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Talk with Witness to Terrorist Attack on Aircraft
Aired November 28, 2002 - 10:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: We are continuing to follow the terrorism attacks that have taken place not only in Israel, but also in Kenya.
Joining us on telephone Kerry Levy. She is in Tel Aviv now. She was a passenger onboard the aircraft when the missiles were fired. Thank you for joining us.
KERRY LEVY, WITNESS: My pleasure. Good evening.
SAVIDGE: Good evening to you.
Tell us, what was it like to be on board the aircraft, and did you know at the time what was happening?
LEVY: No, no one knew what was happening until an hour before we landed.
SAVIDGE: So there was no indication to the passengers, no announcement by the crew initially after this attack that you had actually been attack attacked.
LEVY: There was an announcement that there was some technical difficulty, but there was no announcement about what had actually happened, because we heard a slight bang on the left wing, and we heard -- and people sitting there said they saw smoke, like two suttles (ph) of smoke, but no one panicked. We thought maybe a bird flew into the wing, everything will be OK, and that's it.
SAVIDGE: Were passengers on board the aircraft aware of the terror attack of the hotel in Kenya?
LEVY: No, we got told everything an hour before we landed.
SAVIDGE: What was the reaction when you were told all this?
LEVY: Shock, definite shock and then just surprise, and terror to know that at a great holiday resort in Kenya, it was very, very hard to believe that even in Kenya, in the middle of -- very unbelievable.
SAVIDGE: We were told that the aircraft you were in once got into Israeli airspace was met by fighter aircraft. Did you see that at all?
LEVY: Yes, that was amazing. That's when, I think, myself, at least, started to feel safe. I know that if they are picking us up, then everything would be fine.
SAVIDGE: Once you made it on the ground and you were safe and you were back, what were you thinking?
LEVY: That it was a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) miracle, definitely a miracle. You don't see them every day, but to know that you escaped a missile, I don't think -- it's only now starting to sink in, really, and I didn't think anyone -- at the same time, no one took it seriously or understood what happened or what we had escaped.
SAVIDGE: And what did your fellow passengers -- how were they reacting when they heard this news? Was there -- you mentioned shock. No one was still fearful at that time.
LEVY: Crying. Some people were crying and some people were just angry, that even in Kenya it reached us, the terrorism.
SAVIDGE: We're looking at some video that apparently was taken aboard the aircraft. We see what appears to be some celebration. I presume that was when you knew...
LEVY: That was when we landed safely.
SAVIDGE: Kerry Levy. Thank you very much. You're very fortunate to have survived and get through all of this. Thank you for talking with us.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired November 28, 2002 - 10:15 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: We are continuing to follow the terrorism attacks that have taken place not only in Israel, but also in Kenya.
Joining us on telephone Kerry Levy. She is in Tel Aviv now. She was a passenger onboard the aircraft when the missiles were fired. Thank you for joining us.
KERRY LEVY, WITNESS: My pleasure. Good evening.
SAVIDGE: Good evening to you.
Tell us, what was it like to be on board the aircraft, and did you know at the time what was happening?
LEVY: No, no one knew what was happening until an hour before we landed.
SAVIDGE: So there was no indication to the passengers, no announcement by the crew initially after this attack that you had actually been attack attacked.
LEVY: There was an announcement that there was some technical difficulty, but there was no announcement about what had actually happened, because we heard a slight bang on the left wing, and we heard -- and people sitting there said they saw smoke, like two suttles (ph) of smoke, but no one panicked. We thought maybe a bird flew into the wing, everything will be OK, and that's it.
SAVIDGE: Were passengers on board the aircraft aware of the terror attack of the hotel in Kenya?
LEVY: No, we got told everything an hour before we landed.
SAVIDGE: What was the reaction when you were told all this?
LEVY: Shock, definite shock and then just surprise, and terror to know that at a great holiday resort in Kenya, it was very, very hard to believe that even in Kenya, in the middle of -- very unbelievable.
SAVIDGE: We were told that the aircraft you were in once got into Israeli airspace was met by fighter aircraft. Did you see that at all?
LEVY: Yes, that was amazing. That's when, I think, myself, at least, started to feel safe. I know that if they are picking us up, then everything would be fine.
SAVIDGE: Once you made it on the ground and you were safe and you were back, what were you thinking?
LEVY: That it was a (UNINTELLIGIBLE) miracle, definitely a miracle. You don't see them every day, but to know that you escaped a missile, I don't think -- it's only now starting to sink in, really, and I didn't think anyone -- at the same time, no one took it seriously or understood what happened or what we had escaped.
SAVIDGE: And what did your fellow passengers -- how were they reacting when they heard this news? Was there -- you mentioned shock. No one was still fearful at that time.
LEVY: Crying. Some people were crying and some people were just angry, that even in Kenya it reached us, the terrorism.
SAVIDGE: We're looking at some video that apparently was taken aboard the aircraft. We see what appears to be some celebration. I presume that was when you knew...
LEVY: That was when we landed safely.
SAVIDGE: Kerry Levy. Thank you very much. You're very fortunate to have survived and get through all of this. Thank you for talking with us.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
