The Luck of my Cousin Simon

September 14, 2014

I just wanted to post something about the luck of my cousin Simon. Some of you have met him over here (he visited Denver on a conference just days after Isla was born). Here is a picture of the two of them at our Denver home.  The unusual thing about this photo is that Isla is crying, because when we visit overseas, you usually see Simon covered by the laughing offspring of my other cousins. 

Just a few weeks ago, Simon got married to his fiancee Charlie (Charlotte).  Unfortunately, we were unable to attend the ceremony but it sounded like a good time was had by all.  Here is a photo from the wedding of Simon and Charlie.



Now you may ask, why am I posting photos of cousin Simon on my blog, other than the fact that on my mother's side, he is the last cousin to get married?  It's because Simon seems to encounter some incredible bad luck but come out of it OK.  He and Charlie went for their honeymoon to the island of Ibiza in the Mediterranean.  They had a great time there, but the way back was somewhat exciting.  Actually, Simon described it as such on his Facebook page: "Amazing wedding weekend, beautiful, relaxing honeymoon and a rather exciting journey home..."

Here is the article in the newspaper from BBC.com:

Jet2 passengers escaped along wing after emergency landing

Passengers on a plane that made an emergency landing have described how they forced open a door and jumped from the wing.  Jet2 said the flight, which landed at East Midlands Airport at 21:10 BST on Wednesday, had a "minor electrical fault". A passenger on the Ibiza flight said there was a "strong... burning smell".  Another man said cabin crew lost control on the ground, which led to panic and people trying to escape.

On its website, the Air Accidents Investigation Bureau (AAIB) said it sent a team "to investigate a serious incident to a commercial airliner that occurred at East Midlands Airport", on Wednesday evening.  An airport spokesman said three other flights were diverted to Birmingham and full safety procedures were followed. The Boeing 737 jet can carry up to 150 passengers.

Kyle Charles, from Strelley Village, Nottinghamshire, said: "We circled above the airport and tried but failed to land. "We landed on the second attempt. When we landed it turned into sheer carnage."
Mr Charles said one member of the cabin crew kept screaming over and over: "Get off the plane everybody now!"

He said the crew opened the main doors at the back and front of the plane, where the inflatable chutes drop down, but not the ones over the wings.  His friend Rob forced one of the doors open, ran to the end of the wing and jumped down on to the tarmac.  He then helped other passengers who were running along the wings down on to the runway.  Malcolm Yates, who was also on the flight, said the intercom failed and there was no communication between cabin staff and passengers in the air.

"We soon saw the fire engines lined up," he said. "You could smell the burning, a strong electrical burning smell. That's when people started to panic, screaming 'get the kids off!'  "The stewardess kicked the door down up the front. I remember her taking a great big lunge for it to smash it down."(Comment from Andrew - "Seriously!!?? This is how Jet 2 trains its staff??  I know what airline I won't use if I am doing any inter-European flights in the future)").

A Jet2 spokesperson said: "Following a safe arrival at East Midlands Airport of flight LS644 we decided to disembark passengers as quickly as possible as a precautionary safety measure because a minor electrical problem led to some smoke in the cabin.

"All passengers were looked after by our airport team and a full investigation is now under way. The safety of our passengers is of paramount importance."

Andrew again: you really do have to be careful of the discount airlines in Europe, as sometimes the standards to which they are held are significantly less than what you would expect here.  In any case, I labeled this article the "luck of my cousin Simon" because Simon has experienced some additional bad luck in the past, but is still around to talk about it.  On December 26, 2004, Simon was vacationing in Phuket, Thailand on the day when the massive tsunami hit and wiped out the town (and many others around the Indian Ocean).  Simon and his girlfriend had to run up a hill to escape the water as it rushed in. This girlfriend was a nurse and they were both able to help out in the aftermath before heading for home.