英勇空姐 含淚揹乘客逃生

 

娇小空姐揹客脱险

　（韓國‧首爾8日綜合電）災難盡見人性光輝，有韓籍乘客表示，墜機后一名空姐多次來回背起受傷乘客，處變不驚，“她是個英雄，她雖然個子 小，但仍跑來跑去，背著傷者離開，眼淚卻不斷從臉上流下來，淚流滿面。雖然她在哭，但很鎮定地協助其他人。”

　該乘客指，出事約10分鐘后火勢開始蔓延至機艙，但機員留待所有乘客逃生后才離開，非常盡責。


韩亚客机失事后大多数乘客倖存，除波音777设计有功，尽职空服员也居功厥伟。12名机组员中有7人晕倒，剩下5人冷静协助疏散乘客。一名身 材娇小的韩籍女空服员揹起无法走路的伤患下机，被讚为女英雄。

座舱长李尹惠（音译）是最后离开飞机的人，儘管脊椎尾骨受了伤，当机舱著火后，她只想著疏散乘客。

但乱上加乱，两道充气逃生梯竟在门內就膨胀，把两名空服员压在地上，其他空服员赶紧拿斧头劈充气梯泄气，才能救出被压到喘不过气的空服员。

另外，《华尔街日报》报导，46岁乘客美籍嘻哈音乐製作人安东尼罗（Eugene Anthony Roh）称，坠机后他注意到一名娇小的空服员，被浓烟呛得双眼泪流仍前后奔忙协助疏散乘客，还揹起不能走的伤患逃离。几分钟后火焰吞噬整个客舱。他注意到 空姐名牌是「金智妍」（音译），也用手机拍下她的身影，讚她「女英雄」。


In almost every big story, there's an episode that distills the drama, a moment that reveals the choices faced by ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances.

In the Asiana air crash at San Francisco International Airport on Saturday, it came in the few minutes that the passengers had to evacuate the plane before flames engulfed it.

No one showed more presence of mind than a flight attendant identified as Jiyeon Kim, a slight woman who carried people as much as twice her size from the plane.

"She was a hero,'' said one passenger, Eugene Anthony Rah. "This tiny little girl was carrying people piggyback, running everywhere with tears running down her face. She was crying, but she was still so calm and helping people.''

The Asiana crash already has bequeathed a legacy of questions and doubt. We ponder whether it was pilot error (Indication: yes). We ask whether an emergency vehicle ran over a victim who died.

We wonder whether the airline gave adequate training to the pilot at the controls of the 777. We marvel that so few people died in what was such a likely catastrophe.

Me? I'm most fascinated by the story of a hero -- a young woman whose Facebook page lists "Titanic'' and "The Devil Wears Prada'' as among her favorite movies.

Our reactions

It's hard to read about the crash without thinking what we'd do if we were in the plight of the Asiana passengers.

Would we grab our carry-on luggage? Would we try to save injured passengers? Would we use elbows to get to the exit?

Jiyeon Kim -- some stories spell her name as Ji-yeon Kim -- entertained no such existential problems. She just had to do her duty.

Certainly she had received thorough training as a flight attendant. And certainly she kept herself fit. A photo of her after the crash shows a thin, young woman with long arms, staring at the camera with a mix of befuddlement and
Asiana Airlines flight attendant Kim Ji-yeon, left, stands near a runway with rescued passengers after flight 214 crash landed at San Francisco International Airport in California July 6, 2013.
exhaustion.

Just what was the extraordinary quality that made her a hero? What set her apart?

We're used to thinking of heroism in terms of action figures like Steven Seagal, men who employ martial-arts moves to combat bad guys taking over a Navy ship.

A quieter quality

Real heroism might reflect something less noisy, less boastful. It might be the willingness to lift someone on your back and carry them when they're twice your size.

It might be the willingness to let tears run down your cheeks while you direct passengers to the exit. In other words, it's not a denial of danger or pain. It's composure under pressure.