{"id":242212,"date":"2025-06-13T21:41:22","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T16:11:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/?p=242212"},"modified":"2025-06-30T02:42:07","modified_gmt":"2025-06-29T21:12:07","slug":"recalling-how-kadirgamar-survived-the-swissair-athens-plane-crash-of-1979","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.colombotelegraph.com\/index.php\/recalling-how-kadirgamar-survived-the-swissair-athens-plane-crash-of-1979\/","title":{"rendered":"Recalling How Kadirgamar Survived The Swissair Athens Plane Crash Of 1979"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Ajita Kadirgamar<\/a> –<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Ajita Kadirgamar<\/p><\/div>\n

Plane crashes are becoming an all too common and terrifying reality. Often, it appears, it is not so much the impact of the crash itself that is fatal but the fire that erupts within the plane, especially one carrying a full quota aviation fuel.<\/p>\n

The massive death toll, yet the miraculous survival of 40-year old British national Vishwashkumar Ramesh, in the Air India crash in Ahmedabad on June 12, has touched me profoundly. A surfeit of traumatic experiences in my life, with much of the trauma still not reconciled, meant that I did not initially make a connection with Ramesh\u2019s survival and that of my father Lakshman Kadirgamar<\/a><\/span> in a plane crash<\/span> <\/b>forty-six years ago.<\/p>\n

A Facebook post today made reference<\/a><\/span> to a Wikipedia site that lists \u2018Survivors of Aviation Accidents or Incidents<\/a><\/span>\u2019 in which my father is mentioned. Here is the story of his narrow escape.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Lakshman Kadirgamar and Vishwashkumar Ramesh<\/p><\/div>\n

It is a little known fact that Lakshman Kadirgamar nearly lost his life in the Swissair Flight 316 plane crash at Athens Ellinikon International Airport, Greece, on October 7, 1979. He and a team of World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) officials were on their way to China from Geneva to advise the Chinese Government on the establishment of an intellectual property system.<\/p>\n

The plane, a McDonnell Douglas DC-8-62<\/span><\/a><\/span>, flying from Geneva to Peking (now Beijing) and carrying 154 passengers and crew on board, skidded off the runway while attempting to land in wet conditions in Athens.<\/p>\n

News reports stated that, \u2018Flight 316 touched down on runway 15L at a speed of 146 knots (270 km\/h; 168 mph). The aircraft decelerated but overran the runway and came to rest on a public road. The left wing and tail separated and fire broke out. Fifteen out of the 142 passengers on board perished. Among the dead were British, German, and French citizens. Of the passengers on board, 100 were doctors on their way to a medical convention in China.<\/p>\n

Within days of the accident, my mother Angela penned a remarkably concise hand-written letter to be photocopied and sent to family members around the world, recounting the traumatic events. Here are the most pertinent parts of that letter.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had seen Lakshman off at Geneva Airport at 6.25 p.m. on Sunday October 7th<\/sup><\/span> and the crash happened at Athens at approximately 9.15 p.m. Several people say the plane landed too fast, but the touchdown was fairly smooth. One says he felt the brakes were not functioning and that the engine had not been put into retroactive motion. The plane then skidded off the runway as the tarmac was wet after rain.<\/p>\n

According to Lakshman the lights of the plane went out immediately the plane came to a halt and fire broke out on one side. Smoke started seeping in at once and right at the start they were left with only two exits from which to evacuate. There was shouting and pushing but apparently not nearly as much as would have been expected, and fortunately there were no children on board.<\/p>\n

The first-class exit had an emergency chute but this collapsed after only a few people had used it. The reasons for this are still not clear. It could be due to poor maintenance or the fact that the plane landed in a ditch among rocks and broken fences at the side of the main road.<\/p>\n

WIPO Director General Dr. Arpad Bogsch, who was travelling first class, was one of the few to get out safely before the chute collapsed. The only other exit was in operation for only a couple of minutes before that side of the plane was also enveloped by the fire.<\/p>\n

The moment the plane stopped, Lakshman started towards the rear exit but turned back immediately, as there were too many people trying to get out that end. By the time he had reached the last exit, there was only one way to get out and that was to jump. The man in front of him was hesitating and by the time Lakshman had persuaded this man to jump, he himself did not waste any more time to even look where he was leaping. He was therefore unable to assess the distance, which would have in any case been difficult by the light of the flickering flames, and he landed in a ditch.<\/p>\n

His back hurt the moment he fell. The result of this has been two fractured vertebrae, one miraculously just missing the spinal cord. He also had many cuts on his legs and has since been found to have sustained internal injuries also. Happily, this problem is gradually improving. The first week was one of great suffering and constant discomfort and even now there are hours of great pain.<\/p>\n

Apparently, Athens airport is very poorly equipped and did not even have a stretcher. No one could be found to open the first aid box and the glass door had to be broken. It was not until about 2 a.m. that the Director General managed to get Lakshman taken to a hospital and then he had to sit up all the way and was in excruciating pain.<\/p>\n

What happened to the other poor people, no one knows. Of the 20 odd that were taken to various hospitals we also know nothing. Lakshman was found the next day after a long search. He had been left in the corridor of the Athens hospital for a long time until a room was available.<\/p>\n

After the others had seen the condition of the hospital in which they finally found him, the DG insisted that Lakshman should be returned to Geneva immediately and from what I gather almost commandeered a plane to have him flown straight to Geneva and not to Zurich on the plane that had been sent for all the others in the crash. Dr. Bogsch had also telephoned a top Swiss specialist to be ready at the hospital when he arrived.<\/p>\n

Though Swissair had been rather ineffectual in Athens, they were certainly very efficient at this Geneva end and ambulances were waiting for Lakshman and the only other person with a spinal injury, a doctor from WHO, who for a few days shared his room at the hospital.<\/p>\n

The journey from the airport was nerve wracking for me and most painful for Lakshman. The ambulance absolutely tore to the hospital with sirens at full blast. Obviously, no one had told them it was a spine injury and not a heart transfer.<\/p>\n

There was then the usual wait of about three hours while X-rays and other examinations were done before he was finally installed in bed.<\/p>\n

From all that Lakshman has told me in the days since the accident, there is one little story that stands out in my mind. While he was waiting at the airport to be taken to the hospital a woman came up to ask him if there was anything she could do to help. When he thanked her but said there was really nothing she could do, she quietly said, \u2018My husband is dead\u2019, and went on repeating this to herself. Her husband had been one of the casualties of this rather needless crash.<\/p>\n

For those who escaped death it has truly been a miracle. It is estimated they were all evacuated within three to four minutes. Fifteen people died, three known to friends of ours. One couple left two small children, and the grandparents who are looking after them still have not told the children. One of the passengers of this flight who came to see Lakshman a few days later said as he was leaving the room, \u2018I feel as if I have been reborn, given a new life.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Lakshman spent the next two and a half months in hospital, flat on his back, his body in a plaster cast. According to my mother, he never complained throughout his whole hospital ordeal, even though he was in great pain. Only when he got home, did he look down at his legs and say (from the point of view of a former athlete), how thin they had got from his being bedridden for so long.<\/p>\n

After being discharged, he wore a special corset for his back for several months, and could not travel long distances.<\/p>\n

The Plane Crash Trial<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

At the trial held in Greece, a Finnair DC-8 captain and several Olympic Airways captains who had landed in Athens a few minutes before the accident or shortly after, testified to the very poor water drainage and the very slippery status of this runway, especially on the portion of 1200 meters corresponding to the heavily utilized (80% of the time) touchdown zone of runway 33R contaminated by thick rudder deposits, oil and kerosene mixed with undrained rainwater.<\/p>\n

US expert specialists of runway friction analysis testified under oath that such a combination of elements, together with the absence of accurate wind measurement (wind was measured at threshold of runway 33 while the landing runway was 15), had undoubtedly been the main factor of this accident.<\/p>\n

The court delivered a sentence of five years and two months of imprisonment for each pilot; bail offer of $266,000 (at the time); and the two pilots were convicted of Manslaughter, Criminal Negligence and Interruption of Air Traffic.<\/p>\n

Interesting Facts<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Thanks to the internet, I discovered two interesting facts about Swissair Flight 316 that I did not know about at the time or even in the following years.<\/p>\n

1. After the crash it was learned that the aircraft was transporting over 1,000 pounds (450 kg) of radioactive isotopes and a small amount of plutonium. The plutonium was in the luggage of one of the doctors on board, and was briefly missing in the aftermath of the crash, although it was quickly found. The airline stated it had no idea the plutonium was on board. It was being transported to a health conference in Peking, China. Authorities had firemen and other rescue workers checked for radiation exposure which was found to be minimal.<\/p>\n

2. The crash destroyed over $2 million worth of industrial diamonds bound for Bombay (now Mumbai). Most of the uncut diamonds were found by police, but they were destroyed by the crash\u2019s intense heat.<\/p>\n

*This article is based on excerpts of \u2018The Cake that was Baked at Home\u2019 by Ajita Kadirgamar, originally published in 2105, now in its fourth edition.<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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