Astonishing tales of survival

Southwest Airlines cancelled about 600 flights after a Boeing 737-300 jet sprung a 1.5-metre hole in the roof after taking off from Phoenix on April 1.

Though the plane made an emergency landing, no one was seriously injured.

The story was remarkable but not unique. Here’s a look at some other stories of people who have been on ill-fated flights and lived to tell the tale.

June 1943

The B-17C Flying Fortress caught fire shortly after takeoff in Queensland, Australia and flew into a thicket of trees. One of the wings was torn off. That left a gaping hole in the fuselage, through which most of the passengers fell out. Foye Kenneth Roberts was the only survivor. He suffered head injuries that were diagnosed until years later. The 41 passengers and crew were U.S. servicemen returning from ten days of leave. The cause of the crash was never determined.

January 1972

Jugoslovenski Aero Transport

A bomb exploded on The McDonnell-Douglas DC-9 when the plane was 10,160 metres (33,333 feet) above the ground. The explosion tore the plane into several pieces and wreckage fell for three minutes before hitting the ground in East Germany. All 28 passengers and crew were killed, except for flight attendant Vesna Vulovic. A man arrived at the scene to find her lying in the debris with a dead crew member’s body on top of her. Vulovic, 22, had suffered a fractured skull, two broken legs and three broken vertebrae. She was paralyzed from the waist down but regained use of her legs through surgery. She still holds the record for surviving the highest fall without a parachute. Coincidentally, Vulovic was not supposed to be on that flight; she had been mixed up with another woman with the same first name. The attack is thought to have been the work of Croat nationalists.

January 1985

Galaxy Airlines

The Lockheed Electra 188 started vibrating violently soon after takeoff then crashed in a field near Reno, Nev., killing all 71 people except 17-year-old George Lamson. The force of the crash catapulted his seat out of the plane and he landed upright in the middle of a highway – still strapped in his seatbelt. He ran to the plane just as it burst into flames. Lamson’s father and another passenger survived the initial crash but died soon after. Investigators determined the cause to be pilot error.

August 1985

Japan Airlines

The Boeing 747 suffered mechanical problems just 10 minutes into its flight from Tokyo to Osaka and within half an hour had crashed into a mountain. All 15 crew members and all but four of the 509 passengers died, including well-known singer Kyu Sakamoto. The survivors included two women and two girls, all of whom were seated near the back of the plane. Because of rain and rugged terrain, rescue crews couldn’t reach the site until the next morning. Most of the passengers’ remains were unidentifiable. The cause of the crash was determined to be a maintenance error seven years previously. This crash remains the worst single-aircraft disaster in history.

January 1995

Intercontinental Airlines

The DC-9 exploded in mid-air while the pilot was attempting an emergency landing near Bogota, Colombia. The plane was carrying 52 passengers and crew but only one person survived – a nine-year-old girl named Erika Delgado. A local farmer found her in the lagoon where the plane landed, on a mound of seaweed. Delgado’s mother had shoved her out of the plane as it burst into flames. Both her parents and her younger brother died in the crash.

July 2003

Sudan Airways

The Boeing 737 suffered engine problems ten minutes after takeoff and crashed into a hillside while trying to make an emergency landing in Port Sudan. All 116 and passengers and crew were killed except for Mohammed el-Fateh Osman. The three-year-old boy was found in a fallen tree. He had lost part of his lower leg and had suffered severe burns. He later died in hospital.

January 2006

Slovak Air Force

The Antonov An-24 crashed in mountainous terrain near a town in northern Hungary with 43 passengers and crew on board. Soldier Martin Frakas survived because, at the time of impact, he was in the washroom, which was not damaged. Frakas called his wife, who alerted emergency crews. Frakas, who was on his way home after serving in the NATO peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, suffered minor brain swelling and lung injuries. He was carrying a four-leaf clover in his wallet. Crash investigators determined the pilot had descended too soon.

August 2006

Comair

The Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet overran the end of a runway and crashed at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Ky. All 47 passengers and two of the three crew members were killed. The flight’s first officer, James Polehinke, was the only survivor. He suffered several broken bones and a collapsed lung as well as severe bleeding and brain damage. Polehinke was flying the plane at the time of the crash but wasn’t responsible for the mishap. Captain Jeffrey Clay had mistakenly taxied the plane on a runway that was too short for a safe takeoff.

May 2010

Afriqiyah Airways

The jet crashed just short of the runway at Tripoli airport, killing 103 people on board and leaving a nine-year-old Dutch boy as the only survivor. Ruben van Assouw was found among the debris, still strapped in his seat. He suffered some leg fractures. The boy had been on holiday with his parents and older brother, all of whom died in the crash. The Airbus A330-200 had been in service just eight months. The cause of the crash has not been determined.

August 2010

A Boeing 737 jetliner crashed in a thunderstorm and broke apart as it slid across the runway in Colombia. The plane ended up on the end of the runway, crumpled and in pieces. Of the 131 people on board, all but one person survived.