In March 1998, Leeds United were taking a flight back from Stansted Airport after a Premiership match against West Ham United when, shortly after take off, one of the aircraft's engines exploded
Isaac Johnson Leeds United reporter
05:00, 28 Oct 2025
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Captain John Hackett managed to land the plane after one of the engines exploded(Image: PA)
Former Elland Road hero Lee Bowyer has recounted the horrifying occasion when a plane carrying Leeds United players narrowly avoided a crash following an engine failure.
In March 1998, the team were taking a flight back to Leeds from Stansted Airport after a Premiership match against West Ham United when, shortly after take off, one of the aircraft's engines exploded. Captain John Hackett managed to enact a quick emergency landing, allowing all 40 passengers - including 18 Leeds players - to walk away without serious harm. Just two passengers suffered minor injuries.
"Not a day goes by without it crossing my mind,” Mr Hackett told the BBC in 2018, having made the “instant decision” to land, defying usual protocol. If not for the long runway at Stansted, the plane would have been required to continue taking off before circling back and re-landing. There was no certainty that the plane would have remained intact for this full procedure.
“I can remember the firemen telling us at the time that if we’d have been in the air for another 30 seconds, to a minute, the plane would have blown,” Bowyer recounted. “Things were definitely in our favour that night.”
Bowyer, speaking to Ladbrokes, said the incident changed his perspective on the ending of life. He unpacked his memories of that Monday night 27 years ago.
“It was a tiny plane, and you’ve got the escape doors in the middle of it, and then the engines are obviously on the wings where the escape doors are.
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"So, on this night, I’m sat one seat back from the escape doors, so I’m basically overlooking the wing, and the engine on my side just blew up.
“I’m in the window seat, looking straight at it, and it’s pitch-black outside. You can’t see anything because you’re in the middle of the runway, and then I can just see the engine is on fire.
“You watch the movies, and when something like that happens, the plane blows up, doesn’t it? So, I’m looking at it, and I was just thinking ‘well that’s it. It’s just going to blow up and time’s up’.
“But, luckily enough for us, the pilot was unbelievable. He did an amazing job and somehow got us back down.
"The pilot was able to bring the plane straight back down without having to do any of that, because of the size of the runway… and if he hadn't done that, that would have been it; it would have blown up.”
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Captain John Hackett and his crew were invited to Elland Road after the crash, so David O'Leary and the players could thank them(Image: Carole Hackett)
Bowyer added: “Now, I’m not really this way, and I don’t really think too deeply about things; I’m quite a laid-back person - but from that moment, I kind of thought we’re not in control of our own lives, fully.
“When your time is up, that’s it. It’s a sad thing to think about really, but that’s what I’ve believed ever since that day. Obviously that kind of experience impacts people. Some of the players just refused to fly for a bit, from that point.
“So, if we were playing, say, Southampton or Portsmouth, most of us just carried on as normal, but a handful would drive that journey instead. It affected some more than others. For me, I would much rather jump on a plane for an hour over a six-hour drive on a Friday.
“I don’t really think about it anymore, to be honest. The only time it comes up is when I’m with nervous flyers.
“I can tell them I’m fortunate enough to have survived a plane crash, where the plane had taken off and the engine blew on fire… I always say I’m now the safest person to fly with, because surely that kind of thing doesn’t happen to someone twice!”
Lee Bowyer was speaking to Ladbrokes at the launch of ‘Ladisfaction’.
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