Stanley Williams credits the pilot of USAir Flight 1016 with saving his life.
The Army air traffic controller is one of 20 people who survived the crash that killed 37 others. He recalled Monday how the DC-9's pilot, blinded by the driving rain, fought the wind for control."He did the best he could do, he just didn't make it," Williams said. "If he hadn't, there would not have been any survivors."
Capt. Michael Greenlee, considered one of USAir's best pilots, and First Officer James Hayes were released from a hospital Monday. Fifteen people remained hospitalized.
Hayes was at the controls when the plane crashed. Investigators planned to interview him and Greenlee on Tuesday, said John Hammerschmidt, an investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board.
"We have excellent information in this investigation," Hammerschmidt said Monday night. "Of prime importance is the fact that we have a flight crew that survived."
A commuter plane that landed just before Saturday's crash at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport reported smooth wind conditions, Hammerschmidt said. But rain was so heavy that the air traffic controller never even saw the USAir jet until it went down, he said.
Less than two minutes before the crash, the control tower warned pilots of dangerous wind shear, a sudden shift in wind speed and direction due to a rapid downward rush of cooled air.
The plane that crashed had a wind-shear alert system, but investigators have not yet determined if its warning signal sounded before the crash, Hammerschmidt said. The jet's black box has been recovered.
Flight 1016 was headed to Charlotte from Columbia, S.C.
Williams, who suffered burns and lacerations to his face, chest and arms, described the crash from a wheelchair in a hospital. His wife, Lori, who also survived, did not join him. They were in good condition Tuesday.
Williams is based in Hanau, Germany. The couple had been visiting her family in South Carolina and were on their way to visit his family in Dallas.
"The wind was playing havoc with the aircraft," Williams recalled. "When a DC-9 is being tossed around, you're not fooling around."
An air traffic controller for six years, Williams knew exactly what the pilot was facing.
"He couldn't see anything because it was raining hard," Williams said. "All he could see was his instruments."
As the jet heaved, Williams put his hands before his face.
"I remember feeling intense heat for a few seconds, and then the plane came to rest," he said.
From his window seat in the 16th row, Williams heard other passengers gasping for air and saw that his wife was no longer at his side.
"I knew they needed help but I was most interested in my wife," he said, choking back tears. "She was somewhere in the rear of the aircraft but I couldn't get to her."
Williams climbed through the torn fuselage, stepped over downed power lines, and passed out.
"It's awfully strange that God drew the line where he did," Williams said. "The people behind me died. I count my blessings."