Near the rear of the aircraft in seat 40C, Wen Zhang said she thought the landing gear had failed when she felt the tail slam against the ground. She, too, was with her young son, aged four.
"I had no time to be scared," she said.
Ms Zhang picked up her child, who had hit the seat in front of him and broke his left leg. Unhurt, she could see a hole that ripped open at the back of the jumbo jet where the bathroom had been and carried her son to safety.
"It left a hole very close to my seat," she said. "Enough for two persons to get out."
Sitting near Ms Zhang was 39-year-old Shi Da, who was travelling with his wife and teenage son.