Lois wasn't expecting to go back when they were making the decision to open the Phantom Zone. If I remember correctly it pulled the whole plane into it. She would have been lost had she not fallen out of the plane.
People have been highlighting this scene (on other forums and reviews) as "proof" she's a damsel in distress in this (again) when I'd say she was being a hero in her own right (going above and beyond her duties as a journalist.)
CLARK: No. I'm just worried I'm a jinx. JONATHAN: A jinx? CLARK: Yeah. Let's face it, ever since she's known me, Lois's been kidnapped, frozen, pushed off buildings, almost stabbed, poisoned, buried alive and who knows what else, and it's all because of me. -"Contact" (You're not her jinx, you're her blessing.)
