Survival in the Amazon

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil (CNN) -- A woman who survived a weekend plane crash in Brazil that killed 24 told Monday of struggling to reach a square of light in the submerged plane, while another said she had no doubt she owed her survival to God.

There were a total of 28 people aboard the flight, which crashed in an Amazon Basin river. Only four survived.
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The four passengers were rescued by emergency teams after the Brazilian-made Bandeirante turboprop aircraft went down Saturday afternoon in the Manacapuru River, a tributary of the Solimoes River, reports said.

"Before the fall, I was looking at the emergency door, but what sustained me was God," Brenda Dias Moraes told the local O Coariense newspaper. "I saw many people shouting, 'Open the emergency door.' I could not see anything in front of me. I am certain I was guided."

Another survivor described the struggle to get out.

"When I opened my eyes and released the seat belt, I saw that all the chairs were in front," said Ana Lucia Lauria. "I turned toward the square that I managed to see, which gave the light of day. I guided myself there and left the aircraft."

Fisherman Edmilson Viana was one of the rescuers.

"The great desire was to rescue more lives," he told O Coariense. "I could not do anything because I had no breath."

The plane took off from Coari, about 225 miles (362 kilometers) southwest of the state capital of Manaus, where the flight was headed.

The Aviation Safety Network, a resource center for aircraft accidents and civil aviation safety issues, posted a summary online that stated: "Press reports indicate that the pilot contacted Manaus [air traffic control] about one hour after takeoff. He stated his intentions of returning to Coari due to heavy rainfall en route. Contact with the flight was lost shortly afterward."

Civil Defense Coordinator Daniel Guedes told O Coariense the airplane was trying to make an emergency landing on a make-shift landing strip but crashed into the river.

"The survivors said they saw one of the plane's motors shut down. We thought he would try to land on a deactivated landing strip, but he couldn't make it," Guedes said.

There were unofficial indications that the airplane may have been overloaded.

The airplane involved, an EMB-110P1, has a certificated maximum of 19 passenger seats, the Aviation Safety Network said. On Saturday's flight, 26 passengers had boarded the plane, including eight small children.

Brazil's Folha de Sao Paulo, a national daily newspaper, said a 9-year-old child was among the survivors.

Embraer, the Brazilian company that manufactured the airplane, has expressed its sorrows and has sent a specialized team to help in the investigation, the official Agencia Brasil news agency said.

Likewise, the airline, Manaus Aerotaxi, expressed condolences in a message on its Web site and said it was assisting in the investigation. The airline also said it was offering assistance to the survivors as well as the families of the deceased.

Lesson is Survival

Grateful for lesson in survival


By Chase Binder For the Monitor

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The images of USAirways Flight 1549 floating on the Hudson on Jan. 15 were real shockers for Bud and me. First, we've been flying USAirways almost exclusively for the past 15 years or so. We're accustomed to seeing their planes on the tarmac or in the air - not in the water. Second, we've always assumed that if our plane went down, we'd be . . . well, toast. But Flight 1549's successful water landing got me thinking. If survival is possible, maybe we should know a bit more about increasing our odds.

Assume survival: If you look at the stats, flying is the safest way to travel. Of course it's also the scariest way to travel. You know, the whole thing about being stuffed in a pressurized aluminum tube flying 6 miles above the earth at 500 mph. But the numbers don't lie - your chances of dying in a plane crash are about 1 in 10 million. In fact, according to government statistics, 76.6 percent of people involved in the most serious plane crashes survive, and the survival rate zooms to 95 percent when all plane crashes are included. Want proof? Faa.gov has a fascinating section of accident/incident data, complete with stunning photos, lessons learned and more. So, assume you can survive and plan accordingly. It's part attitude and part planning.

Before you board: Can selecting the right seat help assure your survival? Perhaps. Statistics show that passengers in the rear third of the plane have higher survival rates than those in the front. But it depends on the type of crash - an unpredictable element. What you can predict is that you'll need to get out of the aircraft, fast! One British researcher found that passengers seated within five rows of an exit were most often among survivors. So, before selecting your seats, locate your aircraft seating plan (seatguru.com is the best source if your booking website doesn't provide it). Look for exit rows and go for the aisle seats instead of the windows for easy egress. The numbers also show that fire and smoke are lethal hazards, so try and wear clothes made of natural fibers. Man-made fibers can melt to your skin. Visit wikihow.com/Survive-a-Plane-Crash for more details.

Be alert: During a network interview, one of the Flight 1549 passengers admitted she was unprepared - and she is a frequent flyer who logs 100,000-plus miles a year in the air. The point hit home. Bud and I have flown so often that we tune out the flight attendants and rarely bother with the safety card - big mistake! It is vital to know where the exits are, how to find your life jacket and how to work the oxygen masks. It is vital to know the brace position: head down and forward, protected by folded arms braced against the seat in front of you. Your legs should be extended out in front of you - tucking them underneath your seat can mean two broken legs and significantly diminished chances of getting out. Your seat belt can literally save your life - but only if it's buckled tight and low. And after reading the stats on the most dangerous portions of a flight (take-offs and landings, with a fairly hefty edge to take-offs), I am now going to listen carefully, keep my shoes on and remain alert and focused for the first eight to 10 minutes. Once we reach cruising altitude, I'll relax - but still keep my seat belt snug.

Will I forget all this by the next time we fly? Perhaps I'll tuck this column in my suitcase, just to jog my memory when I start packing. How about you?