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Local Flight Attendant On 1549: "It's A Miracle"

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Feb 9, 2009 6:12 pm US/Eastern

Local Flight Attendant On 1549: "It's A Miracle"

Uncut Interview: Part 1 | Part 2

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ― When U.S. Airways Flight 1549 crash landed into the Hudson River in New York last month a local woman was on board the plane.

Doreen Welsh says she has been working as a flight attendant for 38 years. And in an interview with KDKA's Brenda Waters, Welsh said that she's had some close calls in her career, but none like the "Miracle on the Hudson."

"I just thought this was it, there was no doubt in my mind," said Welsh.

There were 150 passengers, the pilot, co-pilot and three flight attendants, including 58-year-old Welsh, of Ambridge, on board when the plane went down in the Hudson.

Welsh, who is based out of Charlotte, North Carolina, said she was on a four-day trip with a lay-over in Pittsburgh the night before the crash.

"That morning, we went from Pittsburgh to Charlotte, and then Charlotte to LaGuardia, and the flight that was supposed to go back. That was the last flight of the four-day trip, supposed to be from LaGuardia to Charlotte, we all know what happened then," said Welsh.

She said about a minute after take-off it felt like the plane hit something. Experts say that something was birds, which took out both of the engines.

"So, I thought, we are just going to circle around and land 'cause that has happened a million times," said Welsh. "As soon as I sat back down, I heard those words, 'Brace for impact.'"

The pilot had to land the plane on the frigid Hudson River.

"He landed back first, that's how he had to hit on water, so it was violent crash from the back, for me," said Welsh. "All the masks dropped, and things flew from the gally and it just became crazy."

She says that's when the plane began taking on water.

"I started telling everybody who was able to climb over the seats, 'Keep the aisle for those who can't climb,' and I started screaming and yelling, 'Get to the windows, the windows, that is your only chance, at this point. Get to the windows,'" said Welsh.

"I thought the entire plane was going under," she added. "I had no idea, the plane was like this, so as I get to the windows, I am getting out of the water, and I am thinking, 'I might actually live.' It was a surreal moment."

The 38-year veteran of the skies was the only one injured. Welsh said she bit her tongue when the plane hit the river, and she had a long, L-shaped gash in one of her legs.

"I got in the raft and blood went all over everything, and everybody started screaming, 'She's hurt,'" she said.

Welsh also told KDKA that she had never flown with Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger before, but agrees that he made one fabulous landing.

"It's a miracle," Welsh said. "The whole thing was a miracle, there is no doubt about that."

Also, she said that she doesn't know when or if she will return to work. And now, she is undergoing counseling.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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