9:30 on Thursday night (1/15/09), and I've just gotten off the telephone with Shae Childers of Gaffney.
She was at a New York City hospital, recovering from bruises and hypothermia.
She was one of the 155 people who survived this afternoon's crash of U.S. Air Flight 1549 in New York's Hudson River.
It was humbling for me to interview a person who'd been on the receiving end of a miracle.
A Hand-of-God miracle.
Shae is a buyer for Gaffney-based Hamrick's. She was returning from a New York City business trip.
The jet had taken off from LaGuardia Airport and had been in the air only moments when it apparently hit a flock of geese, disabling the plane's two engines.
Shae says the pilot told the passengers to prepare for impact. Passengers sitting at the exits were told to be ready, once the plane was down, to open the emergency doors.
Shae says she prayed. Others around her were crying.
After the plane was down and the passengers began getting out, Shae tells me she jumped in the cold river, fearing the plane was about to sink. She was helped out of the water and onto a wing until a boat picked her up.
Shae describes the actions of the pilot as "fantastic."
She also agrees with those who called their survival miraculous.
The skill of the crew... the plane landing in water instead of crashing into buildings... boats close by and rushing to the passengers' aid... all 155 passengers and crew surviving...
Miraculous, yes.
I asked Shae what's next for her. She replied, "All I want to do is get home." She plans to do that as soon as the hospital releases her.
She was understandably hesitant to return on another plane. She may opt for a car.
How very differently this day could have turned out for 155 people, their families and friends, if not for a miracle from God.
It is a night for celebration and giving thanks.
You can hear my entire interview with plane crash survivor Shae Childers on www.wspa.com.
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