1 Day Later on Flight 5569 : Fate: Silence rules SkyWest jet. Six of 15 aboard missed the crash because of last-minute changes in plans.

Colleen Scudmore, 39, peered out the window of the 19-seat commuter aircraft and picked nervously at her fingers.

It was 5:58 p.m. Saturday and SkyWest Flight 5569 was taxiing down Runway 25-Right of Los Angeles International Airport, less than 24 hours after Friday’s Flight 5569 had been crushed under an incoming USAir Boeing 737, killing all 12 aboard.

The twin-engine Metroliner carrying Scudmore vibrated noisily as it picked up speed, lifting off the ground and heading west into the pink sunset over the Pacific before circling northeast toward Palmdale. Finally, the mother of three, who works as a cake decorator, breathed easier and relaxed her hands.

“I’m better now--I always am as soon as I get out of Los Angeles,” said the red-haired Scudmore, whose husband works as an air traffic controller in Palmdale. “LAX bothers me, Palmdale doesn’t. Los Angeles just has a lot of air traffic.”

That attitude was typical among the 15 passengers aboard the twilight flight. All the adults--including Scudmore, who was returning from her grandmother’s funeral in Michigan--were aware of the previous day’s tragedy. Indeed, six said they had been spared from death only because they had changed their travel plans at the last moment.

Regardless, nobody said they were more nervous than usual about flying nor admitted having second thoughts about hopping aboard the SkyWest plane.

“Your ticket could be punched at any time,” said Greg Van Velsir, 42, planning director at Antelope Valley Hospital.

“If anything, they’re more aware and alert tonight,” said Marlene Gomez, a Palmdale loan officer.

Besides, said aircraft telemetry tester Paul Fleischer of Lancaster, “There’s a lot of crazy people out on the freeway.”

While many SkyWest flights suffered delays of between two to four hours Saturday, Flight 5569 took off less than 15 minutes behind schedule, as if the commuter airline was attempting to make a statement.

“This flight felt different, but you can’t dwell on it, you have to leave it all on the ground,” Capt. Ernest Zwicki said after the smooth, 60-mile jaunt. “Life goes on.”

Zwicki made no mention of the accident during the 23-minute flight and the passengers, most of whom were traveling alone, hardly talked to one another--about anything.

Moreover, one couple, Mike and Linda Pease of Wasilla, Alaska, were attempting to keep any news of the accident from their three youngsters, ages 10 to 14, to avoid scaring them.

The Pease family had been scheduled to take the fatal flight but remained in Seattle an extra day because Linda was sick.

“The Lord works in our lives,” she said after arriving in Palmdale.

Fleischer, 36, said he missed Friday’s flight only because he decided to spend an extra day in Honolulu.

“If it would have happened , it would have happened,” Fleischer said, shrugging. “That’s all there is to it. You can’t dwell on it.”

During the flight, the plaid-shirted Fleischer sat with his arms folded on his chest and, during the landing approach, confessed to being a bit bored. It wasn’t until about 10 minutes after landing that his placid demeanor finally faded.

“They lost my luggage, they lost my luggage,” Fleischer moaned, running through the tiny Palmdale terminal in search of a SkyWest gate agent.