ENGLAND PREMIER LEAGUE FOOTBALL Leeds crash twice in two days
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This is a digitised version of an article from The Cayman Compass's print archive. Occasionally, the digitisation process introduces transcription errors, or other problems.
See the article in its original context from April 1998.
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The captain of the chartered two-engine British Aerospace 748 aircraft aborted the takeoff after the right engine caught fire. The plane, which had only climbed 150 feet (45 meters), overshot the runway as it touched down and the nose wheel collapsed as the craft came to a stop about 300 feet (100 m) from the perimeter fence.
The only member of the Leeds party to be injured was assistant manager and former Irish international. David O'Leary, who hurt his shoulder. Manager George Graham wasn't on the plane, deciding to stay in London overnight after the team's 3-0 loss to West Ham Monday.
Despite the crash, Leeds said Tuesday it planned to go ahead with Saturday's Premier League game against Barnsley at Elland Road.
"There are no plans for Saturday's game to be canceled at this stage," a club spokesman said.
According to Leeds' Australian striker Harry Kewell, O'Leary suffered the injury suffered the injury opening the emergency exit.
"He had to push a window out and he fell out awkwardly," Kewell said. "It was a big scare, and I'm still in a bit of shock, so I don't want to say too much about it." Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale described the dramatic take off.
"Everyone on board could see the flames and the explosion and everyone seemed to be shouting: 'Fire! There's a fire!'" he said.
"Obviously, we had just taken off. You know the plane is full of fuel and you just hope you land before it explodes."
The plane, operated by Belfast-based Emerald Air, carried a crew of four and 40 passengers, including 18 players. Apart from O'Leary's shoulder injury, another had superficial cuts, authorities said.
"Just after we took off we heard a big bang and saw the flames from the engine on the right-hand side. We were just off the ground," said Leeds Norwegian defender Gunner Halle. "There was a little bit of shouting and I couldn't believe it."
Melvyn Seymour, the duty manager at Stansted, praised the skill and poise of the pilot, Capt. John Hacket.
"I would think that they had another 30 seconds before there would have been a major fire in the whole thing," Seymour said.
The plane, with a capacity of 44, is powered by two Rolls Royce Dart engines. Seymour said the plane was heavily damaged "is probably a write-off."
