Rob McLoughlin returned to Manchester International Airport to share his memories of the disaster which killed 55 people as a plane exploded and burnt on the runway on 22nd August 1985.
Marking the 40th anniversary he appeared live on ITV’s ‘Granada Reports’ and shared his memories as one of the first reporters on the scene in 1985.
He told Mel Barham of ITV News that it was an ‘horrific day’ as he recalled the ‘silence’ as he entered the terminal that day and saw grounded passengers and anxious relatives in shock.
He recalled that you could see the flames on the runway from the windows of the terminal and within minutes he met a senior fire officer who told him sadly that ‘it was a national disaster’ and that ‘dozens and dozens had died’.
Asked about the lessons of the disaster, Rob said that he felt ‘many would opt for smoke hoods’ if they were available today on passenger planes as recommended by the formal inquiry. That recommendation was never introduced in the U.K.
Many victims had died in their seats from smoke inhalation and relatives of the dead are still campaigning for the availability of the hoods on holiday and other civil aircraft.
In a follow on documentary to be screened on ITVX, Rob recalls an investigation conducted by him for Granada Reports weeks after the disaster which showed that the plane’s log showed symptoms of engine problems which may not have been communicated to the pilot and crew.
A copy of the plane’s log had been obtained by ‘The Sunday Mirror’ and shared with Granada Television. It featured on the Granada Reports special and later in a John Ware ‘World in Action’ special across ITV nationally.
The pilot thought the first explosion was a tyre burst and as he steered the plane off the runway he sadly steered into a head wind which tragically fanned the flames. Rob believes that it was ‘an avoidable disaster’.
A minutes silence across the airport marked the 40th anniversary. Rob described that day in 1985 as ‘emotional’.
The horrors of the tragedy are etched deeply into his memory.
The date of the documentary has not yet been released.