Survivor marvels at escaping with bruises

LAWRENCE WILSON emerged from the mangled plane that claimed the lives of six people at Cork Airport last week with just a few cuts and bruises.

He is already back home with his wife, May, and daughters Emma, Donna and Lorna in Glenoe, Co Antrim, still marvelling at his own survival.

But, while happy to be alive, he is also grieving those who did not survive the ill-fated Manx 2 flight from Belfast to Cork.

The businessman, who heads a training organisation in Larne, has described himself as the luckiest man alive and has expressed his thanks to the rescue services he believes saved his life.

“It feels so good to be alive, so good words can’t really describe it. But I am sad too for the tragic loss of life. That cannot be ignored,” said Mr Wilson, who was discharged from Cork University Hospital last Friday where he was treated for bruising and shock.

The 51-year-old community activist was rescued by emergency personnel just minutes after the small plane crashed.

“If it wasn’t for the emergency services, I wouldn’t be alive. I know that for a fact. I wouldn’t be standing here today without them,” he said.

“Being home with my family is so good. I feel great. But I also feel awful today because I can’t forget the people who lost their lives. My thoughts are with the families and loved ones of those who sadly didn’t survive the crash,” he said.

Mr Wilson did not want to go into detail about how he got out of the aircraft that burst into flames when it crashed upside down adjacent to a taxiway.

What he did want to make clear, however, was that reports of him “clawing his way out of the wreckage” were not consistent with his own recollection, which is why he wanted to stress his gratitude to the emergency services, who, he believes, saved his life.

Mr Wilson, who established Larne Skills Development in 1991, was on board the flight in order to meet an early morning appointment in Cork where he was due to hold a forklift training session with a group of young people.