One of the five passengers who miraculously survived a plane crash that killed 12 people in Honduras sensed her life was in danger just moments before the doomed aircraft took off.
Liliana Estrada texted her boyfriend ‘something’ was about to go horribly wrong as the aircraft skidded along the tarmac at 6:28pm. It’s one of the last thing she remembers before the crash 328 feet off the edge of the runway just two minutes later at 6:30pm.
The 25-year-old shared her haunting experience from her hospital bed, blaming Lahnsa Airlines for putting the flight crew and passengers lives at risk.
‘I also want to make it clear that the plane was already having problems before it even took off,’ she said in a video posted to social media.
‘The plane was leaving at 5:40 pm, and they told us they were going to be 25 minutes late, which wasn’t the case; it was more than 25 minutes late,’ Estrada recalled.
The Lahnsa Airlines staff at the airport, she claimed, did not provide details as to why their departure was pushed back.
‘They didn’t explain why,’ Estrada said. ‘They simply told us it was a delay and put us on the plane, knowing full well the odds that we wouldn’t make it.’
Estrada boarded her flight at Juan Manuel Gálvez International Airport in the island of Roatán and was returning home to the mainland city of La Ceiba when the Jetstream 32 plunged into the Caribbean Sea on March 17.
Estrada was unable to remember precise details of how the accident occurred after her last message to her boyfriend.
‘The plane started to skid. I texted him maybe a minute and a half after it happened. Before we took off, when the plane was skidding, I texted him that I loved him and that something was happening, and that was the last thing I was able to talk to him about,’ she said.
‘Honestly, I don’t remember the moment I crashed because I suppose that’s when I hit myself,’ she said. ‘I don’t know if it was the head injury first or the blow to my face. And now, watching the news, I realize that the plane already had problems before.’
The crashed claimed the lives of the pilot, Luis Araya, the co-pilot, Francisco Lagos, and 10 passengers, including Honduran musician and politician Aurelio Martínez, 56, a famous figure in the Garifuna music scene, who held dual Honduran-American citizenship.
Lanhsa Airlines said it will cover the medical and funeral expenses for the victims, but Estrada said that none of its representatives have made the attempt to approach or contact her at the hospital.
‘I think it’s time for us all to speak out and demand justice, and that if there are those responsible, those responsible be held accountable, because up until now, up until today, as I’m speaking to you, no one, no one has come forward to take responsibility for anything at all,’ Estrada said.
‘No one has come forward to ask me if I’m alive or if I’m out of danger from the company I was traveling with. And I say this publicly, no one.’
Estrada suffered injuries to her ankle and abdomen and underwent surgery for a fractured pelvis.
She offered her condolences to the families of the 12 passengers who died in the crash and thanked the two fishermen who rushed to the crash site and rescued her and the other passengers.
‘I’m in pain, but I’m not complaining because I know it could have been much worse, and I know these things will heal, and I’ll be okay. God gave me a second chance at life, and I’m going to take advantage of it,’ Estrada said. ‘God spoke to me clearly and strongly, and it would be very stubborn of me not to listen to him.’
Santos Guardiola Fire Department captain Franklin Borjas told reporters that the small plane made a right turn before crashing, according to Honduran publication El Heraldo.
He suggested that the accident may have been caused by a failure in the aircraft’s motor. He estimated that it crashed 328 feet from the runway after ascending just 328 feet in the air.