Escape from Deadly Fire Part II: God Works All Things for Good…

Diane Fadley survived the deadly landing of a jet on fire.

During the emergency descent of Air Canada 797, flight attendants had instructed passengers to move toward the front of the aircraft and fill the empty seats there. Diane noticed a figure two rows ahead who sat up taller than the rest. She had not seen his face, but he was nicely dressed in a suit and tie. Something about his posture struck her. Perhaps he was someone influential.

The flight, destined for Toronto, made an unplanned landing in Cincinnati due to an electrical fire. Diane survived, but many others did not. In the days after the terrifying incident, questions haunted her. What purpose did God have in saving her life? Why her and not another? No surprise, she felt sadness and had nightmares, which she shared with her husband and close friends. Such feelings are common for survivors of trauma, especially when others died. It never occurred to her to talk to a professional about her emotional fallout.

Searching for answers, Diane pored over news articles about Flight 797, including a seating diagram of the plane. Her finger traced the names, as she mentally noted who made it out and who had not. Black circles signified passengers who perished. She read the names out loud, each one giving her pause. Every life snuffed out affected so many others—parents, children, siblings, friends.

She remembered the tall, distinguished-looking man sitting two rows ahead of her and located his seat on the diagram. Black circle. Unexpectedly, she felt a connection. Curtis Mathes. From the television company. She recalled his TV commercial slogan: The most expensive, but darn well worth it.

Over the months and years, Diane healed.

Fast forward to seventeen years after the fateful landing. Diane no longer dreamed or thought about the terror every day. In 2000, she planned to attend an alumni program at her alma mater, Southern Methodist University. That morning, she remembers praying. God, don’t let me miss any opportunity you have for me today.

Diane’s husband, Jim, worked that day and planned to meet her at the group dinner in the evening. So, it happened she attended the morning session solo. Scanning the filling auditorium, she noted another female sitting alone in the middle of the lecture hall. Diane approached and asked if she could sit next to the stranger.

They introduced themselves. Diane’s acquaintance, Melinda, explained she had several children, but her husband had passed away in a tragic accident during her pregnancy with their youngest, now a seventeen-year-old. “I manage several of his businesses. Oil and gas. Electronics.”

Diane paled at a powerful thought. She just knew. “Was your husband Curtis Mathes?”

Her seatmate answered. “Yes. Why? Did you know him?”

Diane hesitated. “No, I did not know him. I was onboard Air Canada 797.”

Tears filled the woman’s eyes as hands covered mouth. After a moment, she whispered, “My husband’s death devastated me. Pregnant, trying to cope with his loss, helping the children through it, I could not read or watch the news. It was all I could do to survive. I’d like to hear what you can tell me about the landing.”

Diane, certain God led her to that specific seat in the auditorium, urged Mr. Mathes’s widow to sit with her and Jim at dinner. Melinda invited Diane to lunch at her home two weeks later.

Before she drove to Melinda’s house, Diane prayed. Lord, help me provide healing words to my friend. The two sat on Melinda’s patio and enjoyed a lovely lunch under an April sky. Uniquely equipped to share the facts surrounding Curtis’s death as no one else could, Diane provided details his widow was finally prepared to receive, and now longed for.

Once more, God answered Diane’s prayer by giving her a chance to help another.

The aviation community has progressed light years in the last four decades regarding survivor welfare after such disasters, thanks to a pioneer in psychological research. Carolyn V. Coarsey, Ph.D., CCHt, teamed up with others to improve emotional first response to survivors of air and other deadly incidents. See her story in next month’s blog.