Twitter provides interesting first-person accounts of what it was like to be one of the more than 100 passengers who escaped that burning Continental Airlines 737 that veered off the runway and caught fire Saturday night in Denver.
(Note the comment about the passenger who quickly got an emergency door opened. I'll be thinking of that the next time I consider ignoring the flight attendants pre-takeoff safety spiel.)
Clearly, passengers and flight attendants kept their cool -- and prevented this from being a horrible disaster, rather than just a frightening accident.
Some excerpts from various passengers accounts on Twitter, starting with the aftermath:
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@marioOlckers I think this will be it. I wouldn't want to be a celebrity, but it's been an interesting experience doing a couple interviews about 1 hour ago
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Wife just picked me up from the airport. Relieved. about 17 hours ago from Touchdown! The crowd goes wild!
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MetalRox gratz! about 21 hours ago from twitterrific in reply to MetalRox
@showtunes no-won't get our luggage for a while I think and sounded like my mac is likely melted to the floor about 21 hours ago from twitterrific in reply to showtunes
@richard_holland those who would/could fly again and were still wanting to get to Houston. I wonder how many took the bus instead?
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Waiting in the continental club for the "replacement" flight. Noticing I'm a little sore.
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Heading to the airport for another try at flying to Houston.
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I'm very grateful to still be here. Thanks again to all the well wishers. I'm amazed and humbled by it all.
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there was a fire station nearby and that's where we all ended up right after the crash
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I made for the exit door as quickly as I could, fearing the right wing might explode from the fire. once out, i scrambled down the wing
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Whoever was on the left side exit row, god bless him, was johnny on the spot and instantly had the door open - people crowded out in a mass
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By the time the plane stopped we were burning pretty well and I think I could feel the heat even through the bulkhead and window
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i believe it was after the jolt that the right engine, which was near my row, caught fire
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i think we might have gone into a ravine and dropped some distance as there was a sudden bottom-dropped-out feeling and then a jolt
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shortly after we veered off, the plane quite obviously left the runway at high speed (maybe 100 kts) and proceeded to go 4 wheel driving
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a 1st class passenger I talked to indicated he saw the left engine come off at the time, but it's unclear if this was a cause or an effect
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to all who've asked, it's hard to know exactly what went wrong -- we were in the middle of a normal takeoff when we suddenly veered off
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You have your wits scared out of you, drag your butt out of a flaming ball of wreckage and you can't even get a vodka-tonic.
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Continental keeping us locked up at the presidents club until they can sort everything out. Won't even serve us drinks.
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By JOE SHARKEY
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