18th June marked the 50th anniversary of the Staines Air Disaster. Kwasi was honoured to take part in the memorial service at St Mary’s Church in Staines, where a commemorative stained glass widow has been installed. His thoughts and prayers are with the friends and families of the 188 people who lost their lives in this tragic accident.
The aircraft, referred to as Papa India, took off from Heathrow at 16:08 on 18 June 1972. After entering a deep stall, the aircraft crashed just 150 seconds later. It remains the deadliest air accident this country has ever seen. The public inquiry led to several improvements in aviation safety, including the installation of cockpit voice recorders and regulations ensuring that no unnecessary activities or conversations in the cockpit take place below 10,000 feet.