It was a cold, quiet night on February 12, 2009. The trees stood still, the moon bright. It was just like any normal night when something tragic happened. It was a school night; everyone was sound asleep in their warm, comfy beds. My house was big, with lots of windows that made the inside sparkle. My room provided a perfect view of our back yard and our pond. We lived just less than a mile from the accident, in a court, a safe neighborhood with many kids and families; we were all woken up by this tragic mishap.

They day before the crash passed just like any other day. We went to school, did our homework, and got ready for the next school day. I remember watching Hannah Montana and The Incredibles before going to sleep that night; I was woken up by my dad, who said,

“There has been a plane crash right near our house.”
“Where is it?” I mumbled.
“Go look out the window,” he uttered.

I got up from my bed to look out my room window tips of the yellow, orange flames that peaked over the tallest trees. The fire trucks loudly came from every direction to help.

“How did this happen?” I asked him
“I don’t know. We will find out tomorrow go back to sleep,” he told me.
I watched the flames grow bigger and the sky get brighter in the distance for a while before getting back into bed. The next morning I woke up and got on the bus. Stillness filled the neighborhoods. A distinct smell of burnt metal remained in the air and created a plastic feel in your saliva. There was a cool breeze that made the town’s silence so heartbreaking. Since we were right down the street the cops wouldn’t let my mom down the court that morning to get home from work. Cop cars blocked the whole road so no one could pass. She had to beg them to let her down the street to get home.

To get to school, our route was to go down the road where the crash happened. All the buses were re-routed and no one was allowed to drive down Clarence center road for weeks. For the next few weeks, everyone was watching the channel 2 news at all hours of the day to see updated reports. The community was devastated people knew of others who were in the crash, causing a tough time for everyone. I remember all the news cars parking down our street, interviewing people and trying to get a glimpse of the plane. The town shut down our gas and water for a couple of days to prevent further problems after the tragedy. One morning I was watching Wizards of Waverly Place when my mom came down.

“I need to change the channel!!” she demanded!

The news reporter was talking about how they identified all the people that had passed away.

The news reporter exclaimed, “This plane crash killed many and injured more”.

There were people on that plane who graduated for Clarence, a pregnant lady, someone who was trying to get home to her cousin to go to a dance with him the next day.

Every passenger had a reason for their presence on the plane but didn’t live to tell it. One day my as neighbors talked to each other, my mom babbled,

“This is so sad, so many people with families that they were coming home for and will never get to see now.”
My neighbor also said,

“Just imagine if that plane would have been flying for two more second it could have been on one of our houses.”

Weeks later when they let us drive back down that street, I can remember going down the road for the first time. We were listening to the High School Musical soundtrack on the radio.

I vividly recall a huge plane that was all burnt and destroyed with piles of ash and trash everywhere. I could see the house the plane was on top off and the hole one of the wings left in another house. Our mouths hung open saying,

“Whoa,”

I remember my dad remarking,

“Look at the wing in the person’s roof and the plane on top of that house, that’s just awful.”

It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before, like a blockbuster movie. People later found out that this plane crash was because of weather and a pilot error.

Fifty people died that day, on that plane because of one mistake made by someone. I was eight years old when this happened and I will never forget that day.