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StumbleUponMad Scramble
There was a mad scramble inside the plane. Bethany Francisco managed to escape through the main door with Zoie in her arms. Once in the water, she fought to keep the baby from slipping from her grasp. Spotting Donyelle bobbing near the plane's nose, Bethany kicked through the swells and handed her baby to the other woman for safekeeping. Then she grasped Donyelle's life jacket herself.Broken pieces of the plane floated everywhere. Walt couldn't tell if everyone had made it out. Nearby, the pilot thrashed and screamed, "I'm going to drown." But Constantinos calmed him, telling him to float on his back.
As Walt looked back at the plane, he saw Andre and Elisia standing on the wing, shrieking. Though they had on life vests, the vests weren't inflated. Water was rising to their knees.
Walt swam to the plane. Waves sweeping over the wings pushed him down. As he fumbled to inflate the children's life vests, the plane began to list and Andre and Elisia jumped on him. "You're going to drown him!" Donyelle screamed in warning. Walt finally managed to grasp their arms and tow them away. When he looked back, the plane was lying on its side like a dead sea gull. Then it began a slow slide to the bottom.
Just two minutes had passed since they'd hit the water.
At Air Station Miami, U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Mike Eagle was completing some paperwork when he got the call. A plane had ditched in the water west of Abaco. District command instructed Eagle to launch a Falcon jet, along with the HH-65 Dolphin, a short-range helicopter. The Coast Guard would also launch a Jayhawk copter from Air Station Clearwater's satellite location on Andros Island in the Bahamas.
Aboard the Dolphin, Petty Officer Ryan White rehearsed possible scenarios. The jet would pinpoint the wreck, but at that distance the chopper would have only 15 minutes of fuel to burn for the rescue operation -- if there were any survivors.
Donyelle held baby Zoie tightly. They'd been in the water for just a few minutes when suddenly an Air Sunshine plane roared overhead and dropped life jackets. Constantinos managed to grab two, one for the pilot, one for his family, and Bethany took back her baby.
Walt now clung to Donyelle's jacket, but they'd been separated from Andre and Elisia. After a moment, he and Donyelle spotted them across the rolling waves. The sight was heartbreaking. Their mother, outstretched arms draped around her children's legs, floated facedown in the water. Her body rose and fell with the waves.
Walt could hardly breathe. Those poor children, he thought. There's a plane above us -- it will send a boat. We just have to keep the kids calm until it arrives, he told Donyelle.
But Constantinos had another idea and urged them all to swim to shore. Donyelle was sure the kids would never make it. They were already exhausted. Their teeth chattered, and they were gulping salt water. Their life jackets were far too big for them and with no buckle around the waist, they were in danger of slipping through.
Donyelle spoke to Walt in a low voice. "We aren't leaving these children," she said. "I couldn't live if something happened to them."
"Absolutely," Walt agreed. "We're all going to get out of here." He had to believe that. He told Constantinos they would wait for help. The Franciscos and the pilot slowly struck out for the island six miles away.
Donyelle and Walt worked to hold on to each another, but the sea tore them apart. They focused on the children, trying to keep them active and talking because the sea was chilling their small bodies. Through chattering teeth they heard Elisia say, "Something's wrong with my mommy. It looks like she's under the water."
"Everything will be okay," Walt told her. A life vest floated by, and he grabbed it. Now at least they each had something to hold on to.
For an hour, Walt and Donyelle kept up a patter with the kids, asking about their school and their trip to the Bahamas. When they couldn't think of anything more to say, they sang "Amazing Grace" and "Jesus Loves Me."
At one point, Donyelle had a terrifying thought. "Are there s-h-a-r-k-s in here?" she asked Walt.
"Oh no, absolutely none," he said, wide-eyed, attempting to be playful.
"You also told me we weren't going to crash," Donyelle replied, laughing.
But as the hour wore on, Donyelle's mood shifted. If Walt drifted more than two feet from her, she begged, "Don't leave me! Don't go anywhere!" She worried about the children. They were floating listlessly now, not kicking or paddling, and therefore, not generating heat. Walt checked their condition -- and had a sudden realization. There were three children on the plane. Where was the third? In the chaos and confusion, everyone had lost track of her.
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