BOSTON (WHDH) — The photos are striking, the damage almost unbelievable. In the moments that followed the plane crash of Flight 214, many inside the San Francisco airport panicked.
“It was a little bit chaotic at first,” said Cambridge resident, Amanda Andrade.
Amanda Andrade was driving to the SF Airport to catch a flight home to Boston when she got word of the crash.
“At first they told us, flights were canceled all day and nothing was getting out until Sunday, then hotels were gone, cars were gone, so I figured I might as well wait here, and see what happens,” Andrade said.
Andrade waited with thousands of others and took photos. She said after the initial chaotic moments a quiet calm came over the growing crowd.
“Even though you saw the lines building and people knew you weren't going anywhere, you could see the smoke, and started seeing the pictures online so everyone knew it was bad, so people were pretty calm, and nicer than you'd expect them to be in a situation that puts you out,” said Andrade.
Andrade has been close to tragedy before. She ran the Boston Marathon, and was a few miles from the finish line when the bombs went off. She said she knew exactly what family and friends of those on Flight 214 were going through.
“The first thing I thought is, 'what about the people waiting for people', because that’s how you felt with the marathon, ‘what about the people closest to me? What’s going on?’ Because I knew I was ok, but I wasn't sure if everyone else is ok,” Andrade said.
After she waited nine hours, Andrade headed home to Boston.
“I was lucky to get a flight, never mind get out in the same day,” she said.
She said it was still unnerving getting on a plane after being that close to the crash when they were about to land. She said, “everyone on board was a little on edge.”
“You look around and saw everyone holding their breath, it was a little nerve-wracking, especially when you saw the pictures and we had hours to look at them when we were waiting for our flight to go off, so I think everyone was a little nervous,” said Andrade.
The temporary shutdown at the San Francisco Airport caused a ripple effect at airports all across the U.S. but as runways in the Bay Area reopened, it means fewer delays and cancellations at airports, including Logan.