01/08/2021
Half a life time ago, 32years ago today, a police colleague and I were first responders on the scene at the The Kegworth Air Disaster. 47 people were killed and 74 injured when a British Midland Boeing 737-400 came down and crashed into an embankment of the motorway M1 - near junction 24.
The carnage; the shouts, screams and murmurings; the smell of aviation fuel; the fear, the adrenalin, the not knowing where to start; the ever present danger of fire; the look on the face of the first person to emerge from the plane alive; all these things and many more are still very much part of me, and probably still relived by many others there that night.
The shock and the horror; the compassion, inginuity and bravery of so many of the injured and the helpers; the fatigue and the commitment to save lives (at the scene and many hospitals) were all a testament to how in times of tragedy we witness people at their best. People committed to help others without want of any reward - a love for neighbour.
Colour, gender, creed, politics and nationality faded, it was simply humans responding to humans in need, and later, humans responding to families and friends, colleagues, volunteers and the bereaved in need.
In this disaster we saw the worst of scenes and yet witnessed the best in human response. How our world needs this human response today to the many disastrous situations and tragedies before us.....
Flight 92 from Heathrow to Belfast suffered engine trouble and was diverted to East Midlands Airport. It crashed just short of the runway on the night of 8 January 1989, with 126 people on board.
The aircraft was travelling at 130mph when it came down, hitting a field on the southbound side of the M1, plunging through trees and smashing into the embankment on the opposite carriageway. The front of the plane broke away from the main body on impact.
Many lessons were learned from this disaster re aircraft safety, in flight procedures when a fault is discovered, and emergency response procedures. Lessons that still aid our protocols, procedures and post traumatic stress strategies even today. May we equally learn the lessons of these days and respond in ways that our legacy will aid many in the coming years.
It is a day I will always remember. Strangely it is the day that began my vocational journey to the priesthood and, it is a day in the year that I always pray for those who died, were injured, or still traumatized or bereaved by this tragic disaster.
Lord in your mercy hear our prayer and bring healing to all your beloved.
Joshua 1:9
