Drowning: The Rescue of Flight 1421

Will explains to the others that the plane needs to be level and stable for the Falcon to attach and that the rescuers will be weighing the tail down. When they do so, he explains, all the air will be at the top of the plane, and they will need to tread water. Bernadette has nearly recovered but is confused, and everyone starts using the oxygen bottles.

Meanwhile, Chris is preparing for the dive, and she and the team review the plan. Civilian boats pass by the ship on the way to shore, honking their horns in support and solidarity. Fitz realizes the scope of the mission and how many people are rooting for the passengers to get home safely.

Down in the plane, the passengers are preparing for the rescue, putting life vests on and strapping on the portable oxygen bottles “like a poor man’s scuba tank” (228). Kit briefs the passengers on the plan and tells them that it has been a privilege to be their captain. The passengers hurry to the windows when the rescue team arrives—15 divers in total. Will and Shannon see Sayid, who, like Chris and Noah, is using surface-supplied air rather than scuba tanks. They are connected to a cord that supplies oxygen and allows them to communicate with the surface.

Sayid welds some of the weak spots on the tail of the plane and realizes that the damage is worse than he expected; there are tiny fissures in the airframe that, under normal circumstances, would require replacement parts. With no other option, the divers put the sling around the tail anyway, avoiding the compromised section. Will can tell from inside that something is wrong.

The Falcon comes into view, and Chris swims over to the plane to see Shannon and Will. The family has a moment to connect before Chris goes back to the Falcon. The passengers get into position. Will thinks of Chris out there in the ocean; though he is scared of losing her, he is also immensely proud of her.

A storm arrives, and rain is pouring down. Fitz sees the cable hanging off the Angelica, which is attached to the sling on the plane’s tail. The passengers inflate their life vests as the plane shifts and the water rises, leaving less than a foot of space between the water level and the ceiling. With the plane now level, the Falcon docks, piercing the roof of the plane. Caputo is outside monitoring the tail and notices cracks in the seafloor; the impact of the Falcon’s docking damaged the shelf. A blade cuts through the ceiling of the aircraft, and more water than expected sprays into the cabin.

All the passengers are okay except for Molly, whose oxygen bottle is caught underwater, trapping her below. She is running out of air but manages to get Jasmine’s attention, and she dives below to save her. When Jasmine brings Molly back up, unconscious, Bernadette struggles to perform CPR while treading water. Instead, she blows air on Molly’s face, successfully waking her up. The hole above is nearly cut, but the blade breaks as it cuts into a structural reinforcement.

Will shoves his oxygen tank into the crack to open the hole further, and Feeny, from inside the Falcon, stomps on the hatch until it falls open. The passengers load into the Falcon, with Shannon and Maia going first. Ruth struggles to climb in, so she volunteers to go last.

On the surface, the storm is worsening, and the Angelica rocks aggressively in the waves, causing the cable to move erratically. Caputo, watching the tail end of the plane, tells those on the surface to hold the cable steady since its movements are worsening the cracks in the seafloor.

Will, Kit, and Ruth are the last to board the Falcon. Will and Kit attempt to help Ruth climb up into the rescue module, but a massive wave hits the Angelica and pulls on the cable. The force of the movement causes the heavy cable to further damage the seafloor, and Ruth to slip from Will’s grasp. She falls back into the plane.

The impact of the falling cable makes the shelf start to collapse, and the passengers on the Falcon buckle in. Ruth decides to stay behind with her late husband, Ira, and “go down with the ship” (252). Kit attempts to save her, but Ruth swims deeper into the plane. Will pulls Kit into the Falcon. She buckles herself in, but the image of Ruth swimming away is stuck with her.

Chris, Noah, and Sayid work as fast as they can to detach the Falcon from the plane before the shelf collapses. Will can hear Chris’s voice over the radio as she works, and the passengers wait nervously. They hear a rumble as the cliff falls apart, and the plane dangles further over its edge. Chris and Sayid are cutting the last attachment when the cliff crumbles and the plane, with the rescue module still attached, starts to fall further into the sea.

The entire shelf gives. All the divers move away from the sinking debris except Chris, who chases after the plane. The cable attached to the tail end pulls taut, and the stress fractures on the plane widen. The plane dangles nose-down with the Falcon still attached. Chris reaches the plane and keeps cutting away the last bit of metal attaching it to the Falcon. She must detach her umbilical cable—supplying both oxygen and communication—to swim further down as the plane sinks. When she cuts the Falcon free, she flashes her light to give the other divers a signal to pull it up. When the Falcon starts moving upward, Chris is relieved. She holds onto the cable of her cutting torch, but a sharp piece of metal cuts through her electrical line.

The passengers celebrate their survival as the Falcon is brought up. Sayid can hear them singing “I Will Survive,” and there is cautious relief among the divers. Sayid panics when he sees Chris’s umbilical cable dangling loose. She is sinking below, and Will hears the panicked voices over the radio trying to save her.

Sayid and Noah chase after Chris, who is plummeting deeper into the sea and not breathing. She is unconscious when Sayid reaches her, and her emergency oxygen tank is empty. He and Noah hurry to bring her to the surface. Will and Shannon can only wait as they hear the voices and emergency commands over the radio. Sayid and Noah eschew all safe-diving practices, such as the decompression stop, as they head for the surface; Sayid “pray[s] for decompression sickness […] pray[s] for pain and suffering and agonizing misery—because it would mean they survived” (267).

The Falcon is brought to the surface, but there is no celebrating—all the focus is now on Chris, who is unresponsive. Fitz watches both the rescue module being raised and Chris receiving medical attention; the mission is accomplished, but he feels no relief. Chris is airlifted to the hospital in Honolulu.

The rain finally eases, and the passengers emerge from the Falcon. Will comes out and immediately demands to know where Chris is and what happened. Fitz explains: When the metal sliced her electrical line, Chris was electrocuted. They do not know yet if it was the electric shock or lack of oxygen that caused her to black out. Will demands to go to the hospital to see her, but he is weak and sent to the recompression chamber with the other passengers, who are all being examined by medical staff. Fitz tells Will that he and Chris were right about everything and that he and the other passengers are alive because of it.

Chris is in the dark and feels only a “vague floating sensation” (276), unsure if she is alive or dead. She hears Will’s voice and then another familiar voice—her late daughter, Annie. She feels a sensation of peace as she sees Annie, and mother and daughter embrace.

The surviving passengers of Flight 1421 gather together a year later by a campfire. Bernadette did not come, but the other passengers were flown out to Hawaii in first class. The group laughs together after a difficult year of processing their trauma. Molly kept the notes they all wrote; now, each passenger receives theirs, and they take turns reading them out loud. Will does not read his. The notes that Ruth, Ira, and Andy wrote are also read aloud; Ruth’s revealed that she had cancer and that the couple had gone to Hawaii for “one final adventure together” (286).

Will and Shannon drive back from the beach, and Shannon admits that she is somewhat glad for what happened because it brought Will back home. The two arrive at the family home, where Chris greets them. She and Will embrace.