As tension mounted and the pilot rapidly descended from 32,000 feet, he was asked how many were on the jet.

"51 souls on board," he responded.

Just as reference, when pilots or ground control refer to the number of passengers as "souls" it means they are probably praying to God they get them down in one piece because they may not think they can do it on their own. (Thanks to reading John Nance for that one)

ABC News: EXCLUSIVE: FAA Tapes Reveal Drama of Obama Jet Incident