Fifty years after a tragic plane crash claimed the lives of four employees of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC ) and their pilot, a group of former Digital colleagues will gather today (Thursday ) at the site of the disaster near Newmarket-on-Fergus, Co Clare, to remember those who perished and honour their memory.
The poignant gathering, taking place on the 50th anniversary of the tragedy, will bring together former Digital employees who have travelled to the area to pay their respects to colleagues whose lives were cut short on November 12, 1976. A memorial cross and cairn have been erected close to the crash site, and wreaths will be laid in remembrance of the five men and women who lost their lives.
The reunion has also brought an international dimension to the commemoration, with contact having been established with the family of one of the victims in Canada. A wreath has been arranged by the sister of Joanne Secord Davidson, ensuring that her family will be represented at the ceremony.
The initiative grew from an unexpected connection with Jim Lalor, the air traffic controller who was on duty at Shannon Airport on the night of the disaster. The incident had left a profound impression on him over the decades. When former Digital employees made contact with him through Facebook, the idea of organising a formal remembrance began to take shape.
Shannon Airport has also supported the initiative, facilitating access for the group to walk approximately one kilometre across a field to reach the site where the aircraft came down. The gathering will conclude with an informal reunion over sandwiches at the Honk Bar in Newmarket-on-Fergus, providing an opportunity for former colleagues to share memories and reflect on the lives of those they lost.
Tragic crash
The tragedy occurred on Friday, November 12, 1976, when a chartered Piper PA-31T Cheyenne II aircraft crashed shortly after taking off from Shannon Airport. All five people on board were killed.
The aircraft, operated by Swiss air-taxi company Aeroleasing SA, was bound for Geneva, with a planned stop at London Gatwick. Its four passengers were employees of Digital Equipment Corporation, the American computer company which had established a major European manufacturing operation in Ballybrit, Galway.
The four colleagues had travelled from Geneva to Galway on company business, visiting Digital’s manufacturing plant. Having completed their work, they were returning to Switzerland when the aircraft crashed.
The Galway connection makes the anniversary particularly significant for former employees of the company and those who remember the important role Digital played in the development of the city’s technology industry.
The four passengers came from different countries but were brought together through their work with Digital’s European operation, based in Geneva.
David Chertkow, known to colleagues as Dave, was 34 and originally from the United States. He was Digital’s European OEM and PDP-8 Marketing Manager, responsible for the company’s European original equipment manufacturer business. He had previously developed a strong technical background in the PDP-8 computer business. He was survived by his wife, Mary Alice, daughters Sue and Debra, and son Patrick.
Joanne Secord Davidson was 30 and originally from Canada. Born in Montreal in 1946, she later moved to Toronto, where she qualified as a chartered accountant, before joining Digital in Geneva. She worked as European Financial Analyst with the European OEM and PDP-8 team. Her sister Jill remembered her as an adventurous person, always eager to learn and embrace new challenges. She was also survived by her brother Jim and close friend Keith. Her memory continues through a scholarship established in her name at Queen’s University in Ontario.
Michael Bateman, known as Mick, was 30 and British, living in Switzerland. He worked with Digital’s European OEM and PDP-8 team, looking after the European end-user PDP-8 business and helping organise and support the company’s roadshows and trade exhibitions. He was survived by his daughter, Karen.
Alberto Carlucci, also 30, was Italian and based in Geneva. Having previously worked as Milan Branch Manager, he was responsible for developing new OEM customers and expanding Digital’s business in Italy. He had travelled to Galway with his colleagues for the business visit. He was survived by his wife, Clara.
The fifth person on board was the pilot, Jean-Bernard Cuendet, aged 30, a Swiss national employed by Aeroleasing SA. A professional pilot since joining the company in 1973, he had experience flying Piper Navajo aircraft and had qualified on the Piper Cheyenne in 1976. He, too, had a family and loved ones whose lives were changed forever by the tragedy.
The aircraft took off from Runway 06 at approximately 5.22pm in dense fog and poor visibility. Shortly after becoming airborne, it failed to maintain a positive climb, veered to the left and struck the ground approximately 1,600 metres from the beginning of the take-off run. It subsequently collided with a fence and stone wall before catching fire in a nearby field.
The subsequent investigation identified the failure to maintain a positive climb in conditions of very poor visibility as the primary cause. The report also highlighted the dangers associated with the sudden transition into thick fog and the loss of visual reference.
For the families of those who died, the tragedy was an immeasurable loss. For their former colleagues, it was the sudden and devastating loss of four people with whom they had worked, travelled and shared professional lives.
Fifty years later, the passage of time has not diminished the importance of remembering them.
Today’s gathering will include a series of wreath-laying moments involving people connected to the tragedy. Marian Moran, who met the Digital team during their visit to Galway in 1976, will lay a wreath on behalf of their former colleagues. Sean Burke, who met David Chertkow and Joanne Davidson during their visit, will lay a wreath on behalf of the Davidson family. Jim Lalor, the air traffic controller on duty that evening, will also lay a wreath in their memory.
The reunion is more than an anniversary marking a tragic event. It is an opportunity to reconnect, to remember friendships and working relationships, and to ensure that the names and lives of those who died are not lost to the passing years.
Five people boarded that aircraft in Shannon on a November evening in 1976. They never reached their destination.
Today, fifty years on, former colleagues and family members will return to remember David Chertkow, Joanne Secord Davidson, Michael Bateman, Alberto Carlucci and Jean-Bernard Cuendet.
Their journey ended in tragedy, but their memory lives on.
