Kegworth air disaster survivor passes away

Kegworth air disaster survivor passes away

1 January 2020

A STRANGFORD man who survived the Kegworth air disaster 31 years ago has died.

Mr Alan Johnston, who was in his nineties, died peacefully at Barrhall Residential Home in Portaferry on Monday, December 16.

A well known and respected figure, he had lived in the Strangford area for many years with his beloved wife, Phyl, and was involved in various local organisations and community groups.

On January 8, 1989, Mr Johnston was one of 126 passengers on board a British Midland Boeing 737 en route from London Heathrow from Belfast which crashed on to a motorway embankment near Kegworth in Leicestershire while attempting to make an emergency landing at East Midlands Airport.

Twenty nine people from Northern Ireland were among the 47 passengers killed, including a young Newcastle couple, John and Karen Campbell, who were both police officers.

A further 74 passengers were injured. Mr Johnston, who had travelled to London to visit his first grandchild and was sitting in the mid-section of the aircraft, suffered severe pelvic injuries.

He lay trapped for around two hours before being pulled from the wreckage by a group of RNLI volunteers, who had been travelling up the motorway.

Mr Johnston spent two months in hospital following the crash and later underwent intensive therapy for a shattered pelvis and injuries to one of his ribs and a foot. He also underwent a short period of counselling for post-traumatic stress disorder.

It was only years later that he discovered that RNLI volunteers had rescued him and other survivors by lifting them on stretchers and carrying them across one wing of the aircraft.

Mr Johnston was able to trace one of the men who saved him, Barrie Brigham from Yorkshire, who was later invited to the launch of Mr Mr Johnston book of weather photographs, entitled Should I Bring an Umbrella?

Mr Johnston was a fervent supporter of the RNLI, as he was of many charitable organisations, most notably the Northern Ireland Hospice.

Mr Johnston worked for many years in the international oil industry and was a former press officer in the Church of Ireland.

He loved the Strangford area, particularly the Narrows which his house overlooked, and he busied himself in local affairs. He was served on the local village committee for a number of years and was a faithful member of Kilclief Parish Church.

He was also a keen amateur photographer and a talented painter — he and his wife were both members of Downpatrick Art Society.

The funeral service was held in Ballyculter Parish Church on Saturday, December 21, and was followed by interment in Kilclief Parish Churchyard.

Mr Johnston is survived by his wife, his children, Deirdre, Barry, Elizabeth and Michael, and the wider family circle.