Plane crash survivor's farewell party
As the plane he was travelling in plummeted 8,000ft from the sky, millionaire Fred Jones believed it was the end. And when his broken body was pulled from the wreckage, family and friends also feared the worst.
As the plane he was travelling in plummeted 8,000ft from the sky, millionaire Fred Jones believed it was the end. And when his broken body was pulled from the wreckage, family and friends also feared the worst.
In a coma for three weeks, he also lost an eye and his nose, broke his spine, shoulder, jaw and ankle. Doctors said he would never walk again and would be left permanently brain damaged. But amazingly, 20 years later, Fred, of Wombourne, is a successful Oldbury businessman.
In celebration of two decades he never thought he would have, he is holding a party for the consultants, paramedics and a farmer who helped to save his life.
Fred, who is now aged 57 and of Heath House Drive, pointed out: "I cannot thank these people enough.
"No-one expected me to survive that crash and I want to thank the people that saved me," he continued.
The accident shocked the Midlands when it happened on April 2, 1988.
Fred, who is a qualified pilot, was in a Piper Cherokee – which was being flown by an instructor. They had set off from Halfpenny Green airport in Bobbington en route to Wales, but bad weather meant dangerous flying conditions and the plane iced up when they hit freezing cloud.
"We couldn't see a thing through the window because it was thick with ice," recalled Fred.
"But I could see the altimeter in free fall and I thought, 'that's it'.
"I remember it right up to the last second and then everything went black."
The plane had smashed into a hillside at Ratlinghope, which is based in the Long Mynd area of Shropshire.
Fred hit the dashboard and the instructor, Kenneth Turner from Cradley Heath, was flung from the plane but also survived.
When Fred was pulled from the wreckage he was virtually unrecognisable and he was not expected to pull through.
But after three months in Royal Shrewsbury Hospital and Oswestry Orthopaedic Hospital, he was allowed home. Years of treatment followed, including the creation of a new nose which was grafted from his hip bone, and also a false eye.
He set up a new business, Stainless and Alloy Supplies in Oldbury, and except for a couple of scars on his chin, the lasting damage of the accident can barely be seen.
On Sunday, Fred is taking the men he credits with saving his life onto the observation carriage of the Severn Valley Railway, where they will enjoy a ride to Bridgnorth and back in celebration.
On the train will be Shrewsbury maxifacial consultant Stephen Olley, spinal injury specialist Waghi El Masri, senior prosthetist Bryan Hyde-Jones, paramedic Stan Bloor and ambulance driver Dave Allen.
Also joining the group will be farmer John Sankey, who towed the ambulance across his fields in order to get to the wreckage of the plane.
"Without their help I may not be here," said Fred, who is married to Peta, 55, and has two sons Simon, 29 and Peter, 26.
"Everyday I wake up is a bonus. The accident completely changed my outlook on life and I am just so grateful to be here."
"I used to be very ruthless – all I cared about was money and I thought it was the be all and end all.
"Now my priorities have completely changed," he said.
"I will be eternally grateful to all the people that have helped me stay alive and I want to say a big thank you to them this weekend," Fred went on to say.
