• News
    • Tech News
    • AI
  • Gadgets
    • Apple
    • iPhone
  • Gaming
    • Playstation
    • Xbox
  • Science
    • News
    • Space
  • Streaming
    • Netflix
  • Vehicles
    • Car News
  • Social Media
    • WhatsApp
    • YouTube
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
TikTok
Snapchat
WhatsApp
Submit Your Content
Woman who was sole survivor in plane crash which killed 156 still has visual scars

Home> Vehicles> Plane news

Updated 15:33 15 Nov 2023 GMTPublished 13:52 13 Nov 2023 GMT

Woman who was sole survivor in plane crash which killed 156 still has visual scars

Cecelia Cichan opened up about the tragic crash

Mia Williams

Mia Williams

Featured Image Credit: Yellow Wing Productions
Film

Advert

Advert

Advert

Meet the then four-year-old ‘miracle child’ 35 years on who survived a fatal plane crash.

In 1987, at just four years old, Cecelia Cichan became the only survivor when a Northwest Airlines flight 255 crashed just after taking off in Michigan.

She became known as the ‘miracle child’ for making it out of the fatal accident alive, and she spoke out as an adult about what she can remember.

Back in 2021, MailOnline ran a story on Cichan’s first public interview about the disaster.

Advert

They noted that the crash remained one of the deadliest air disasters in US history, and included an interview Cichan gave as part of a documentary called Sole Survivor, in which plane crash survivors share their stories.

Cichan - who is thought to have survived because her mum shielded her body - said: “It’s kind of hard not to think about it.

“When I look in the mirror, I have visual scars.”

Not only did Cichan’s mum tragically die in the crash, but so did her dad and six-year-old brother.

Advert

The family had been returning from a holiday.

Cichan herself suffered serious injuries, including a broken leg, third degree burns, a broken skull and broken collarbone.

“When I look in the mirror, I have visual scars.”
Yellow Wing Productions

After the crash, it is reported that Cichan had to have four skin grafts.

Advert

She was then raised by her uncle, Franklin Lumpkin, and her aunt, Rita - who is the sister of her late mum - and they made sure to shelter Cichan from media attention after the crash.

Cichan eventually left hospital after seven weeks and grew up in Alabama.

Speaking in the documentary, Cichan - who has a tattoo of a plane on her wrist to commemorate the tragedy - said she wanted to speak out about the incident because she was able to do so alongside other survivors, explaining: “That’s why I’m willing to get involved and be part of something bigger.”

Incredibly, Cichan kept in touch with the families of those who died, and even became friends with firefighter John Thiede, who pulled Cichan from the wreckage.

Advert

Of finding the little girl, Thiede previously said: “I heard that faint cry a baby doll makes.

“I looked to my right and I could see an arm, kind of bent, coming out of a chair.”

Thiede was even at Cichan’s wedding many years later, and said of the special day: “To see her come down the aisle, my heart, I really lost it.

“Just to see her in person was something.”

Choose your content:

19 hours ago
a day ago
2 days ago
  • 19 hours ago

    Man shares how he makes stunning $16,000 pay check in one day cleaning $25,000,000 private jet

    For the ultra rich, time is always money

    Vehicles
  • a day ago

    World's narrowest car is unveiled and people are in disbelief at how it remains fully functional

    Not everyone will be able to fit inside

    Vehicles
  • a day ago

    Airport releases statement after man was 'sucked into plane engine'

    Officials have revealed exactly what happened at Milano Bergamo airport

    Vehicles
  • 2 days ago

    What happens when cops pull over driverless car as footage shows Waymo forced to stop by police

    The police stopped a self-driving car for making a wrong turn

    Vehicles
  • Off-duty pilot who 'tried to crash plane' with 83 people onboard after taking magic mushrooms speaks out a year later
  • YouTuber visits 65,000 year-old tribe who 'eat humans' and has lucky escape in shocking video
  • Man who revealed what it was like 'being ugly' on YouTube finds love with woman who commented
  • Mystery of plane that vanished in 1971 with five people inside has finally been solved