‘It could have been me’: Passengers reflect on close call after diverted flight to Richmond airport
HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Passengers whose flights were diverted to Richmond International Airport (RIC) due to a fiery plane crash near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., shared the frightening experience with 8News. "I've never been so close to something that could have been me before," said Coby Ceccarelli, a passenger whose flight was sent to RIC. "If my flight was just 10 minutes earlier, it could have been me." The crash, involving an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter above the Potomac River, killed nearly 70 people. Ceccarelli's flight was one of two flights that were initially supposed to land at Reagan National but were rerouted to Richmond as emergency crews flooded the scene to search for survivors. "We were going in circles for like 10 minutes. And we were like, 'What's going on? We were supposed to be landing 10 minutes ago,'" said Kendra Ortiz, another passenger on the same plane as Ceccarelli. "And then the pilot, he said that we have to come here to Richmond.” Ortiz and Ceccarelli both said when they landed they immediately checked their phones and saw what was going on. "I was just really grateful and fortunate for my life at that standpoint," Ceccarelli said. "My dad was very relieved to hear my voice. And my mom called me about an hour after that, very relieved to hear my voice.” Ceccarelli is training to become a pilot himself and said his aviation knowledge helped him understand what was happening. “The way that the pilot described it was [as] if some communication had gone wrong with the air traffic control tower over there. So that's something I've never heard of before," he said. "The training that I've been through, and I know the training that these pilots have been through, it’s just -- it definitely happens at random times.” While the passengers remain a bit shaken by the events that unfolded, things are running smoothly at RIC and DCA The recovery mission is still ongoing.
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HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Passengers whose flights were diverted to Richmond International Airport (RIC) due to a fiery plane crash near Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., shared the frightening experience with 8News.
"I've never been so close to something that could have been me before," said Coby Ceccarelli, a passenger whose flight was sent to RIC. "If my flight was just 10 minutes earlier, it could have been me."
The crash, involving an American Airlines passenger jet and an Army helicopter above the Potomac River, killed nearly 70 people.
Ceccarelli's flight was one of two flights that were initially supposed to land at Reagan National but were rerouted to Richmond as emergency crews flooded the scene to search for survivors.
"We were going in circles for like 10 minutes. And we were like, 'What's going on? We were supposed to be landing 10 minutes ago,'" said Kendra Ortiz, another passenger on the same plane as Ceccarelli. "And then the pilot, he said that we have to come here to Richmond.”
Ortiz and Ceccarelli both said when they landed they immediately checked their phones and saw what was going on.
"I was just really grateful and fortunate for my life at that standpoint," Ceccarelli said. "My dad was very relieved to hear my voice. And my mom called me about an hour after that, very relieved to hear my voice.”
Ceccarelli is training to become a pilot himself and said his aviation knowledge helped him understand what was happening.
“The way that the pilot described it was [as] if some communication had gone wrong with the air traffic control tower over there. So that's something I've never heard of before," he said. "The training that I've been through, and I know the training that these pilots have been through, it’s just -- it definitely happens at random times.”
While the passengers remain a bit shaken by the events that unfolded, things are running smoothly at RIC and DCA The recovery mission is still ongoing.
