Captain John Hackett
- Role on the day: Captain
- Age in 1998: 61
- Age in 2023: 86
- Number of Children: 2
- Number of Grandchildren: 3
Life in 1998
In 1998 John was married to Diane.
They lived in Longnor a beautiful spot in the Peak District.
John had two children.
Peter was 39 at the time and Carole was 37.
He also had three grandsons.
John’s eldest grandson, Carole’s son, Alexander had just turned 7.
Peter’s two sons, Jonathan and James, were 6 and 2 years old respectively.
The last 25 years
John continued to fly for a further 3 years after Stansted until his retirement in 2001.
John is now 86 years old living in Cheshire.
Until recently he worked as a volunteer and tour guide at the Avro Aviation Museum (pictured below in 2020).
John and his late wife Diane both loved to travel, for many years they split their time living some of the year on the Côté d’Azur in the South of France. They enjoyed retirement touring the world exploring many off the beaten track destinations.
Sadly Diane passed away recently at the end of 2022.
John and his wife Diane
Over the past twenty five years John has proudly watched his three grandsons grow up, they were all very young back in 1998 so they don’t remember the event clearly. Alexander now 32, Jonathan 31 and James is 27 years old. They are all very proud of their grandad, as he is of them.
Carole and her son Alexander
Peter and his sons Jonathan & James
John treasures the gifts from Leeds United presented to him at the incredibly moving visit to Elland Road 8 days after the accident. He was totally overwhelmed by the amazing welcome the crew received from the Leeds United fans that night!
