It happened to me... ‘I survived a plane crash’
America’s Got Talent contestant Kechi Okwuchi was one of just two survivors when Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 crashed in Nigeria, killing 108 people
n 10 December O 2005, I boarded a flight home for Christmas, along with 60 other children. I was 16 and we were travelling home from our boarding school in East Nigeria. I couldn’t wait to see my mum.
“Around 15 minutes before the flight was due to land, at Port Harcourt in East Nigeria, we started descending.
“There was a lot of turbulence and people started screaming, but I was so shocked I froze. I grabbed my friend Toke’s hand from across the aisle so we could pray, but then there was a shrill sound, like metal screeching against metal.
THE HORRIBLE TRUTH
“I don’t remember the impact, but the plane crash-landed on the runway and burst into flames. I’m told I was awake when they pulled me from the wreckage, but my injuries were so bad and I was so panicked I was sedated. I suffered third-degree burns on 65 per cent of my body, including my face and hands.
“I was transferred to a hospital in Johannesburg, South Africa, and put into an induced coma for five weeks. When I woke up, I was bandaged from head to toe and numb from medication. My vision was blurry, but I was relieved to see my mum smiling at me.
“My initial reaction when I saw the bandages was shock that I was somehow still alive.
“Specialists did their best to patch up my body with skin grafts and I’ve had more than 100 ops since then. I knew about the crash – and that my classmates were on board – but I assumed my friend Toke and everyone else had survived. It wasn’t until three months later that a psychiatrist told me they hadn’t.
“Of 110 people on board, only me and one other woman had survived. I can’t even think about how or why I did. There was no explanation; it was a miracle. It was the most painful moment of my life and their faces flashed through my head as the horror hit me. I cried for two days straight.
“After 10 months, I was moved to America for reconstructive surgery, particularly on my hands, which were badly damaged. My family moved, too, and I was in and out of hospital every week.
STAYING POSITIVE
“It took five years of excruciating weekly surgery before I could walk or grip with my hands again. Through everything, my family, faith and my love of music and singing kept me going. I kept a positive attitude to make it through.
“In 2010, I was strong enough to go back to school. A year later, I was given a scholarship to study economics and marketing at the University of St. Thomas-houston. I gave a speech at my graduation ceremony. Standing on the stage, it felt like all the other children from my school who had passed away were next to me.
“I’m now studying economics and competing as a singer on America’s Got Talent, after a friend secretly entered me. The judges seemed intrigued when I came on stage. Simon Cowell treated me very kindly and I was so happy when the judges and the audience clapped.
“Most of my body is covered in grafted skin and my scars are painful, but it can only bring me down if I let it. I used to think my beauty gave me my confidence, but now my appearance is so altered, I know it comes from within.
“With everything I do, I think about the friends I lost. I want to make them proud and show them my life was worth being saved. My life’s not just mine, I’m living for all those people who passed away too.”
❛I assumed my friends had made It too. three months on, I found out they hadn't❜