Have You Ever Dodged A Bullet?

[Hymie]

Many years ago my bosses, boss who regularly travelled to the US for work, became romantically involved with a woman living in New York and decided to spend Christmas with her.

He was either going to fly out the Wednesday evening immediately before Christmas, or the Friday before that. In the end he managed a longer break, taking the earlier Friday flight.
He was able to get a cheap flight as he earned air-miles through his business trips with the carrier.

The carrier in question was Pan-Am, and had he taken the Wednesday flight immediately before Christmas, he would have been on flight 103 that crashed over Lockerbie due to a bomb, killing all on board.

[gulliver1]

Yes! on AB every day...lol

[Hymie]

Very good Gully, me too.

[Hopkirk]

Not really dodged a bullet, but a bit too close for comfort.

In November 1987 I went into London on the underground. On the way back there were announcements that the train wouldn't stop at Kings Cross, but would pass through due to an incident.

Next morning I woke to the devastating news of the horrendous fire there
At the later enquiry it was stated that the decision to allow trains to continue running at the lower levels added to the disaster. Trains like the one I was on were acting like a bellows, pushing air up and feeding the fire.

[roopower]

I've been lucky so far but a friend had been in one of the pubs in Birmingham bombed by the IRA not long before the explosion.

[Peter Pedant]

hymie and Gullz have really avoided a knife in the back
( usual suspects)

gneet gneet gneet - shower scene music in Psycho.

[DTCwordfan]

yes, the bomb at the International Boat Show at Earl's Court in 1974. My old man and I were on the Riva boat 15 minutes before the IRA blew it up. Left the Riva stand and went back the hotel, the nearby Tara - the family company had a stand upstairs and we had finished our shift. It was in the hotel that we heard the news and offered ourselves up next day to the police who showed us photographs of potential suspects to determine if we had seen the bombers....no joy on that front.

https://images-cdn.bridgemanimages.com/api/1.0/image/600wm.XXX.77949050.7055475/5091798.jpg

[andy-hughes]

Not personally no.

But visiting the 9/11 Memorial Museum years ago, which was staffed by people directly impacted on that day, our guide confirmed that on that fateful morning, she decided to take the 8.30 ferry from her home in New Jersey in order to get a seat, rather than standing on the 8.00 ferry she normally used.

That decision neant she was walking towards the towers when the first plane hit, instead of being where she would normally gave been - at her desk on the floor where the plane crashed.

[JJ109]

Similarly, myself, my wife and my parents just avoided a plane crash.

In 1990, a few years after I got married, I came on Holiday to Thailand and treated my parents to the holiday as a thankyou.

We were in Bangkok and intended to fly down to Koh Samui, where I got engaged to my wife, but the only flight we could get was at 5 p.m. In those days Koh Samui was not like it is now, and we didnt fancy arriving at night with no hotel booked, so we flew to Chiang Mai instead, intending to try Koh Samui again after visiting Chiang Mai.

If we had caught that 5 o'clock plane, we would all be dead!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bangkok_Airways_Flight_125

My parents never visited Koh Samui!

[Hymie]

I seem to recall that, that Revolting Woman was late to arrive at her office in the World Trade centre on that fateful day.

[Kardashev]

Some amazing stories especially the 9/11 one and of course the OP. I don't have one but I have this about 2 guys that could well have been on the plane that killed Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens...
https://www.fox8live.com/2022/02/03/this-day-plane-crash-kills-buddy-holly-richie-valens-big-bopper-1959/

[retrocop]

Not exactly. The gun did not fire.

[zebo]

In the 1970s we drove past the Army bus on the M62 minutes before the IRA murdered many of the passengers by blowing it up.

[pastafreak]

Not me, but my SIL had an appointment at the World Trade Centre on the morning of 9/11...fortunately she had to cancel it.

[Hopkirk]

More info pleased Retro. Did someone try to shoot you?

[gulliver1]

Hopkirk 14.00 Nah!.. Retro probably wrestled the gunman to the ground with both hands tied behind his back, kicked the gun out of the gunmans hand then sat on him until back up arrived.