After US Airways Flight 1549 crash-landed in the Hudson River in New York last month, flight attendant Doreen Welsh, stationed in the back of the A320 jetliner, tried to close an emergency exit opened by a passenger, allowing water to rush in.

According to an interview aired Sunday on CBS News's "60 Minutes," Ms. Welsh said after a passenger "came back and pushed me back and opened the door," garbage cans and coffee pots "were floating" and "things were flying. It was crazy back there."

But...