Rod Williams II, his wife and two young children had the unfortunate experience of being aboard United flight 1722 on December 18th that almost ended in tragedy when the plane dropped more than 1,400 feet as it soared through an intense storm at 2,200 feet. The descent rate was reportedly almost 8,600 feet per minute.
The Williams family were seated with their 10-year-old daughter and 7-year-old son between them when the plane suddenly began to nosedive. They were petrified as screams erupted throughout the cabin and passengers were trying to maintain their composure despite the unknown outcome ahead of them. Rod and his wife both said a silent prayer together for a miracle during this terrifying episode.
After landing safely in San Francisco, California, the family flew home to Ohio. United flight 1722, a Boeing model that could accommodate 364 passengers eventually left for Chicago about two and a half hours later.
“When the plane started to nosedive, multiple screams are being let out, at that point,” Williams said. “You’re trying your best to maintain your composure – there’s obviously kids on the flight – nobody really knows what’s going on, but at the same time, you’re concerned. You don’t know if this is an issue, but it was certainly out of the ordinary.”
“It’s tense, you don’t really have a chance to speak or to conjure up words, you’re just kind of gripping the seat and praying under your breath,” he added. “I asked her later and sure enough … we were praying for a miracle, because we felt like this could be it.”
It wasn’t until eight weeks later that Rod’s father showed him reports on what actually occurred during the flight which revealed that they were just 5 to 5.2 seconds away from crashing into the Pacific Ocean! This realization caused Rod to count his blessings while reflecting on how he and his wife prayed before every flight they took together.
He concluded by stating that it is sobering to read about these kinds of incidents without having experienced it yourself – but he was grateful to be alive today with his family still intact.
