© BELGIUM
A few seconds and a cigarette can sometimes make the difference. 49-year-old Philippe experienced this firsthand on Sunday, when he was able to run away just in time from the plane that crashed on his car in Spa.
He was parked along the N62 on Sunday morning when a passenger plane crashed into his Volvo V40. Two people, the pilot and a passenger, were killed, but Philippe did not suffer even a scratch from the accident.
“I live a little further away,” he tells SudInfo. “And I regularly visit the airport. I look at the planes and the parachutes.” That particular Sunday was no different. Philippe decided to stop and take a short smoke break before crawling back into the car. “I looked at the plane and saw that it was very windy. Then I saw it land briefly but then take off again. And then it veered off the runway. Maybe because of the wind, I thought at the time. Until it came right at me.”
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“I could feel the heat”
Fortunately, the man from Spa immediately had the right reflex: running. “I could have become petrified. But immediately I started running. I walked about 10 to 15 meters until I suddenly heard a huge bang behind me. I turned around and saw the explosion. Yes, just like in the movies. Debris was flying around me and I could feel the heat.” He immediately rushed towards the accident. “I thought, ‘I better try to help.’ But it was impossible. Everything was on fire and it was already too late.”
“I turned around and saw the explosion. Yes, just like in the movies. Debris was flying around me and I could feel the heat”
Philippe
saw plane crash into his car
Philippe suffered nothing from the accident, not even a scratch. “I realize that a few seconds could have made all the difference and I might not have been there if I hadn’t seen that plane coming towards me. Or if I was distracted for a minute or if I got a phone call, or if I tripped… I had a simple escape reflex and that’s what saved me.”
The forty-something lost his vehicle in the crash, but that is the least of his worries. “I have insurance. But I am very sad for those two people who died. It is a lesson that we should not forget that life is short and we should make the most of it. Because you never know what can happen from one day to the next.”