Air Niugini crash survivor tells of how he helped

By JIMMY KALEBE
A MAN has told of how he broke open the emergency exit on the Air Niugini aircraft after it crash-landed in the sea near Chuuk airport, allowing passengers to leave the cabin.
Rodney Nogi, 23, told The National that he deserved a pat on the back for what he and colleague Alois Philip did when the passengers and crew were looking for an escape route after the crash on Sept 28 in the Federated States of Micronesia.
“I was sitting at a seat by the window close to the emergency exit door. When looking out, I saw the tiny island and its runway through the opening in the cloud and the airport was all covered with heavy cloud,” he said.
“From what I saw, I deeply felt that we will be heading into a mishap when negotiating landing.”
Nogi said there was no warning for what was to happen next.
“We passed through layers of thick clouds negotiating our way down and when the visibility was clear at last, we were already at level with the runway but have already missed it and heading towards the sea.”
He said it was very lucky that only the tip of the plane’s tail tipped the edge of the runway. The pilot turned the plane quickly and crash landed on the water.
“While on the water, all lights in the plane went off including emergency lights, and water started coming in from the back of the plane at first.
“Passengers started running from the back to front and front to back shouting. All were in a panic mode, while others tried to crack open windows. I was still in the seat with seat belt and was switched off.”
Nogi said the air hostesses and the stewards were trying to calm passengers down. But no one made any attempt to open the emergency exit door.
“After I got my thoughts back, I unseated myself, picked my handbag and walked to the emergency exit door, opened it. That is the time when everybody rushed out through this emergency exit.”
He said he was assisted by workmate Philip to launch the life rafts as they have gone through sea survival training at work in times of emergency.
“As soon as the life raft was launched and on the water, we started getting fellow passengers on board. Rescue team and other banana boatowners came.”
Nogi said it took nearly 10 minutes to get all passengers out of the aircraft.
Nogi, 23, from a mix parentage of Madang and Oro, was attached with the Majestic Seafood Limited based in Lae as the deckhand crew in one of the company’s fishing vessels. He joined in May.
He told The National that he still felt the trauma and sometimes would wake up in the middle of the night.
“I am thankful to Lord God Almighty who has given me another chance to be alive.
“That is the moment that I will remember till I die.
“I need to be commended for the bravery I displayed at that time in utilising my skills to save lives.”