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When Mike Eagle's jet arrived at the crash site, he saw two groups in the water. One had a baby. They needed flotation, now. His dropmaster let go a raft that could hold eight -- it inflated as it fell.The raft hit the water about 40 yards short of the Francisco family, and the line landed right beside them. But they didn't realize it.
Donyelle saw the raft plummet out of the sky, hundreds of yards up-current. She knew they were too weak to reach it. Andre's head was lolling backward. Walt jostled the boy. "Andre! No time for a nap now." But the little boy could barely open his eyes.
Then the jet dropped a second raft, closer to them. "I'm going for it," Walt said. "No!" Donyelle cried, afraid to let him out of her sight. She'd go with him, she decided. Don't worry, they told the kids. "We're coming back. We're going to put you in that raft."
Walt dog-paddled to it. And found that the raft was only half-inflated. Exhausted, his mind cloudy, he couldn't figure out what to do. He tugged the raft over to the kids, but couldn't get them into it. They were so cold, they barely moved. Walt's heart sank. After all this.
Mike Eagle directed the chopper to the crash site. The Dolphin's fuel was critically low. The crew had to act now. They swooped from 200 to about 20 feet above the sea. Rescue swimmer Ryan White jumped from the aircraft in wet suit, fins, snorkel and mask. With a few powerful strokes, he neared the Franciscos and the pilot. Following procedures, at first he kept his distance. Victims often hysterically cling to a rescue swimmer and bring them both down. He dived under the water to make sure they had arms and legs. He prioritized. The Francisco baby was in deep shock. He had to get her and her mother out first.
His crew mates lowered a rescue basket, and White eased mother and child into it. Then the helicopter hoisted the pair to safety. The pilot and Constantinos Francisco were next.
At least ten minutes had elapsed since the Dolphin began its rescue. White radioed his colleagues. "I know you're low on fuel," he said. "After you get the husband, go. Clearwater can pick me up."
The chopper from Clearwater and a Bahamian fishing boat came on the scene as Walt was struggling with the raft. He frantically motioned toward the children. Get them first!
Rescue swimmer Kurt Peterson jumped in, gathered up Andre and Elisia and placed them in the rescue basket. The little boy told him, "My mommy is dead." Peterson didn't answer. He tried to stay focused, retrieving Donyelle next, then Walt.
The fishing boat picked up the bodies of Diane Parker-Diaz and Diante, the third child. Peterson swam to the boat, and found Diane was clearly beyond help. But knowing the recuperative powers of children, he took the little girl into the copter where he and Ryan White tried to resuscitate her as they flew to the hospital.
Oh, God, Walt thought. She was there all the time and we didn't see her, we couldn't help her. Overcome with emotion, he shook with sobs. Donyelle, holding Andre and Elisia in her embrace, reached out to Walt too.
The Air Sunshine survivors were rushed to Rand Memorial Hospital in Freeport, Bahamas. Diane Parker-Diaz had died in the ocean, struggling to save the children. Her four-year-old niece, Diante Parker, was pronounced dead at the hospital. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash of Flight 502, looking at pilot training, maintenance records and other issues at the airline.
Walt and Donyelle Wilkins didn't notice the deep black and yellow bruises they had sustained from the crash until later that night -- neither was seriously hurt. They returned to Florida on a cruise ship the following day and eventually spent a quiet honeymoon in Georgia.
Walt still dreams about the crash, imagining how he might have prevented the deaths of the mother and child. Neither he nor Donyelle has been able to fly since. For Donyelle, amid the horror, there was one unexpected insight. Sometimes people wonder if their spouses would be willing to lay down their lives for them. Donyelle Wilkins knows the answer.
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