The Manchester Airport disaster in 1985 changed the way we fly forever
It's been 39-years since a catastrophic fire engulfed a plane full of holidaymakers just as it was about to take off. It was a disaster that changed the way we fly forever.
John, 37 at the time, boarded a plane at Manchester Airport with his wife Pamela and their two sons Simon, aged 14, and David, aged 12, looking forward to a family holiday abroad. While Pamela and the boys settled into their seats directly over the wing and engine, John was seated across the aisle and felt an immediate discomfort.
"I think we all thought it was a tyre bursting," John said. "But within seconds someone on the left side of the cabin shouted the engine was on fire. I could see through a window black fumes coming out of the engine. John vividly described his own perilous escape: "I was near the back, a black cloud of dense fumes and smoke started to roll down the cabin. When it hit you you just choked, one or two breaths and you knew you'd collapse."
This catastrophic event left its mark deeply on the aircrafts captain, Peter Terrington, who died just months following the 30th anniversary of the tragedy in 2015. His spouse Joan remarked that he thought about and mentioned it nearly every day, grappling with the heavy burden of survivor's guilt.
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