The Ermenonville Air Disaster of March 1974

[Samstew]

On the 3rd March 1974, Turkish Airlines flight 981 TC-JAV, crashed soon after departing Paris, killing 345 people, the worst plane disaster up to that time.
Among the dead, there were 18 members of Bury St Edmunds Rugby Club.
Many of these members were local men, from Bury St Edmunds and the surrounding villages and there are still relatives and friends of these men with strong ties to the club today.
When reading about the disaster, I discovered that there was a man from Belfast amongst the group from the club, John McClinton.
Unfortunately little is known about John and I am hoping that perhaps someone using this site may well know or remember the disaster.
I can vaguely remember the disaster as I am sure we held a minute's silence before some games at Bangor Rugby Club.

To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the plane crash, the club together with a local Hospice Charity, has organised a cycle ride from Ermenonville to Bury St Edmunds, between 7th - 11th May 2014, a distance of 310 miles.

My two sons, Stewart and Sam, both who have been members of the club from a very young age, will be taking part in the ride.
As the ride starts from the memorial at the crash site, I am really hoping that someone can pass on some information about John for the boys to pay their respects.

Here are some links to information on the disaster, to the ride and to the boy's sponsorship pages if you feel like donating:-

http://www.memorialcycleride.co.uk

http://www.justgiving.com/sam-linton1

http://www.justgiving.com/Stewart-Linton

[BR]

Can't help with the name trace, but happy to provide the boys with some moral support. SUFTUM!