The Tribune

By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

PLANE crash survivor Olympia Outten wept yesterday as she recalled how she feared all 11 people aboard would die after their light aircraft nose-dived into the ocean after both engines failed in stormy conditions on an election day flight from Abaco to Grand Bahama.

The Grand Bahama resident, who is unable to swim and is terrified of sharks, described her terror at having to jump from the stricken aircraft into a ‘black sea,’ before being helped to scramble on to one of the wings of the downed Beechcraft King Air 300 twin-prop plane.

“We thought we was going to die,” Ms Outten said.

A number of passengers were injured as the plane landed 80 miles off the Florida coast, and one was reported to have suffered a heart attack. They and the pilot then drifted in life rafts in open water for five hours before being rescued by the crew a US military helicopter which was in the area on a training exercise.

Pilot Ian Nixon reportedly declared an emergency with air traffic control before communication was lost, triggering a search and rescue operation that initially located eight occupants before the others were found.

Ms Outten, who was travelling with her two sons and niece so they could return home to vote in the general election, described the rescue as a “miracle”.

She said the 20-minute flight turned into a fight for survival after her niece noticed the engines and propellers stopping mid-flight.

“He lowered the plane down, and the gentleman told him to turn the mouth down to go down to the sea,” Ms Outten said.

“When he turned the mouth down and when he came down, my son was to the emergency door and the next gentleman was to the exit door and the same time when the plane hit the water he said ‘open’, and I told my son ‘open, open, open’ and when they opened all we heard was ‘bam’ and when we heard bam that’s when the door come off and it hit the gentleman in his chest.”

Ms Outten said she was slammed against the wall during impact and became trapped by a stuck seatbelt before her son helped free her.

Speaking with Florida Today, Ms Outten, 46, became emotional as she described the moments after she escaped the sinking aircraft.

“When I went to the door, I stand still to the door because I thought we were gonna die because all I saw was loon dark water around us,” she said.

“My niece, she was on the way, and she said ‘auntie, swim,’ I told her I can’t swim.”

Ms Outten said her niece coached her through the water, telling her how to move her legs to stay afloat.

Survivors initially clung to the aircraft wing before boarding a life raft and drifting in rough conditions while waiting to be rescued.

“We were out there for five hours, we were in a little storm, rain beating on us, we thought no one would see us,” she said.

“But I thank God the US Marines, they saw us and they saved us.”

Ms Outten said her niece was “thrown from the back straight to the front” of the plane during impact and suffered cracked ribs. She said she suffered a hip injury, while another passenger reportedly had a heart attack.

“The young lady, the little last girl, she had heart attack and I was pulling her in the little dinky boat because she couldn’t swim and she saying she gonna sink,” Ms Outten said.

“I say you ain’t gonna sink baby, you gonna live.”

She said she urged the passenger to pray as they waited for help.

Medical professionals reportedly identified two passengers with life-threatening injuries, while others suffered broken bones and lacerations. Medics also said some pre-existing medical conditions were worsened by the crash and required treatment.

Ms Outten said one of her sons, who has asthma, began vomiting and suffered an asthma attack while stranded at sea.

She said survivors cried and rejoiced when rescue aircraft finally appeared overhead.

Mr Nixon, 43, who reportedly has 25 years of flying experience, told CBS News he lost navigation systems, radio communication, avionics and both engines aboard the aircraft.

“I’ve never seen anything like that,” he told CBS.

He said he tried to radio Freeport and Miami for help before keeping the aircraft airborne as long as he could and ditching into the water.

“Once I hit the water, my first thought was, ‘we didn’t die,’” Mr Nixon said. “That’s one of the things I remembered. We didn’t die, let’s get down.”

His wife, Tamicka Nixon, 48, described the hours after communication with the aircraft stopped as “truly, truly nerve-wracking”.

Mrs Nixon, who said she also works in aviation, said she became alarmed when she did not hear from her husband during what was supposed to be a routine flight.

“We usually communicate,” Mrs Nixon said. “When I looked at the time 20 minutes later, I knew something was wrong.”

She said she was voting when air traffic control called to alert her about problems involving the aircraft, prompting her to contact aviation associates and others in the industry.

“We need to start getting some planes out there,” she recalled thinking.

Mrs Nixon said the uncertainty was emotionally overwhelming as she tried to stay strong for her family.

“It was truly, truly nerve-wracking while I’m trying to make a conscious effort to be strong,” she said.

She described the period before survivors were located as “basically a waiting game,” saying communication between contacts and rescue resources became critical during the search.