Survivors to mark anniversary of flight tragedy
They will gather at an undisclosed location for a private memorial to mark the first anniversary of the horrific plane crash which left six dead.
The relatives of those who died in what was one of Cork Airport’s worst accidents were invited to attend, Laurence said from his office in Co Antrim last night.
“But they have declined. It’s still too raw,” he said.
Instead, the survivors will mark the anniversary with a short religious ceremony followed by an informal get-together.
“It definitely won’t be a celebration. It will be a commemoration and a cup of tea just to mark the anniversary,” he said.
Mr Wilson, 55, who heads up Larne Skills Development in Co Antrim, was among two of the six survivors who walked from the wreckage with minor injuries.
Despite living with the trauma of the event, he said his miraculous survival has left him with a new outlook on life: “Small things that I used to get worked up about, and maybe panicked about, have become quite irrelevant. I look at the bigger picture now.”
Despite saying after the crash that he probably would not have a fear of flying, he said last night that he had not flown since that fateful day.
Meanwhile, other survivors will tell their remarkable stories in a TV documentary to be screened on TG4 at the weekend.
It also features interviews with the airport’s firefighters whose swift response prevented further loss of life.
Survivor Mark Dickens was sitting over one of the aircraft’s wings.
“I knew instinctively that we were gonna crash and I shouted out: ‘We’re gonna crash! We’re gonna crash!’
“And the next thing there was an enormous bang, the plane seemed to flip over, people were screaming, there were bags and coats and things flying around.
“I was completely disorientated; awake but completely disorientated.”
As mud flowed in to the aircraft, Mr Dickens said: “I couldn’t understand why I was getting wet, and I thought we may have crushed into a lake or a river, or something.
“I thought we would drown, at one point. And then, very shortly after that I started to smell aviation fuel and smoke, and I heard someone shout: ‘We are on fire’.
“And then I thought, we’ve survived the plane crash and now I’m gonna die burning in the plane.”
In the programme, Fr Michael Murphy, who administered last rites to the crash victims in a temporary field hospital at the crash site, recalled the moment he arrived at the field hospital.
“All I focused on was the job that I had to do and I really didn’t take in the scene at all,” he said.
“And, of course, the feeling of horror, and bewilderment and amazement at these young people who were now no more... it was awful.”
* The half-hour documentary by Cork-based Openeye Television, will be broadcast on TG4 at 9.30pm on Sunday.
The 1992-built 19-seat Fairchild Metro 111 EC-ITP aircraft departed Belfast City Airport at 8.10am on a scheduled service to Cork Airport. There were two pilots and 10 passengers on board.
The service was provided by Manx2.com, based in the Isle of Man. It was operated by the Barcelona-based airline Flightline BCN, which leased the aircraft from Seville-based Air Lada.
Andrew Cantle, 27, from Sunderland, was at the controls (pilot flying) with Jordi Lopez, 31, from Spain, as the “pilot non-flying”.
Mr Lopez had 1,800 hours on the aircraft type. Mr Cantle had just 720 hours on the aircraft type.
At 8.48am, the crew contacted Cork Approach Control which advised them of low visibility, or CAT II landing conditions, and that low visibility procedures were in operation due to fog.
Mr Cantle remained at the controls and aborted two landings. He then entered a holding pattern, before making a third approach to Runway 17.
Seven seconds from impact, a terrain warning or stall alarm sounded.
Three seconds later, 100ft above the ground, Mr Lopez called for an aborted landing, which was acknowledged by Mr Cantle.
Approaching the runway threshold, the aircraft rolled to the left followed by a rapid roll to the right during which the right wingtip clipped the runway surface.
The aircraft impacted the runway fully inverted. It came to rest in soft ground off the runway.
Six people, including the pilots, died. The other victims included Brendan McAleese, 39, from Co Tyrone, Pat Cullinan, 45, from Belfast, Michael Evans, 51, deputy harbour master in Belfast, and Richard Noble, 49, from Jordanstown.
Six passengers survived.
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