Word: cornfield
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...left of the asphalt. The plane plowed into the ground and flipped over twice before finally landing on its back. In a cloud of dirt, smoke and flying metal, the plane broke into ever smaller pieces as parts of its fuselage hurtled across the runway and into a cornfield...
...said David Landsberger, a New Jersey businessman who had been in Seat 13B. "But it wasn't there. Then I looked toward the front of the plane, and I saw daylight. Then I saw green stuff beyond the mud, and when I got out I found myself in a cornfield...
...back to the fuselage. "I could hear her crying, but I couldn't see her." There was too much smoke, then flames. But passenger Jerry Schemmel had heard the cries first. He plunged into the fiery fuselage, found the baby in an upside-down overhead bin, ran into the cornfield and thrust the infant into a woman's arms. That is where the overjoyed Michaelsons found their daughter...
...final seconds. "He belongs in the pilots' hall of fame," declared Joe Sullivan, a retired flight engineer for American Airlines. The landing gear, dropped by gravity because of the hydraulics failure, helped support the part of the cabin where most survivors had been seated. The dampness of the cornfield from recent rains cushioned the crash impact. Fire-resistant seat upholstery installed at the insistence of the National Transportation Safety Board was also credited. So too were the rescue and medical efforts of the Sioux City area. So many doctors responded that there were two on hand for each hospitalized passenger...
...past ten years, the DC-10 has had a safety record that compares favorably with those of other wide-bodied jets. That is cold comfort to the families of the 110 passengers and crew who did not share in the miracle in that Iowa cornfield...