Kegworth air disaster: Survivors and families to remember dead at 30th anniversary service

Survivors of the Kegworth air disaster, and local families who lost loved ones in the crash, will attend a special event in Leicestershire tomorrow to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the tragedy.
The wreckage of British Midland Flight 92, which crashed near Kegworth on January 8, 1989. Forty-seven people were killed, including 29 from NIThe wreckage of British Midland Flight 92, which crashed near Kegworth on January 8, 1989. Forty-seven people were killed, including 29 from NI
The wreckage of British Midland Flight 92, which crashed near Kegworth on January 8, 1989. Forty-seven people were killed, including 29 from NI

Forty-seven people – 29 of them from Northern Ireland – lost their lives and more than 70 others were seriously injured when a Boeing 737-400, owned and operated by British Midland, crashed on the embankment of the M1 motorway near the village of Kegworth at 8.25pm on January 8, 1989.

The plane, which had been travelling from London Heathrow to Belfast, came down just yards from the runway at East Midlands Airport, where the pilot had been hoping to make an emergency landing after the aircraft developed engine trouble.

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Several families from Northern Ireland are due to attend tomorrow’s Kegworth Air Disaster Commemoration – an event jointly organised by Kegworth Parish Council and East Midlands Airport to remember those affected by the terrible events of 30 years ago.

Fr Gary Donegan will give a reading at the interdenominational service to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Kegworth air disasterFr Gary Donegan will give a reading at the interdenominational service to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Kegworth air disaster
Fr Gary Donegan will give a reading at the interdenominational service to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Kegworth air disaster

A memorial service will be held at St Andrew’s Church, followed by the laying of wreaths at the air crash memorial in Kegworth Cemetery.

Among those who will take part in the interdenominational service is Belfast priest Fr Gary Donegan.

The 54-year-old, who was a student priest at the time of the disaster, said he was “very honoured” to have been invited to give a reading at the event.

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“It will be very poignant – a very emotional day for many people. It is very important to remember what happened, but remembering also brings back difficulties. Some will find it a day that they can’t wait to be over as it’s another milestone and very difficult for them. Others will be, I suppose in a sense, very honoured that their loved ones are still remembered 30 years later,” he said.

“It is important too that everybody who was involved at the time – emergency services, hospitals, doctors, nurses, orderlies, ambulance drivers, paramedics and others at the scene – are recognised and remembered, when you think how traumatic it must have been for them, and the aviation people themselves and the people in air traffic control. There are so many people who actually were traumatised by the event and it will be a poignant day for many.”

In 2008, Fr Donegan worked with Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness to organise a special reception at Stormont for the “forgotten heroes” of the Kegworth disaster – lifeboat crew members from Withernsea in Yorkshire who were travelling on the M1 at the time of the crash and were among the first responders.

The eight men, who had been returning home from a boat show in London when they came across the horrific crash scene, spent several hours assisting the emergency services.

Confusion over engine fault led to tragedy

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There were 126 passengers and crew on board British Midland Flight 92 when it crashed onto the northbound embankment of the M1 on the evening of January 8, 1989.

Of the 118 passengers, 39 were killed outright and eight died later from their injuries – a total of 47 fatalities.

Twenty-nine of those who lost their lives were from Northern Ireland.

Among the crash victims were a number of military personnel.

All eight members of the crew survived the accident.

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Incredibly, no one who had been travelling on the M1 motorway where the plane came down was injured.

The crash occurred when a fan-blade broke in the left engine, disrupting the air conditioning and filling the flight deck with smoke.

With the crew, who were used to an older version of the aircraft, believing the fault was on the opposite side of the plane they mistakenly shut down the functioning engine.

The official report into the disaster made 31 safety recommendations.