CLUB members were rewarded with another outstanding presentation at their meeting on Thursday, January 15.

Prof Chris Colton of Northleach, a retired world-renowned orthopaedic trauma surgeon, described the tragedy of an appalling air accident and his subsequent research which had led to a number of safety features being implemented.

The crash resulted in the immediate death of 39 people and serious injury to another 87, of whom 8 died later. Most of the passengers were under 40 years of age. The accident investigation found key factors to be that it was an unfamiliar brand new aircraft with insufficient training for the pilots and crew. The crash resulted in enormous pressure on the local hospitals. Head, brain and internal injuries, as well as fractured spines and limbs stretched resources, and availability of blood, to the limit. One lady who had just undergone routine varicose vein surgery at the hospital awoke to find herself in a maternity ward! Many of the fractures to the arms resulted from the recommended brace position of the time and to the thighs from the rigidity of the seats.

Prof Colton outlined the lessons learned from this tragedy. Amongst these were recommended changes to the brace position, which many, although not all, airlines have adopted. He also recommended availability of surgical supplies, conservation of human resources (ie instead of everyone trying to help, work in shifts to give others a break) and having someone in place to handle the media.

Bill Underwood thanked Chris for a fascinating insight from someone who was actually there and said how impressive the depth of the investigation was.

Our next meetings at the Rowing Club Boathouse will be on January 22 when David Howe will talk about Prime Ministers from the Midlands and on January 29 Mark Williams will present Air Ambulance.

CHRIS DONOUGH