- Fifteen years ago, a fully loaded airliner crash-landed in the Hudson River. Everyone survived.
- Another miracle just happened in Tokyo — where 379 people escaped a burning Japan Airlines plane.
- “Miracle on the Hudson” passenger Diane Higgins says the JAL accident triggers memories.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Diane Higgins, one of the 155 people who survived the “Miracle on the Hudson” crash alongside her mother, Lucille Palmer, in 2009. It has been edited for length and clarity.
At 85 years old, my mother was the oldest person on the plane when it crash-landed. Her name was Lucille Palmer, but everyone called her “Lulu.”
We were in seats 17E and 17F, and my mom had to be helped off in a wheelchair. The experience was very scary — it was nothing you’d ever want to go through — but it was still a miraculous experience. All 155 passengers and crew survived.
I’m thankful for the fact that I’m still here — I’m so blessed to be given a second chance at life. I always ask why I was spared, and people tell me that my job on Earth wasn’t done yet, so I guess I was saved for a reason.
We were so lucky to have Captain [Chesley “Sully”] Sullenberger as our pilot, too, because the man was absolutely incredible. After it all, he was so humble and taken aback that everyone was in such awe of him.
Looking back at it now, it’s almost like it happened to someone else and not me. I spoke to a psychologist about the accident right after it happened, and I told her my throat was hoarse from telling the story so much.
She told me that was a good thing, saying I made the accident my story, and doing that alleviated a lot of anxiety and fear from it. Every once in a while, I will still get emotional about it; the waves just come over me — that’s how your body deals with it.
But when I saw that Japan Airlines crash, it stirred something in me. I looked and just thought, “Oh my god.” It was more than double the amount of people on our plane, and it was very scary to look at.
When some of the passengers said in interviews that it was something of a miracle, I thought: “It is, I can believe that. Divine intervention for you, too.”
Life has been good in the 15 years since the accident
Having a second chance helped me live by looking at the positives and not getting so caught up in everyday life. In the 15 years since the accident, I’ve welcomed three new grandchildren, with another on the way.
My sisters and I were able to nurse my mother when she was in decline. I was also able to be there for my daughter when her husband was sick with cancer.
And I have incredible bonds with the other passengers on board the plane that day.
I have stepped back a little bit because I’m in Florida — and a lot of them are in Charlotte, or they’ll meet in Manhattan. But we’ve had a lot of enjoyable moments through the years.
On the first anniversary, the way everyone around treated us was like Hollywood royalty; it was amazing. A group of us were also interviewed for a book, and we each had our own chapter and got to do a book signing together.
When the original museum opened, we all gathered with the aircraft. And my mother was still alive back then, so she could go — that was a blessing.
And now the new museum is opening this summer. What an honor for it to be named after Sully. He certainly deserves it.
I went to the premiere in Manhattan with my family when the movie about the accident and “Sully” came out — and actors actually portrayed my mother and me in the movie.
There’s a scene where the woman is pushing her mother into the gift shop at the airport. That was us.
The actress playing my mother says we should get Will a snow globe for his birthday. My grandson, Will, who was at the theater with me, then goes, “Oh, I’m named in the movie!” It was funny.
I still fly despite the accident
I still fly these days, but I was extremely anxious the first time I did after the accident. I had to fly to Las Vegas the following summer for a wedding.
I did get some medication from my doctor, and I just take a deep breath before take-off and then I’ll usually sleep most of the way once I’m up in the air.
But the main thing I tell myself is that there’s really no reason to be worried. What are the chances of this happening again?