In September 1961 an Aer Rianta flight from Lourdes made a surprising landing, coming to a halt in the middle of the Dublin to Belfast road, near Cloughran. Incredibly, the 69 passengers and 4 crew on board avoided any serious injury, and about a mile and a half from their planned landing location they emerged from the plane.
The plane was operated by Starways, a Liverpool based company, and was carrying Irish pilgrims. Heavy rain on the night of Tuesday, September 19th was blamed for the incident. The Irish Press described the landing, noting that “it skidded along the ground and crashed through a hedge about half a mile from the airport”. When the plane came to a halt on the road, its nose was in a ditch on one side of the road,and its tail on the far side. The captain of the plane was Ian Johnson McClean, a Glasgow native.
The plane came within twenty yards of striking a car, and among those on board were some members of the clergy. One couple from County Offaly attributed their survival to the bottles of Holy Water they were carrying at the time!
In the aftermath of the crash, the investigation into the incident revealed that the plane had almost struck the Airport Control Tower, and this Irish Independent image gave a good idea of just how serious the failed landing was, showing the distance between the airport and the place where the plane came to a halt. Unsurprisingly, most on board thanked ‘a miracle’ for their survival!
My mother, aunt and grandmother were on board. I was only 4 at the time. My aunt is still Alive.
That Aircraft landed across the main Dublin to Belfast road in 1961 having run out of fuel while returning from Lourdes, I took a photo of the aircraft a few days later which i still have l
Hi there. My father took me out to see the plane across the road.
I was 3 years old at the time and I had nightmares about it for a long time after.
I can vividly remember seeing it.
Would you consider taking a photo of your photo and sending it on to me.
My email is: bobcribbin@gmail.com
Many thanks
Bob