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Airman pulls passengers from Continental Airlines wreckage

  • Published
  • By Gabriel Myers
  • 12th Flying Training Wing Public Affairs
RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) --  On Dec. 20, 2008, Lt. Col. Rich Lowe got the airplane ride of his life. And before it was over, he saved several others.

The Continental Airlines pilot and Reserve instructor pilot with the 12th Flying Training Wing was hitching a ride on Continental Flight 1404 from Denver to Houston. The colonel had just settled into his seat and started reading when he suddenly felt something was wrong.

Very wrong.

"As we were approaching takeoff speed, I felt the aircraft suddenly sway hard from the tail," he said. "We were traveling very fast and I remember the woman next to me grabbed my hand and looked at me as if to say, 'Is that normal?'"

At this point, Colonel Lowe said all he could do was process what was happening.

"It was all happening so fast," he said. "I really didn't have time to think about anything else."

As the aircraft continued to move sideways, the colonel could feel the wheels skip down the runway and hear the engines at full throttle.

"At this point the only thought in my head was, 'My God, the pilot's lost control of the aircraft,'" he said. "I could feel the pilot going full right rudder in an attempt to correct. People were beginning to panic and I heard screams and remember seeing luggage, personal items and people bouncing around the fuselage."

He said he also remembered thinking about how fast the aircraft was moving and noticed that even after leaving the runway the plane didn't seem to slow down at all. The aircraft skidded off the runway, across an access road, was briefly airborne and caught fire before finally coming to rest in a ravine.

"Once we stopped, everyone seemed to go into self-preservation mode," Colonel Lowe said. "The guy sitting in the exit row near the door opened it so fast you thought that he'd practiced it 100 times. People were climbing over seats and knocking other people over to try to get off the plane."

The aircraft was on fire on the right side so everyone bottle necked to the exit over the left wing. A flight attendant motioned for the colonel to come to the front of the aircraft where there were less people trying to exit.

He grabbed two women to come with him and helped them off the plane. Then he went back and grabbed a flight attendant who had a broken ankle and helped her exit the plane. He said he went back one last time, battling the growing fire and smell of fuel, to see if he could help anyone still onboard. All that was left was one flight attendant.

The two of them made one last sweep of the aircraft before exiting safely. There were some injuries, but everyone made it out alive.

Fortunately, a fire station was about 200 yards from where the plane came to a stop, and within minutes responders were on the scene assisting passengers and extinguishing the fire.

"We were all very fortunate to be alive and the folks at Denver really had a great contingency plan after the incident," Colonel Lowe said. "They were attentive to our needs and did everything in their power to make us as comfortable as possible."

The cause of the accident is still under investigation and Colonel Lowe admits he was a little apprehensive the very next time his aircraft was preparing for take-off, but considers himself very fortunate to be alive and flying again.

"You never really know how you're going to react when faced with that type of situation, I just tried to process what was going on and get myself and others to safety," Colonel Lowe said.

While the colonel's actions may have surprised himself, they were no shock to his colleagues.

"When I heard the story, I was amazed that everyone survived but was not surprised to hear (Colonel Lowe) was right there helping get folks to safety," said Lt. Col. Jeffrey Nicks, 39th Flying Training Squadron commander. "He's a fantastic Airman, wingman and person and I wouldn't have expected anything less."

Colonel Lowe doesn't consider himself a hero, just a person who was forced to assess and react to a life-threatening situation.

"No one knows how they will react in a situation like that, but it is not surprising that (Colonel Lowe) remained calm and took charge of the situation," said Lt. Col. Eric Cain, the 559th FTS commander. "The people on that plane were lucky he was on that flight." 

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