Jaw-Dropping Footage Shows Passengers ‘Hanging Like Bats' in Crashed Delta Jet
The jaw-dropping clip, recorded by a passenger who was inverted himself, shows a shockingly calm cabin—save for some muffled shouts—with survivors typing on their phones as they dangled in the air, possibly still in shock about what had happened.
'We hit the ground and we were sideways, and then we were hanging upside down like bats,' Peter Koukov told ABC News. 'It all happened pretty, pretty fast.'
Koukov said some passengers dangled helplessly until rescuers arrived to safely bring them down. His own recording showed the flight crew ushering those who were able to get down safely off the Bombardier CRJ-900 that had taken off from Minneapolis.
Pete Carlson, another passenger, said he was also shocked with how quickly the dramatic scene played out.
'The one minute you're landing and kind of waiting to see your friends and your people and the next minute you're physically upside down and just really turned around,' he told ABC.
John Nelson, a third passenger, said many on board opted to calmly dangle from their seats at first because the flight crew instructed them to. Passengers took matters into their own hands not long after, he said, adding that he helped bring down those around him after he undid his seatbelt and plopped onto the plane's ceiling, which had become its floor.
'You heard the flight attendants yelling, 'Open the door. Everybody, take your stuff and get out now,'' he recounted to ABC. 'We all worked together and got out of there as quickly as we could.'
There were 80 people on board the flight, including its 76 passengers—of which 22 were Canadian nationals—and four flight crew.
Perhaps miraculously, there were no fatalities in the crash. However, three people—a child, a man in his 60s, and a woman in her 40s—were rushed to a hospital in critical condition, officials said. A total of 21 passengers required hospitalization, the airline later said, but all but two had been released by Tuesday morning.
A definitive cause for the crash is yet to be identified by authorities.
Pilots and aviation experts have noted the jet appeared to make a hard landing before it was stripped of one wing and overturned in a fireball. An air traffic control recording said the aircraft was being battered by winds as fierce as 40 mph before landing—part of a nasty winter storm sweeping across the region.
While some reports described the runway as 'icy' with winds gusting to 70 mph at landing, the airport's fire chief, Todd Aitken, told reporters the surface was actually 'dry' and 'there was no crosswind conditions' at landing.
Despite being on foreign soil, the crash is sure to put pressure on Donald Trump's administration. It's the fourth high-profile aviation crash involving American planes within his first month back in office—a period that has been particularly tumultuous within the Federal Aviation Administration.
About 400 termination emails went out to FAA staffers on Friday as part of Trump's far-reaching cuts to the federal government's workforce and overall spending.
The timing of the firings has left many scratching their heads, as it comes on the heels of the midair collision of a U.S. Army helicopter and American Airlines jet on Jan. 29 that killed 67; a medical transport plane crashing in Philadelphia that killed six; and the Bering Air passenger flight that crashed in Alaska on Feb. 6 and killed 10.

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Hamilton Spectator
37 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Thailand sets up safe spaces for pets whose owners fled border violence
SURIN, Thailand (AP) — As residents along Thailand's border with Cambodia fled the ongoing fighting, many tried to take their animals with them. For those who were unable to do so, livestock officials stepped in to help. Thailand's Livestock Department asked its local offices to provide safe space for animals whose owners have had to evacuate, and the offices in several border provinces announced they were ready to do so. In Surin province, several cages were placed under cover at the front of the local Livestock Breeding and Research Center as temporary kennels. Five dogs and two cats were staying at the center as of Sunday. The capacity is around 20 animals. Sornchai Kongsook, director of the livestock center, said owners can leave their pets for free, but they have to be able to visit every day to take care of the animals. 'We have opened our space for cats and dogs that the residents, or farmers, can't take into an evacuation center,' he said. 'There are also some owners who have chosen to stay at a hotel, which doesn't allow pets.' He said livestock are welcome at the center, although none has been left there so far. Officials have prepared food to be distributed to cows and buffaloes left behind in danger zones. Many northeastern Thais are farmers and usually own livestock. Several of them roam the fields in areas that are now largely deserted. The armed clashes between Thailand and Cambodia since last week have killed dozens of people and displaced thousands. Wilawan Duangvao, an elementary school teacher, left her dogs, Khawtom and Khaitun, at the shelter Saturday after she received an order to evacuate her home in Prasat district. She was able to return to check on them the following day. As she approached the cage they were being kept in, they stood up barking, wagging their tails and jumping around excitedly. A tearful Wilawan picked up Khawtom, a 2-year-old mix of shih tzu and poodle. Khaitun, a younger mix of American bully and Thai street dog, stood on his hind legs inside the cage as Wilawan and her husband played with both dogs and comforted them. Wilawan said it was a difficult decision to leave her pets, but she couldn't stay at home and needed to find a safe place for them. 'At our home now, water and electricity have been cut. I don't feel comfortable leaving them at home. I'm afraid they'll go into shock,' she said. Wilawan said she is now taking care of evacuees staying at her school, which has been converted to a temporary shelter, which does not allow animals. She said she can't thank officials enough for offering a safe space for her pets. 'I'm so grateful. Everyone here is very welcoming. They took them in and I'm relieved. They didn't ask for anything in return,' she said. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .


New York Post
17 hours ago
- New York Post
Dad recalls horrific moment 10-year-old son was attacked by shark in Florida: ‘I heard the screaming'
It was a sunny August Saturday when Mary and Jameson Reeder took a boat nine miles out into Looe Key Reef with their four children, for a day of swimming and snorkeling in the crystal clear waters of the Florida Keys. 'The kids were diving, splashing, just having the best time,' writes Jameson in 'Rescue at the Reef: The Miraculous True Story of a Little Boy with Big Faith' (Worthy). As Jameson swam with his youngest son, Nehemiah, his oldest boy, 10-year-old Jameson Jr. grabbed a GoPro video camera and dived down to the seabed to see what he could find. 9 Jameson Reeder Jr. was 10-years-old when he was attacked by a shark on a snorkeling trip with his family. ABC News 'Then I heard the screaming,' Jameson recalls. On the boat, Mary Reeder thought her son had been stung by a jellyfish. But when she and her husband dragged him back on the boat, she was shocked by her son's leg. 'I saw some of his ragged skin and then just bone – way too much bone – and it seemed to keep going and going until his bloody foot rose past me,' she writes. 'His lower leg was all bone. Just below the knee, all the way to the ankle. And then the foot.' Instantly, the couple knew it was a shark attack. 'Nothing else could do that damage,' she adds. 'It was a horrific, almost unreal sight.' But the family was still nine miles off-shore, and the nearest hospital was another 20 miles away. As Mary writes, a 'terrifying realization was still settling into my chest. I'm going to lose my son!' 9 His parents, Mary Catherine and Jameson Reeder, tell the harrowing story in a new book. They weren't totally alone, though. Other boats soon came to their assistance including one with a nurse onboard who swam to the Reeders with a first aid kit, despite the fact that the shark was likely still nearby and there was blood in the water. Racing back to the shore, Mary feared the worst. 'He had lost so much blood, more than I'd ever seen,' she remembers. 'I was trying to keep him awake, to get him to keep his eyes open, praying that he wouldn't die.' When they reached the marina, an ambulance was waiting to transport Jameson to a nearby church — where a helicopter would airlift him to Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami, a thirty-minute flight away. There, as doctors examined his injuries, the extent of the damage was clear. As the Reeders explain, the surgeons couldn't save Jameson's leg, because there was nothing left to save. 9 Through footage obtained with Jameson Jr.'s GoPro camera, they were able to ascertain that it was a bull shark — eight to 10 feet long, weighing between 300 and 500 pounds. ABC News 'I had been worried that my son might lose his life. Then I'd been worried that Jameson would lose his leg, but in this moment I realized he had already lost it,' adds Mary. While she and her husband deliberated over giving permission to amputate their son's leg, a doctor intervened. 'You don't have to make this decision,' he told them. 'The shark made it for you. You're off the hook.' The family learned that it almost certainly had been a bull shark — eight to 10 feet long, weighing between 300 and 500 pounds. 'We hadn't seen it,' adds Mary. 'A quarter‐ton animal twice as long as our kid had snuck up on us.' 9 The boy had to be airlifted from the marina to Nicklaus Children's Hospital in Miami. Jameson Reeder Jr / Instagram In a wild twist, their suspicions were confirmed when the boy's GoPro video camera was recovered — and the Reeders could see exactly what had happened. First there was a shadow. Then a tail and a fin. A cloud of blood filled the screen before a shark's tooth appeared and then drifted out of view. 'It wasn't an exaggeration to say he had fought a Goliath and won,' says Jameson Sr. Statistically, write the Reeders, you have a greater chance of being struck by lightning on five separate occasions than you do of ever being attacked by a shark. 9 Doctors said there was no way to save the boy's leg. Jameson Reeder Jr / Instagram What's more, there had never been a single recorded shark attack at Looe Key Reef in recorded history. Jameson had simply been in the wrong place at the wrong time. When the boy awoke after 10-hour surgery he said he couldn't feel his toes. A doctor asked what he remembered of the incident and why he thought he couldn't feel them. Then the realization kicked in. 'He didn't say anything,' writes Mary. 'He was processing the question, trying to find his way from it to an impossible and horrible answer.' 9 Shortly after the attack, Jameson Jr. was intent on going back to the reef where it happened. ABC News Jameson required three more surgeries as physicians attempted to graft new skin to what was left of the bottom of his leg. But he shocked his family by saying he wanted to go back to the reef, just four days after the attack. 'Dad,' Jameson said, 'I don't want the shark, this hospital, and my leg to be my worst nightmare. I want to face my fear and move forward.' The attack also had profoundly different effects on his three siblings. Brother Noah, 8, for example, wanted to stick close to Jameson to make sure he was all right. 9 Jameson Jr. got a prosthetic leg three months after the attack. Jameson Reeder Jr / Instagram 9 'I don't want the shark, this hospital, and my leg to be my worst nightmare. I want to face my fear and move forward,' the tween said. Credit: Reeder family Six-year-old sister Eliana, meanwhile, didn't even want to talk about what happened. 'Whenever we tell the story to someone, Eliana goes into another room or covers her ears or puts on headphones,' writes Mary. Youngest brother Nehemiah, 3, thinks his brother is a superhero. 'He brags about it to people,' says Jameson Sr. 'He just thinks it's so cool: 'My brother got bit by a bull shark.'' The family, meanwhile, attributed their son's miraculous survival to their faith. 'I felt so certain that God was leading every snap decision,' writes Jameson Sr. 'Every moment felt like we had been guided into doing the best thing.' Jameson told his parents that in the aftermath of the attack, while he was drifting in and out of consciousness on the boat back to shore, he had seen a 'person on fire' standing on the boat. 'I knew it was Jesus,' he told them, adding: 'It was the worst and best day of my life.' 9 The family attributes their son's miraculous survival to their faith. Jameson Reeder Jr / Instagram Three months after the attack, Jameson — who still swims and skateboards and plays basketball with friends — received his first prosthetic leg. Before the year was over, he went surfing. On the one-year anniversary of the incident, the Reeder family returned to Looe Key Reef to swim in the same waters. 'We did see some sharks when we got in the water. That definitely made it more frightening, more intense,' recalls Jameson Sr. 'But Jameson still jumped in.'


Chicago Tribune
20 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Today in Chicago History: Stoning death of Eugene Williams triggers start of 1919 race riots
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on July 27, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. From Halas to Hester: The 32 Chicago Bears inducted into the Pro Football Hall of FameWeather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) 1919: Black teen Eugene Williams floated on a wooden tie past an invisible but mutually understood line that separated a Black beach at 29th Street from a white beach at 26th Street. White youths threw rocks at him, according to later investigations, and Williams, who could not swim, was hit and drowned. Although several people, white and Black, tried to revive Williams, a police officer at the 26th Street Beach was unwilling to arrest the rock throwers on the word of their Black accusers or to help Williams. Unequal justice proved to be the rule during the ensuing violence, until the four-day chaos finally was ended by the Illinois militia and a cooling rain. Williams is buried in Lincoln Cemetery in Blue Island. Vintage Chicago Tribune: Disasters!!!!! Crashes, fires, riots and more from Illinois history.1960: A Chicago Helicopter Airways chopper, on a shuttle flight between Midway and O'Hare International Airport, crashed in a Forest Park cemetery after one of its rotor blades broke off. The accident killed the two crewmen and 11 passengers, and was blamed on a metal fatigue fracture in the blade. The federal government mandated more frequent inspections of the component. 1970: Sears, Roebuck & Co. — then the world's largest retailer — announced plans to build the world's tallest building — 1,450 feet high with 110 stories. The Sears Tower opened in 1973, but was not completed until 1974. Willis Tower is no longer the tallest building in the world. But it's still a trendsetter as it turns 50 this 1,451-foot tower lost its crown as the world's tallest when it was surpassed in 1996 by Malaysia's Petronas Towers, and the American title in 2013 when New York City's One World Trade Center was completed. After decades of construction in Asian countries, it's now the 25th tallest in the world. 1970: A Sly and the Family Stone concert devolved into a riot. The show was supposed to be a goodwill offering, not only from city officials to the area's youths, but also from the band to the city to make up for more than one last-minute no-shows. Instead, the rock show disintegrated into a riot that injured 162 people, including 126 police officers. Thirty of those officers were hospitalized. Three young people were shot, though it wasn't clear by whom. Cars were overturned and set ablaze. Before its fury was exhausted, the mob rampaged through the Loop, breaking hundreds of windows and looting jewelry and department stores. Police arrested 160 people. 1982: Otto — a 450-pound gorilla who was the star of the 1976 documentary 'Otto: Zoo Gorilla' and named for disgraced former Illinois Gov. Otto Kerner — apparently scaled an 11-foot wall topped with electrical wires in an outdoor enclosure and escaped the Ape House at the Lincoln Park Zoo. He then lumbered north to the Primate House and climbed up a ramp to the Administration Building. He was sitting on the building's roof just above zoo Director Lester Fisher's office when veterinarian Tom Meehan hit Otto with tranquilizer darts. It took up to 10 zoo employees to place the gorilla on a stretcher and return him to the Ape House. Vintage Chicago Tribune: How Wrigley Field got lights and why Cubs fans had to wait past 8-8-88 to raise 'W' flag1983: After rejecting arguments that a permanent ban would be illegal, aldermen voted 42-2 to pass an ordinance — which did not name Wrigley Field or the Tribune-owned Chicago Cubs — making it illegal to conduct any sporting event between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. in a stadium that 'contains more than 15,000 seats where any such seats are located within 500 feet of 100 or more dwelling units.' 1993: The Smashing Pumpkins released 'Siamese Dream.' Singer-guitarist Billy Corgan told the Tribune: 'I'm writing albums for people of my generation, and if the rest of the world wants to listen, fine.' Subscribe to the free Vintage Chicago Tribune newsletter, join our Chicagoland history Facebook group, stay current with Today in Chicago History and follow us on Instagram for more from Chicago's past.