really is a miracle. there's no question about it. >> well, you are of all the gamblers on that plane, sir, you are the luckiest. >> absolutely. >> in reno, the world began to wonder at the luck and poise of 17-year-old george lamson jr. of st. paul. he lost his father in the debris of the old lockheed airliner, tossed clear of the fireball still strapped in his seat. he assumed the blessing and burden of being the only survivor. >> so i kicked the wall while we hit the ground. so i was just sliding through all this fire and debris. >> george's demeanor when he first came out, when we first were seeing him in the hospital bed and later when he came out in the wheelchair, he was sort of surprised to see everybody there. there was this sort of excitement. remember he was 17. all of a sudden all these people are there with all these cameras and they're all for him. and we were kind of conscious of