JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — “Up until the plane started skidding, it was pretty much a normal flight,” said Bob Gibson, who was on board a Boeing 737-800 that left the runway at NAS Jax and skidded into the St. Johns River Friday night.
The Virginia Beach, VA. resident described the harrowing final moments as the plane slammed in the water.
“There was heavy rain outside, and lightning," he said. "We could see that."
"For about three or four seconds, it was chaotic," Gibson recalled. "Some unfortunate people had forgotten to secure their seatbelts, so they were flying over the seats in front of them. And then, within seconds, we were hit by a deluge of water, which kind of added another level of terror to the whole situation."
Gibson said the top of the plane cracked on impact, and the wall of water that flowed over the top of the plane soaked everyone inside.
“So that was another level of panic that we encountered," he said. "For the first 30 to 45 seconds on the ground, it was pretty much chaos. People screaming, children crying. People calling out for help. There were people calling out for medics, doctors, nurses, because people had hit their heads on the chair in front of them, so we had some with serious cuts."
After that, he said the flight crew took over, along with the military training of many passengers.
“I think the thing that carried the day was the fact that this was a plane of, probably 90 percent either active duty or retired military, of every shape and size," Gibson said. "We had sailors and Marines, soldiers and airmen on board, Coast Guard. And I think at this point, their training kind of kicked in. Several stepped up and started shouting orders at people to get the hatches open, started getting people out on the wings of the aircraft. That was a major accomplishment."
Describing the incident, Gibson repeatedly held back tears.
"For the most part, it was another miracle," he said. "I don’t know how we survived. When I stop and think about it, it scares me. At the time, I wasn’t as scared as I got later on when I realized what could have happened -- how bad it could have gotten, what the results could have been.”
He says nearly everyone was injured to some degree from being thrown against seats. Some, possibly not wearing seatbelts, flew over the seats in front of them.
“Everybody around us suffered some kind of whiplash," he said. "When the aircraft hit that barrier, people bounced pretty hard. It was violent, it was very very violent."
“It was panic," Gibson continued. "People were helping people, though. The call went out for medics and doctors and nurses. Anyway, and in true -- excuse me -- in true military fashion, in true military form, what you would expect, people stepped up and helped each other. So, I would say, just getting people thinking about the fact that they needed to leave the aircraft, moving in the right direction, getting their life jackets on, I think that took precedence over everything. Not knowing if the plane was going to sink, catch fire. There was a lot of talk about what could happen. But I think once people realized we had an evacuation plan, and we got out on wings, with rafts out there, people ready to help -- I think it was a calming effect on people. And I think that probably carried the day.”
As for how the experience will shape his flying habits, Gibson said he and his friend Ben both decided to "get back on the horse."
“When I was leaving that aircraft, I thought, 'You know what? I’m going to just walk back to Virginia,'" he said, "'You know, I’m going to walk or hitchhike or whatever it takes. I’m just not going to get on a plane again.' But [I] realized that was kind of silly."
He says they booked Southwest flights home.
"We just decided we’d face our fears head-on, and get back on the plane," he said.
Reflecting on the incident, he said, the positive outcome looms larger than the crash.
“There was a lot of very fortunate and happy people [on board]," he said. "I think things could have turned out a lot worse than they did. I think God had his hand on that plane. And that’s why I’m sitting here today.”