I recently came across the following sentence in a newspaper-
-The next thing she knew she was helping the passengers of the ill-fated Flight 111.
Here's my question: is such usage common? I'd actually say: The next thing she knew was that she was helping...
Yes, very common, except I would have put a comma after "knew."
A little fairy dust, and the next thing you know, you're flying.
I was just sitting there, and the next thing I knew, I was on the ground with anxious faces peering down at me.