Mormon missionary has harrowing experience as flight crashes on homeward journey
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Peering out a thick double-paned window into the rainy Jamaican night on Dec. 22, Sister Remounah Meddow wondered why her plane was traveling so fast even though it had already landed.
Runway soon gave way to gravel. The landing gear failed. The plane crashed into large rocks and a mound of sand. The lights in the cabin turned off.
Screams and cries filled the absolute darkness. Baggage flew from overhead compartments like missiles. The plane tore apart in two different places.
By the time American Airlines Flight 331 finally stopped, the fractured Boeing 737-800 was only 10 feet away from the Caribbean Sea.
Throughout the ordeal, Sister Meddow, returning home to her native Jamaica following faithful service in the Georgia Atlanta North Mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, maintained a transcendent sense of peace and calm — a phenomenon she largely attributes to a blessing her mission president, Steven D. King, had given her the day before, following their final interview.
"I was reminded of the words of President King, so I begged Heavenly Father for a clear mind," Sister Meddow recounts. "To my surprise, I was still conscious. I was fully aware as to what was happening. The adrenaline rush wasn't even present. I was completely at peace and calm."
Sister Meddow even had the peace of mind to retrieve carry-on baggage before exiting the plane. The jet fuel that doused her head while she disembarked didn't faze her. Once on terra firma she comforted her fellow passengers, reassuring them that nobody had died and everything was going to be all right.
"I pulled my bag from under my seat and hurriedly evacuated through one of the openings when my head was drenched with fuel coming from the roof of the plane. It was indeed a miracle how I and other passengers got out of the plane. …
"I then pondered about the incident, expressing gratitude to Heavenly Father for the blessing I'd received from my mission president. It prepared me to be in tune with the sacred promptings of the Spirit. I thank Him for shielding me from broken bones and sparing my life."
The plane had overshot the runway at Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Jamaica, amid heavy rain. The fuselage began breaking up after the landing gear collapsed. Amazingly, all 148 passengers and six crew members survived the ordeal.
After the crash, Sister Meddow was treated at the hospital for a bump on her head and minor abrasions. She spent the night at the Jamaica Kingston Mission home and returned to her family in the suburban parish of Saint Thomas on Dec. 23.
New beginning
Known to her friends and family as Tracy, Sister Meddow joined the Church at the age of 9. She is the second of five children; all four of her siblings are brothers. She is trained as a practical nurse and aspires to save enough money from working to pay for a college education either in Jamaica or the United States.
"She is great — very dignified, very in tune with the Spirit, a beautiful young woman," said Sister Michelle King, wife of President King. "Sister Meddow is full of love and very calm, always even-keeled and very resilient."
The only lingering downside to her ordeal is that Sister Meddow hasn't received her checked baggage yet. Because of all the jet fuel that spilled, American Airlines transported the checked baggage of Flight 331 to Dallas for sterilization. It may be up to two more months before she gets her luggage and its contents back — no small sacrifice for somebody without any means or money to spare.
Sister Meddow enthusiastically seeks to parlay the lessons she learned on her mission into a happy and rewarding life.
"I am so grateful for my mission, which helped me to recognize the whisperings of the Spirit, to listen and obey," she said. "We need the companionship of the Holy Ghost in our lives constantly, and I will live my life righteously to be worthy of that."
