It is common knowledge that travelling by planes is the safest form of travel due to far fewer fatalities and accidents than other forms such as car, cycling or train etc. However, it is also known that when planes do crash, often there are very few to no survivors due to the sheer extent to the potential damage, crashing into any type of landscape or even sea and falling from a height. Despite the high odds to not surviving a plane crash, there are a few miraculous stories of people that live to tell the tale, even when there are no others on the same flight that can.
First Lieutenant Martin Farkas
First Lieutenant Martin Farkas was the sole survivor of a plane crash in 2006 being the only survivor on a plane with 42 fatalities. The reason First Lieutenant Martin Farkas survived the crash into the snowy forest which later caught on fire before landing, was because he was in the lavatory at the time of the accident. Whether it was luck or fate, First Lieutenant Martin Farkas suffered little injuries and managed to contact his wife to alert medical help. The cause of the plane crash was due to the pilot descending too early, but lucky for First Lieutenant Martin Farkas he was using the toilet through the event!
Sailor Gutzler
This strong 7 year old was a brave survivor of the Piper PA-34 aircraft that crashed due to engine problems stopping the plane from being able to land at the closest airport, in January 2015. The young girl had to leave her dead mother, father, sister and cousin by crawling out of an upturned aircraft and walking a mile in the cold dark for help. The child tried to revive her unresponsive family before walking in the freezing cold in only one sock, shorts and small top to find the closest house. Sailor was most definitely a remarkably strong little girl.
Mohammed el-Fateh Osman
In 2007 on the 8th of July a Sudan Airways plane crashed for an unknown reason into a hillside terrine. The plane was carrying 116 passengers and crew members, with 115 fatalities after the awful crash leaving just three year old Mohammed el-Fateh Osman. When medics reached the scene the three year old was found lying next to a fallen tree suffering injuries such as loss of the lower part of his leg and serious burns on his small body. Amongst the 115 fatalities, Mohammed el-Fateh Osman mother was one but due to the conditions of the plane and corpses, the passengers and crew were buried in a mass grave.
Erika Delgado
The 9 year old Erika Delgado was the only survivor on the Intercontinental Airlines DC-9 aircraft crash on 13Th of January, 1995. The aircraft exploded in mid-air while the pilot was trying to execute an emergency landing but instead the plane hit a grassy field, exploded and eventually ended up in a lagoon. Out of the 52 crew members and passengers, Erika Delgado was the only survivor and was found by a farmer after hearing her screams and cried. Erika Delgado is believed to have survived due to landing on a mound of seaweed, which in effect cushioned her fall when the aircraft toppled over. Erika Delgado was on the aircraft with both her Mother, her Father and brother whilst heading to a Caribbean resort. Erika Delgado claimed her mother pushed her out of the aircraft before it set on fire and that whilst she was crying for help someone stole her only memento of her father, a gold necklace that she was wearing. It was later found that the looters stole from the corpses on the aircraft too.
Cecelia Cichan
Cecelia Cichan was the sole survivor on a Northwest Airline, McDonnell Douglas MD-82 flight. The aircraft’s left wing struck a light pole at half a mile during the initial take off climb, it then continued to strike other light poles and hit the roof of a car rental company building before finally hitting the ground. It was thought this plane crashed due to insufficient use and failure of checking the taxi check list to ensure all slats and flaps were extended in preparation for take-off. Cecelia Cican was found on the aircraft in her seat next to her mother and father’s bodies. Airline crash investigators claimed her survival was unexplainable and a miracle being the only survivor out of 154 on board passengers and crew members with an additional 2 ground civilians killed.
