We take a look back at a plane tragedy which shocked the nation. His rescuer Mr Salter said it was "remarkable" that anyone had survived the crash, adding that he never expected anyone to be saved from the wreckage alive when the plane went down. Research following the plane crash on the M1 at Kegworth changed the brace position. Even when the plane began to shake, Alan read on. Phil, who lives in Garthorpe Drive, said: "They had dug out steps in the motorway embankment right up to the top where the plane was and the bodies were being brought back in . The Boeing 737 was a state-of-the art passenger jet with an impeccable safety record - what could have gone wrong? Accident Site of British Midland B737-400 G-OBME, Kegworth 8 January 1989 (Credit: AAIB). On the eve of the 30th anniversary Leicestershire Policeofficers involved in the Kegworth disaster recalled theemergency response, including the revelation that a minibus of SAS troopers stopped on the M1 to aid the rescue. ", "Kegworth Village, Kegworth Air Disaster 1989", "Aircrash Confidential: Lethal Malfunctions Videos at", BBC 10th anniversary page about the crash, Pre-crash and crash pictures of the aircraft, "Op-Ed: Learning From The Kegworth Air Disaster, 30 Years On", Imperial Airways de Havilland DH.34 crash, London, Scottish & Provincial Airways Airspeed Courier crash, Hillman's Airways de Havilland Dragon Rapide crash, Evergreen International Airlines Flight 17, Pakistan International Airlines Flight 404, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kegworth_air_disaster&oldid=1134145982, Airliner accidents and incidents caused by mechanical failure, Airliner accidents and incidents caused by pilot error, Aviation accidents and incidents in England, British Midland International accidents and incidents, Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 737 Classic, January 1989 events in the United Kingdom, Airliner accidents and incidents in the United Kingdom, Airliner accidents and incidents caused by design or manufacturing errors, Airliner accidents and incidents caused by engine failure, Airliner accidents and incidents caused by wrong engine shutdown, Pages containing London Gazette template with parameter supp set to y, Articles needing additional references from October 2010, All articles needing additional references, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2015, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Failure of one engine followed by erroneous shut-down of the operating engine, This page was last edited on 17 January 2023, at 06:00. KEGWORTH AIR CRASH VICTIMS On Sunday, 8 January, 1989, 47 people lost their lives on a routine flight from London to Belfast which crashed near Kegworth in Leicestershire. Retired ATV cameraman Gary Hughes was the first TV crew at the scene (video). Their courage saved. They were trying to get to passengers like Chris Thompson, buried at the front of the plane under a pile of luggage flung out of the overhead lockers. It was a comforting thought given the death toll on the ground in the Scottish town, where 11 residents died in the burning wreckage. "It was an unpleasant scene. Regulationshad been introduced requiring aircraft seatsbe able to withstand -16g accelerations only after British Midland had taken delivery of these aircraft. The plane had come down yards from the village of Kegworth, just a few hundred feet short of the runway at East Midlands Airport. Kegworth: 10 years on. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Although written in his report on the 1988 Clapham rail disaster, Anthony Hidden QCs wise words are also highly relevant here: There is almost no human action or decision that cannot be made to look flawed and less sensible in the misleading light of hindsight. Miraculously, the plane managed to avoid hitting any cars on the motorway when it went down and no one on the ground was hurt. [17] This was adjacent to the motorway; remarkably, no vehicles were travelling on that part of the M1 at the moment of the crash. The vibration level increased, reaching 5, the maximum reading on the vibration gauge. I never thought I'd meet him again". Once this disturbing new theory was revealed, the newspapers were quick to seize on it. Firefighters, doctors and nurses made their way through the plane, quickly assessing who could easily be removed and taken to hospital. Report No: 4 . Descending through 3,000 feet, 13 nm from touchdown, power was increased on the No. TheCaptain said, Okay, throttle it backabout 19 seconds after the failure, referring to the No. So logically the flames must also be on the right, with the intake drawing in the smoke. They [the four survivors] didn't say anything. Their eyes were first drawn to orange streaks in the winter sky. Thirty three minutes later 47 people on board would be dead in a crash near the Leicestershire village of Kegworth. Among them was Captain Kevin Hunt, trapped but conscious in his seat for more than two hours. Many around him, however, were beginning to panic - especially those who had noticed smoke drifting into the cabin. "If you can't see from the instruments which engine is having the problem you reduce power to each one in turn.". Video Loading. Many of those in attendance at the commemorative ceremony, which was overseen by Reverend Lauretta Wilson, had travelled over from Northern Ireland and wiped away tears as they paid their respects. Speaking to BBC documentary Collision Course in 2003, she said: "I don't know where I got the strength from but as I pushed the seat forward my feet came away. "When we saw the aircraft, you could have heard a pin drop because then everyone realised, no-one staged this," says Ch Supt Jack Atwal - then a 24-year-old constable two days out of probation. The crew hadby this point decided to divert to East Midlands. Even today she remains cool, almost detached, as she recalls that night - though she admits she's "blocked out" some of the horrors. A Boeing 737, carrying 126 people, crashed on the M1 near Kegworth, in Leicestershire . [18], Of the 118 passengers on board, 39 were killed outright in the crash and eight died later of their injuries, for a total of 47 fatalities. Realising it was about to crash, they managed to slow traffic using their hazard-warning lights. [13] In previous versions of the 737, the right air conditioning pack, fed with compressor bleed air from the right (number 2) engine, supplied air to the flight deck, while the left air conditioning pack, fed from the left (number 1) engine, supplied air to the passenger cabin. Flight Path of British Midland B737-400 G-OBME, Kegworth 8 January 1989 (Credit: AAIB). It is noticeable that Bishop was on duty for the night of the1967 Stockport Argonautdisaster, an accident that also had a major influence on airliner survivability, and too on the exchange of safety data, and his experiences influenced his widely praised actions afterKegworth. "We arrived early at the airport and in those days you could just change your flight at no cost - so we changed to get on that flight," he explained. "After a few minor repairs we could actually power up the controls again and we were able to rule that out.". Operated by a Boeing 737-400, the accident, known as the Kegworth Air Disaster, occurred during an attempted emergency landing. [10] These were derived from a research programme funded by the CAA and carried out by teams from the University of Nottingham and Hawtal Whiting Structures (an engineering consultancy company). But investigators already suspected the truth might be less palatable. To this day he suffers with balance problems, black-outs and permanent pins-and-needles in his feet. You are completely, completely helpless.". 2 engine. 65, Issue. Using ladders and ropes during a rescue operation, a fire fighter sprays foam on to the broken fuselage of a British Midland Airways Boeing 737-400. Again, he was apparently unaware of changes in the new 400-series. Then they saw the stricken jet - one engine spurting flames as chunks of burning metal fell away. 2 engine which the Co Pilot had stated was showing the higher vibration indications. [14] The pilots throttled back the working right engine instead of the malfunctioning left engine. G-OBME The Boeing 737-400 involved in the accident. Approaching the check-in desk, he wasn't medicated. Today he is "rational" about air travel and wouldn't think twice about putting his family on a plane - indeed, days before he spoke to the BBC, he flew back from a holiday in Portugal. But the experience haunted him for years. The aircraft struck trees to the east of the M1 motorway, which runs perpendicular to runway 27. The autothrottle attempted to compensate for this by increasing the fuel flow to the engine. On 8 January 1989 a British Midland Boeing 737 bound for Belfast crashed onto the M1 near the village of Kegworth in Leicestershire, killing 47 people. In one survivor's words, the jet became like "a stone hurled across a field" - it had forward momentum but ultimately fell to earth. The damaged engine was unable to burn all the additional fuel, with much of it igniting in the exhaust flow, creating a large trail of flame behind the engine. Of the 79 survivors, 74 suffered serious injuries and five suffered minor injuries. That's what was rattling Hunt and McClelland. For all the passengers, those terrifying few seconds hurtling to the ground stretched out into minutes. The scene of the disaster, with the runway that G-OBME failed to reach at the top of the picture, Aviation accidents and incidents in the United Kingdom, British Crown Dependencies, and British Overseas Territories, The aircraft was a Boeing 737-400 model; Boeing assigns a. McClelland was the pilot flying until the engine failure, after which Captain Hunt took control. 60,000 Disaster Victims Speak: Part II. The wreckage of British Midland flight 92 sits beside the M1 motorway after the crash. Published Jan 9, 2021. Very, very quiet. Thirty years ago, 47 people were killed and 74 injured when a British Midland Boeing 737-400 came down and crashed into an embankment of the M1 - a crash that would change the nature of airline . Among the dead, dying and seriously injured lay Alan Johnston, slipping into unconsciousness. Of those, 74 had serious injuries including broken backs, fractured skulls and brain damage. "The pilot said he was diverting to East Midlands Airport and you might have thought there would be panic but everyone was quiet. . "It was an awful sight," says Moss. 1 engine power suddenly decreased and a fire warning activated. He added: "We could see the East Midlands Airport but he said to prepare for a crash landing and that's all I remember until I woke up in hospital seven weeks later.". Kegworth, Kegworth air disaster memorials (12 F) L. Lancaster 4103 and Airspeed LB415 Crash . Thirty three minutes later 47 people on board would be dead in a crash near the Leicestershirevillage of Kegworth. His daughter had bought him a particularly gripping book and he intended to enjoy it. . "Being a father with children myself I could relate to that it was like a magnet really, that's what drew me to that part of the plane.". A man who suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after the Kegworth air disaster in 1989, in which 47 people died, has been awarded 57,000 damages. The aircraft was powered by two CFM International CFM56 turbofan engines. He'd had a couple of close shaves in the Middle East and Africa. I like to think I'm a better person, but don't we all," Chris says. Leslie Bloomer, a passenger who was rescued from the wreckage by local police sergeant Bob Salter, recalled the devastating crash following the service. At 19:52 on Sunday 8 January 1989 British Midland Boeing 737-4Y0 G-OBME took off from London Heathrow for Belfast. Between them, the pilots had close to 1,000 hours in the Boeing 737 cockpit (Hunt had 763 hours, and McClelland had 192 hours). Impact Sequence British Midland B737-400 G-OBME, Kegworth 8 January 1989 (Credit: AAIB). VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Blackpink lead top stars back on the road in Asia, 'Wales is in England' gaffe sparks TikToker's trip, Ukraine war casts shadow over India's G20 ambitions, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. Locations of Survivors and Fatalities: British Midland B737-400 G-OBME, Kegworth 8 January 1989 (Credit: AAIB). It seemed that Alan's resolve had been justified - the problem was in hand, and would be nothing more than an inconvenience. Little has been documented about those who passed away. 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