We came down so hard, so fast, I actually turned to my wife and said, 'Wow! That was a hard landing.'"
Nedd said a few seconds later, their worst nightmare came to pass.
"The pilot started to press on the brakes but it was not stopping. He pressed about three times and the panic began; people's heads were hitting the back of the seats," said Nedd.
"Suddenly, there was this loud, hideous sound. I can't even explain this sound, it was a loud boom, and the entire plane went black. The lights went out, total darkness. People started screaming and bawling, children were crying," said Nedd.
"I was seated at seat 12A, next to the emergency exit door...I believe it was God who put me there; I pulled that lever and everyone rushed to get out."
"I climbed out onto the wing of the airplane and there was a mad rush. People were pushing and scrambling to get out. They started pushing me and trampling on my wife. I was out on the wing but I couldn't jump without her. I reached back in and grabbed her; she was looking for her glasses which had broken with the impact," said Nedd.
"We have been married for 29 years, going on 30. We got married in April 1982; we have been together for quite a long time; I'm not ready to lose my wife at all because we have a very good marriage. I love her," said Nedd.
He continued, "My wife was so scared, she was screaming for Jesus. I told her we have to jump because I was smelling jet fuel."
"I jumped and I fell on the ground and rolled; I got up and shouted for my wife to jump. She jumped and fell on me; we got up and started to run," said Nedd.
He said every one was climbing onto the wing and jumping off.
"Everybody was panicking; some were shouting that the plane was going to blow because the fuel scent was strong. All this time, we had no help from anybody; it was just us in the darkness," said Nedd.
"Everybody was trying to save their own life. People were just rushing and tumbling and pushing. They were literally going to push me off (from the wing); it was every man for himself," said Nedd.
"After about half an hour of running in the darkness, we saw some women who came out in their nightgowns from some area nearby. I asked one of them for a cellphone borrow, and I called my son who was waiting for us at the airport. I told my son his mother and I were okay, but the plane crash and there are others who need help...I guess he raised an alarm and alerted the authorities," said Nedd.
"Then we saw civilians from the airport running towards us to help; there were no police, no army," he said.
Nedd said after running some distance, he turned around and saw the plane had broken into two.
"That was amazing. I am a Christian, and I believe it really was a miracle from God," he said, adding that a woman told him the plane broke right where she was sitting, and it was her seat belt that saved her.
"To me, it was a miracle, and if there are people who don't believe there is a God, believe me, there's a God," said Nedd.
Nedd said when they reached the airport, he and his wife waited for awhile to meet Guyana's President Bharrat Jagdeo, however, after some time, he started feeling weak and asked his son to take him home.
"When I got home, my daughter made me some tea and that calmed me a little...I was in shock," he said.
Nedd said his wife had chest pains and they both have head injuries and will be going for further tests at their private doctor.
Asked if he would travel on Caribbean Airlines again, Nedd replied, "I don't know, it depends on how they treat us this time around, then I would know if I would fly with them again or if I would recommend them to anyone."
"I hope they are fair to us; if there was any negligence, then let the world know; if it was pilot error, let the world know; the truth has to be revealed," said Nedd.
Another passenger, Noel Garcia, 49, told TV6 on Sunday he did not believe he was going to survive the crash. Garcia suffered a broken right leg in the crash-landing.
"The flight was good all the way through, but the landing wasn't good," he said.
"We were told (at Piarco) that in 50 minutes, we would be in Guyana.... I heard the landing gear go up and then come down, the plane touched down and there was tumbling and tumbling, and I don't know anything else. I got a blackout; I could not move," he said.
He said two men came and lifted him out of the plane to safety.
"When I tried to get up, I realised my leg was broken; I couldn't walk," he said. Garcia said he was happy to be alive.
"When the plane touched down like that, I did not think I was going to be alive," he said. He said he will continue flying with CAL. "It's a good airline; I have been flying with them for years."
Two other passengers remained in hospital recovering from head injuries.
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