[SEE IT: Images from the wreckage of flight 1404]
One of the survivors of Continental Flight 1404 was Alex Zamora, a 26-year-old Houston man who has been safely reunited with his family.
On Saturday night, Zamora was sitting in seat 14F when the plane skidded into a ravine. He saw the fire from his window.
"That was the moment that I realized that I need to get out of this plane as soon as I could," Zamora said.
Reality as well as sore knees and a stiff back have started to set in for Zamora. The enormity of what might have been has also affected his family.
"One of the biggest events for our Christmas is for us to be reunited under these circumstances. It certainly was a blessing," said Zamora's father, Art.
Zamora will have to start over in many ways. He has no wallet, his clothes are gone and his bass guitar probably melted in the plane fire. But he's home with his family and it's never been sweeter.
"It's the Christmas of a lifetime. Anything that happens from this point on will absolutely outshine any Christmas that I've ever had before," said the Zamora the survivor.
Zamora will go shopping Monday with a Continental Airlines representative who will help him replace the clothes he lost and even rent a bass guitar so he can play in a band with his brother later this week.
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