VETERAN Ulster Unionist politician the Rev Ian Paisley flew in from Northern Ireland to pay his respects at the crash scene. Now 82, he recalls his memories of that fateful night:

"I will probably remember the Kegworth air crash until the day I die.

"I was in church when the plane came down. I was at the pulpit preaching to my congregation.

"It was only when I stood down and started to get ready to leave that my two peace protectors came over to tell me what had happened.

"Within the hour, I was on my way to the old Aldergrove Hospital [in Belfast] as it was known back then. I knew that relatives of the passengers on board would be gathered there.

"Families of loved ones who had been on board the plane that night had grouped together while they waited to find out what had happened.

"Desperate for news, they clung together in dark despair.

"It was awful when the names of the dead were received by their families. I remember sitting with a young man and woman whose parents had been on board.

They hoped more than anything in the world that they would be alive.

"They hoped they had walked from the plane after the crash. The three of us prayed together while we waited to find out.

"Then the official notice was read out and the news was not what they wanted to hear. It hit them hard.

"Their parents had been killed and they were obviously distraught. I held them in my arms as they battled to coped with their grief. After a few hours, the crowds started to disappear. I waited for the last person to leave before it was decided that I should go in person to the site where the plane came down.

"I felt terrible when I saw the plane, all crashed and smashed on the M1. It was still there when I arrived and it was a truly shocking sight. It was so close to the busy road and I wondered how it had ever managed to avoid hitting motorists.

"I stood at the foot of the wreckage and paid my respects to the passengers who had lost their lives on this aircraft. Margaret Thatcher arrived soon after me and she did the same.

"Memories of that night still have a place in my heart. I will remember it forever."