Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421

Chris demands to know if the passengers are still okay. Larson assumes that their electricity went out, though they do not know how or why. They explain the new plan to Chris; Caputo, the Navy’s lead diver, displays images of the plane and the broken cockpit window. According to the aircraft’s specs, the door to the cockpit is not airtight, and the divers can open the door without affecting the air pocket inside the plane. The plan is to escort the passengers out one by one by equipping each with a submarine escape immersion equipment (SEIE) suit, which is a watertight, full-body diving suit with a breathing apparatus. Chris objects to this; the passengers are not physically or psychologically trained to do this. Tanner admits that using these suits typically requires extensive training, which only 32% of divers complete successfully. Caputo argues that they simply need to accept that “not everyone will make it” (173). The suits will be arriving soon, and Chris says that she will be ready for when their plan fails.

The passengers manage to remove all the insulation and move all the wires except one, which they will need to cut. Inside one of the survival kits, Kaholo finds a dull knife and prepares to cut the wire with it. However, Ira stops him, warning him that the wire might still be live and that they need to test it. Ira explains how, but when Kaholo still does not understand, Ira insists on doing it himself. He stands on the armrests of a seat to do it and slips; his hand touches the exposed wire as his feet hit the water, electrocuting him.

The passengers hurry to help, but Bernadette finds no pulse. Molly finds a defibrillator, and the passengers dry Ira and lay him across the seat backs to prepare for the electric shock, but the defibrillator cannot restart his heart.

Chris can see storm clouds gathering. The SEIE suits still have not arrived, so Chris continues with her plan, looking at monitors displaying video feed from inside the Falcon. Sayid reports that Noah is attaching the last piece of the transfer skirt, but Noah accidentally breaks the piece and will need to make another one. Chris tries to remain calm and tells Sayid to prepare to dive anyway, but the Navy finally arrives with the suits. Chris is certain that this plan will fail.

Ruth mourns her husband’s death, and the passengers grieve Ira together. Ruth reflects on their first fight, which took place on their first anniversary. She requests that his body remain on the plane with the other victims, in an aisle seat. Andy, Will, Kaholo, and Ryan carry him under the water as she wishes. After the brief procession, there is a noise from the front of the plane, and a diver comes out of the water.

Chris feels dread about the Navy’s plan and continues to prepare the SRDRS. She goes to watch the live feed from the divers’ GoPro cameras; they are explaining the plan with the suits, and the passengers are visibly resistant. Nevertheless, Kaholo volunteers to go first.

Inside the plane, the passengers protest—especially Jasmine, who cannot swim. Kaholo is physically fit and a surfer, so he is most likely to pull this off successfully and is thus willing to test the plan and assess its safety. He puts on the SEIE suit, and the divers brief him on the escape plan. Will gets angry because the divers are making it sound easy; he knows that for regular civilians with no diving experience, it will be anything but. Worse still, the divers themselves have not even been trained to use these suits.

Kaholo still volunteers, but the divers have several warnings. They tell him to be aware of jagged metal and broken glass on the way out and warn him not to hold his breath or else the air pressure in his lungs will build “catastrophically” (195).

Fitz and the other rescuers watch Kaholo navigate through the window and free-ascend to the surface. He makes it successfully and tells the rescue team that he thinks the others could too.

While the passengers wait for the divers to report back, they teach Jasmine how to swim. They cheer when Jasmine treads water successfully, and Kit reflects on people’s ability to “find joy in the midst of suffering” (200). Bernadette complains of a headache, and Will suspects that she is starting to show signs of carbon dioxide poisoning.

A diver returns to report that Kaholo made it safely, and the group is relieved. Andy claims the next SEIE suit. The divers have also brought a comms set so that they can communicate with the surface again. Fitz updates Kit on Kaholo’s condition, the precautions they will take with Ruth and the little girls, and the status of victim recovery on the surface. Kit requests extra oxygen tanks.

Chris and Will speak on the comms set next; Chris explains the competing missions and why they have not gone forward with her plan but that it is ready anyway. Will apologizes for everything, explaining how he felt when Annie died and that he was consumed with his own grief instead of being there for her and Shannon. Chris apologizes for not supporting Will. The two feel connected in a way they have not since Annie’s death. Will notices that Shannon is listening to their conversation, so he openly praises her to Chris for how calm and capable she is.

Kit reports that they are ready—Andy is in the suit. Will fumbles for words, but Chris just tells him, “We’ll talk when we get home” (205).

Fitz watches Andy escape, noticing how nervous he looks; he is much clumsier than Kaholo. Andy follows the first diver while the second guides him from behind. He is almost through the cockpit window when he passes the dead captain still strapped into the seat. Andy panics when the captain’s arm touches him, and he snags the leg of his suit on a sharp piece of metal. He manages to pull free, but the metal slices through both the suit and his leg. Water rushes into his suit until it reaches his chin, creating an air pocket, but Andy, thinking the water is still rising, holds his breath.

On the plane, the passengers watch Jasmine swim while Shannon takes a video. Will picks up the comms set, and Fitz explains what has happened and that they need to pause the operation. Divers are working to revive Andy with no success.

Inside the Powell, Chris and Larson are arguing; Chris is convinced that more people will die if they continue with this plan, and she is certain that hers will work. Milton reports that Andy did not survive because of an air embolism, a heart attack or stroke, and blood loss from his leg injury. Will is back on the comms set, and he tells Fitz that all the passengers refuse to get into the SEIE suits. He has full confidence in Chris’s plan and says that the passengers will escape the plane “the same way [they’ve] survived being inside it. Together” (214). With that, Chris’s plan is finally set to commence.