Adventist Missionary Family Survives Plane Crash

[Taylor]

(CNN) -- A missionary family from Minnesota is glad to be alive and together after surviving a plane crash in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the father said Wednesday.

Barry and Marybeth Mosier were on their way to visit their son Keith, 24, in Kinsangani, Congo, with two younger children when their plane crashed on takeoff Tuesday in Goma. More than 30 people died as the plane plowed through a market and burned.

April Mosier, 14, managed to escape quickly, her father said by phone from Goma.

"April raced ahead, and she got to the front of the plane as one of the first people, I think," said Barry Mosier, 53.

The girl encountered a man who was tearing through an opening in the fuselage, Mosier said.

"He was pulling parts of the plane in or pushing them out, trying to make a hole. And she told him -- she speaks Swahili well -- she said, 'We've got to get a hole in this plane or we're all going to die.' " Watch as Barry Mosier describes the chaos »

When the hole was big enough, April tried to dive through it. She made it with a push from the man, and other passengers followed, he said.

Meanwhile, Mosier said he and his wife were carrying their son Andrew, 3, forward in the shoving "mass of humanity" trying to escape the burning plane. They got out through the opening in the fuselage. The child's leg was broken in the crush of people, but his parents didn't realize it until later.

April became separated from her parents and was whisked away to a hospital, convinced her family was dead, her father said.

"Outside the plane she was wandering around. ... It was total chaos," he said. "People were screaming and yelling because the plane had landed on this market. All of a sudden out of the blue all of these people who were just standing there are now dead.

"So there's parts of bodies, and people burning, and people screaming and yelling, and she was out there by herself."

About 25 minutes later, the Mosiers were reunited at the hospital.

"When we saw each other at the hospital, I can tell you it was a grand reunion," he said.

The Mosiers, who have been Seventh-day Adventist missionaries in Iringa, Tanzania, for eight years, went to the church office in Goma to let Keith and other loved ones -- including two other grown children in the U.S. -- know they were all right.

While there, someone noticed Andrew's leg was swollen, and the Mosiers returned to the hospital. They learned that Andrew's femur was broken near the hip, and he is now in a cast that reaches from his toes to his rib cage, Barry Mosier said.

"He doesn't like it very well, as most 3-year-olds wouldn't," Mosier said.

The family will recuperate in Goma for a few days before deciding whether to resume the trip to Kisangani, where Keith Mosier has been a volunteer missionary for two months, Barry Mosier said.

"But flying here is not a popular thing to talk about just now," he said wryly.

Andrew has made up his mind, his father said.

"He says he doesn't want to ride in airplanes anymore," he said.

Marybeth Mosier, 51, suffered a black eye and bruised ribs, said her husband, who added that he was unhurt.

"We couldn't believe that our family of four could all escape a plane that was crashed and on fire, but by God's mercy we did," he said.

Mosier said he believes the family made it for a reason.

"I think the Lord has a plan for us, otherwise we wouldn't have survived," he said. "He still has work for us to do."

And that work just might be in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

"We actually came here with the idea of seeing if we could move here to Congo, so it's been kind of a rough introduction," Mosier said.

"I think we'll keep praying about that. We know that the safest place in the world to work is where the Lord wants you to work."

[Jeannieb43]

What a marvelous example of grace under pressure! And of God's saving power.

This is true missionary spirit.

[Pockey]

I just read this on CNN, I was thinking, I wonder if they're SDA, and they are. The 14 y/o knew Swahili, so I suspect this is not the first time to Africa. What a family commitment to service. What a reunion that must've been in the hospital.

[Gail]

Praise God!

[Naomi]

Praise God ... what a grand reunion that must have been.

[Amelia]

So far the news is saying that everyone on the plane survived and is accounted for. And looking at a picture of the wreakage, it is truly a miracle of God that the passengers all got out.

[Taylor]

Yes, praise God that so many survived! I just really feel for the people in the market who were innocently doing their work when the plane crashed on them.

[Taylor]

Here is a video of the crash. http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/bestoftv/2008/04/16/am.congo.plane.cnn

[Woody]

Thanks Taylor. Despite that it was from that 'news' called CNN ... I did watch it. The problem was that I was looking for a plane and all I could see were a few old used parts laying around. How amazing that they got out. PRaise God.

[Taylor]

Here is more of the rest of the story by the man who was on that plane that survived with his family.

Greetings to all from the Mosiers:

I wish I could respond to all the emails of prayers, encouragement, and blessings that we have received. We have really been touched by all of your expressions of love for our family. We can never express our deep appreciation. THANK YOU!!

After Thursday when we found out that Andrew's leg would heal alright, we were greatly relieved. We had taken digital pictures of the xrays after the cast was set and sent them to friends in America who forwarded them to experts who could give us assurance that the bones were aligned in such a way that they would heal. Again we were thankful for help. although the eyeglasses we got Thursday were temporary and not perfect, we are grateful to see again!

So, on Friday we were hoping to be able to secure a flight for Monday to Kisangani and buy some clothes and shoes. (For me, 3 days in the same underwear, socks and pants and still wearing borrowed shoes.)

The airline Hewa Bora was offering us a free ride to Kisangani to fulfill their obligation for our ticket. For sure, April and Marybeth said, "No Way." We all agreed that they had failed in their first try to kill us and we didn't feel like giving them a second chance. Although they usually fly without incident, we could not face to get on their plane again so soon. Anyway, kind friends advised us to check with an organization called Airserv. They service many NGO's with humanitarian and relief flights in Congo and other countries. They were most helpful. Although their regularly scheduled flights to Kisangani were full for a week ahead, they offered to take us the next day on Sabbath. Although we normally do not travel on Sabbath, we felt the Lord opening this door, so we agreed. At first they offered to charge us for only 1 way and they would pay the empty return trip themselves. We were happy and paid the fees. Then, when the director saw that it took most of the money we had left, he said they would take us for free. We were so happy for their kindness!

Our attempts to buy some clothes didn't work out as that day every store in town was closed for a citywide day of mourning. Fortunately, we met several Amercians who recognized us and gave us clothes from their own closets as well as some help from the ADRA office. Two kind Christian Americans from the Assemblies church were especially generous with any help they could give-time and time again. Our own church leaders were feeding us, housing us and getting us everywhere we needed to go.

In the afternoon, I went to visit the Hewa Bora office. I asked them for a ticket refund and wrote a list of the things we had in our luggage to request compensation. We had been taking quite a lot of things for the new mission, so it was not a small loss, although compared to our lives, it was nothing. Many of the things were Keith's and Pastor Mtenzi's personal possessions. I don't hold up much hope of compensation, but at least a claim is filed and I will give a copy to the US Embassy to follow up. Their leaders said they would at least compensate for the ticket price and consider more.

Sabbath morning after giving our testimony and thanks for Sabbath school, we headed for the airport. At least we had not had to give interviews for the previous 24 hours, as Wednesday's all day interviews had left us pretty tired. As we arrived at the airport, we saw photographers coming with big cameras and thought, "oh no, maybe they are here for something else," As it turned out, it was a crew from National Geograhic Magazine doing a documentary on congo Aviation-with part of their feature on AirServ. So, before the flight, they interviewed our whole family about the crash. Although we missed church that day, I can say we preached a sermon as best we could to the National Geographic audience.

The pilots were two Americans and we felt like royalty in our seats on the Cesna 208C. (Andrew was on his stretcher which was strapped to the floor due to his chest to toe cast.) We all felt very strange getting onto a plane again on that runway after only 4 days. As we took off, we looked down on the wreckage at the end of the runway and from the air, I realized just HOW short this runway is. Very Very Short. The flight was smooth and we landed safely, thanking our benefactors so much for their help. All the airport, the employees all remembered Keith weeping just a few days ago at the airport when he got the news that our plane had crashed. As we met Keith, we all hugged and said praises to God for His great mercy. The airport employees were cheering.

After we met the Mtenzi family, we all wept and laughed and prayed together. then we ate a big feast. They had prepared a similar feast just 4 days before when they heard that we had all died on the plane. I was just explaining these feelings today to People Magazine as they want to write about what happened.

So we have finally reached Kisangani to see Keith. Our time together has been and will be very sweet together over the next two weeks. An added benefit has been that the Land Cruiser that they bought 6 weeks ago arrived today by airplane and we all drove it to the rented house where we stay together. Praise God! I really don't know how they managed to conduct a lay training school for 70 students, an evangelistic effort and search for property for the new mission without a car, but they did. The 51 people who were baptized after the effort are the trophies for God's glory and the wages that they receive for their labors in Africa.

And for us, we continue to thank God for his great mercy and goodness to us.

Three days ago, we went back to see the wreckage of the crash. There was a little bit of the cabin left in front, some of the tail, and the tips of the wings left. The rest was burned to ashes. People were scavenging the ashes for anything of value. We had thought maybe there would be something left of our luggage. We didn't even bother to get out of the car to look. Nothing but smoldering ashes. The main thought in my mind was that I should be in those ashes with my family-except for God's grace to us. Instead, we are alive and will continue to serve our gracious God and sing praises to His name. We are praying about joining Keith in his work here in Congo. We trust the Lord will make His will clear to us.

Someday soon, Jesus will return. Each of us will either have life or we will be ashes. After this experience, I can urge each one to be ready each day to meet Him. Don't delay. He wants all of us to be ready.

Blessings to all,

Barry Mosier

[Taylor]

Keith, by the way, is an older son of the Mosiers

[darlene]

I bought a People Magazine today and there is an article with pictures of the Moshier family. It even says they were Seventh-day Adventists right near the beginning of the stroy.

[Taylor]

Wow very cool! I'll have to go look for it.

[Taylor]

Sorry this was out of order but here is Barry's account of the crash. Wow his poor daughter...can you imagine her thinking that her parents and little brother had burned to death? Then the parents not being able to find her. Wow...God is good!

I am sorry that I have been so slow to write to you all. The last couple of days have been a blur.

As most of you know, our family (Barry, Marybeth, April and Andrew) were in a plane crash on Tues afternoon in Goma, DRC as we were traveling to visit our son Keith in Kisangani, DRC.

As the plane took off on the remaining runway (1/3 was covered with lava from a volcano in 2001) in Goma, we were just at the point of liftoff when we heard a small pop under the plane in front of us. it was the front tire blowing out. The pilot did all he could to stop the plane, but it was hopeless with the short runway.

The plane skidded ahead after it left the runway, then a short uplift from a little hill caused the plane to catapult over a building and land on a busy and crowded market. We hit hard and this caused the seats two rows in front of us to collapse down about 4-6 feet. Marybeth and I both lost our eyeglasses upon impact as well as my cell phone. I started looking for my glasses frantically, but April said, "Dad, we have got to get out of here." I looked across the aisle at Marybeth and saw through her window that the plane had burst into flames on the wings where the fuel was stored. I knew we had a lot of fuel, so we knew it could blow up anytime. April leaped ahead while I got out of my seatbelt and we started forward. Then, I realized that Marybeth had not yet gotten up, so I went to help her and Andrew. The stampede of people headed for the front of the plane delayed me, but Marybeth handed Andrew ahead to me. I lost 1 shoe at that point.

I had hardly started to move ahead when I was caught in this mass of humanity and could not budge. Andrew's leg was caught between me and a seat and I couldn't move from the crush of the crowd behind me. I could not leave Andrew. As I pushed back against the crowd, Marybeth seemed to come from nowhere and managed to pull Andrew up. That is when we broke his leg. During this time a woman grabbed me, she was covered in blood on her face. I could hardly see and the plane was so full of smoke I could hardly breathe. Marybeth started crawling over the tops of seats to get ahead. I was at the drop off in front of me due to the seats that had collapsed. I dropped Andrew onto the seat in front of me and jumped down. There were bodies there under the seats. I grabbed Andrew and headed for a hole in the side of the plane. Marybeth was trying to pull the arm of a man trapped under his seat, but could not. He was pleading for help. I handed Andrew out the hole to someone. The plane was now fully engulfed with flames on the outside. No emergency exits got opened and I do not know why, but it may have saved all of us as it prevented the flames from coming into the cabin and burning us immediately.

Marybeth could see that her efforts to pull the man out was delaying the whole crowd, so she left him. We then went out the hole in the side of the plane together. I don't think the man lived and Marybeth cannot forget him pleading for help. We were suffering from smoke inhalation at this point.

April had run ahead from the beginning and said she never saw a drop-off. That is impossible and I will have to wait to heaven to find out how God carried her across it without her knowing. She reached the front of the plane way ahead of us and saw a man pulling fiberglass from a crack in the side of the plane. She told him in Swahili, "We have to open this hole or we are dead." She started helping him pull chunks from the side of the plane to make a hole. When it got big enough for her to pass through, she dived through it, but got stuck half way. Someone pushed her out the rest of the way.

She started looking for a white face, but no one paid any attention to her. The exterior was complete chaos. The plane had crashed into a busy market and everyone was screaming and running around. bodies were on the ground and people were burning. She finally saw a French man who had escaped through a window and he helped her to move away from the plane as it seemed it would explode any second. She never saw us get out of the plane.

When we got out, we started looking for Andrew, but without glasses, could hardly see. We started running looking for him and the man who had taken him. he thought it must be the child of someone else since he was black and we were white. People grabbed us and started pulling us away from the plane which was now an inferno. Finally, a man came and put Andrew into our arms. We had to convince him that he was ours. I looked in my pocket and was amazed to find our passports still there. I showed him and he agreed to give us Andrew. Then we started looking for April, but a police vehicle stopped and pulled us in. They raced us to a very good hospital which was in total chaos at that point with wounded people. We collapsed onto a bench in shock and waited for April. We started describing April to people around us and a Philippine man said he was the one to push her out the hole in the plane. Then, we knew she was alive. We shouted for joy.

People kept going by on stretchers who were burned. We couldn't believe we were not hurt, only cuts and bruises. Andrew was in shock and we did not know his leg was broken just below the crotch. After 20 minutes we saw April coming and screamed for joy. We hugged and hugged. April had told people that her parents burned up in the plane and were dead.

She could hardly believe we were there. Marybeth kept saying " I can't believe we are all alive."

We then left our names there and got a taxi to the Union office to get news to Keith who was waiting for us in Kisangani. he had only heard that the plane had crashed.

When we got there, we got news to Pastor Mtenzi who contacted Keith. Then someone told us that Andrew's leg was swollen. For sure it was and we headed back for the hospital where we got x-rays and excellent medical help. A team from Denver happened to be in town, but the hospital itself did a fantastic job.

They put Andrew in a cast from just below the rib cage to his toes. He cannot even turn over by himself now.

That night we stayed with the Union treasurer-a Tanzanian man. They have all been so helpful to us. The embassy man asked if he could release my phone number from my borrowed cell phone. We decided that if God's name could be glorified, it was the right thing to do. Wednesday, we must have done 20 phone interviews as well as taking Andrew back for more x-rays. It was a very tiring day. The x-rays showed that they might have to reset Andrew's leg.

Today we found out that the leg will heal fine and we finally got some eyeglasses. How wonderful it is to see again.

We praise God that we are alive according to God's mercy. I have to leave the email place now as it is closing. I will write again. WE thank God for his protection and for so many answered prayers. Thanks to all of you who lift up our names before the throne of Grace day by day. That is the reason we are alive.

We know God has more work for us to do as he has spared us. I wish I could write more. Sorry I have to end this.

Thank you all and PRAISE BE TO GOD!

Love

Barry, Marybeth, April and Andrew.

P.S. We hope to fly on in a safe airline to Kisangani on Monday next week.