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BBC News
10-04-2025
- General
- BBC News
Willenhall locals recall narrow escape from 1994 plane crash
A few days before Christmas in 1994, 22-year-old Clel Sneddon was standing in his parents' kitchen when the lights suddenly went off and chaos erupted outside."It was bedlam. It was like coming out on to a Hollywood film set - people just running around screaming and shouting," Mr Sneddon recalls.A Boeing 737 had crashed in Willenhall, a residential area on the edge of Coventry, killing all five people on board and narrowly missing houses as it went down in crash, a vivid event in many residents' memories, is being revisited as part of the BBC's Secret Coventry series. The Air Algerie aircraft had been leased by a company called Phoenix Aviation to export live animals from the UK to airports in France and the Netherlands, according to a government investigation report written after the was flying through fog as it made its descent into Coventry Airport and hit an electricity pylon just before 10:00 GMT, causing the power cut that made Mr Sneddon's parents' house passed over Willenhall's residential streets as it descended, before crashing in woods that run alongside a street called Middle Ride and bursting into flames. "We heard these mad revving noises," recalls Mr Sneddon, who had dropped into his parents' house on Field March, just off Middle Ride, that morning to pick up a last-minute Christmas shopping list."I remember one of the neighbours shouting, 'There's a plane crash!' And I thought, that can't be right."He added residents were shocked when they ran outside and saw an aircraft on fire, because "you knew there were people dying [inside] and there was nothing you could do". Syd Farley, who was an assistant divisional officer for West Midlands Fire Service at the time, was put in charge of firefighters' response at the scene and had to write the service's official report Farley, now 84, remembers he found the aircraft on fire and broken into "five or six pieces" when he also found many members of the public "in various states of shock".Three crew members and two passengers on board were killed in the government's investigation report, published in 1996, concluded the crew had allowed the plane to descend below the usual minimum height for its approach to Coventry report, written by the Air Accidents Investigation Branch, noted the foggy weather and also said the crew's performance was "impaired by the effects of tiredness" as they had completed over 10 hours of flight duty through the night. On the crash's 10th anniversary, Willenhall residents set up a brass plaque on the edge of the woods in memory of those who believe the pilot crashed in woodland to avoid coming down on their residential plaque's inscription says: "For the heroic crew of five, who gave their lives while saving ours."The government report states the plane's wingtip struck just one of Willenhall's terraced houses as it descended. Falling debris also caused minor damage to other houses that it passed over."We always say, to this day, how lucky we were - we really did escape with our lives," Mr Sneddon says."At the time they [said] it was a Christmas miracle." Follow BBC Coventry & Warwickshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.
Morocco World
18-02-2025
- Politics
- Morocco World
French Interior Minister Accuses Algeria of Not Respecting International Law
Rabat – The ongoing tensions between Algiers and Paris have yet again reached a boiling point, as French Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau renewed accusations against Algeria and its involvement in violations of international law. On Tuesday, Retailleau appeared in a new interview with TF1, accusing Algeria of not respecting the law. He referenced Algeria's recent decision to refuse entry to an influencer who was expelled by France earlier this year. 'If the Algerian did not have an identity card or biometric passport, I would understand the need for a consular pass,' the interior minister said, noting that the documents recognize that he is an Algerian. 'So, Algeria is violating the law. I have asked my services to explore how we could sanction the national airline Air Algerie,' he added, noting that France is looking into 'all possible retaliatory measures.' Retailleau has made similar recent accusations against Algeria amid deteriorating diplomatic tensions between Paris and Algiers. In January, he accused Algeria of attempting to 'humiliate France' after the North African country refused to receive the expelled Algerian social media influencer. 'France cannot tolerate this situation…We must now evaluate all means at our disposal regarding Algeria,' he added. In another development today, Algeria's regime criticized France's Minister Rachida Dati for her visit to Morocco's southern provinces, further adding to the tension between the two countries. Dati made a historic visit to Morocco's Laayoune, conveying her country's steadfast support for Morocco's territorial integrity and sovereignty over its southern provinces in Western Sahara. France announced its support for Morocco's Sahara cause in July of last year, with the decision strengthening bilateral ties between the two countries at all levels. Dati's visit is the first of its kind for a French minister since the recognition decision. 'The visit of the French Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati, to the Moroccan Sahara is of gravity and is condemnable on multiple grounds,' the Algerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. For the Algerian ministry, the visit 'reflects a blatant contempt for international legality by a permanent member of the UN Security Council.' The decision is a replica of the same position taken by Algeria's regime when France first announced its newfound Sahara position. Following France's decision regarding Western Sahara, Algerian Foreign Minister Ahmed Attaf announced that his country would take further measures against the European country. 'This is not a recall of the ambassador for consultation. It is a reduction in diplomatic representation. It is a significant step to express our condemnation and disapproval,' Attaf said at a press conference in August of last year. The statement is similar to the press release Algeria released after Spain endorsed Morocco's Autonomy Plan as the most serious political solution to end the dispute over Western Sahara in March of 2022. Tags: France and AlgeriaMorocco Algeria
