Woman who was the sole survivor in plane crash which killed 156 says she still has visual scars

In 1987, Cecelia Cichan, then just four years old, was on Northwest Airlines flight 255 when it crashed just after take-off in Michigan.

156 people died, and Cichan, now 39, was the only survivor and became known as the ‘miracle child’.

Speaking about the traumatising incident for the first time, Cichan - who was dug out of the plane’s burning wreckage after a rescuer heard her whimper - opened up about her ‘visual scars’.

Yellow Wing Productions

Back in 2021, MailOnline ran a story on Cichan’s first public interview about the disaster.

The outlet noted that the crash remained one of the deadliest air disasters in US history and included an interview Cichan gave as part of a documentary called Sole Survivor, in which plane crash survivors share their stories.

Cichan - who is thought to have survived because her mum shielded her body - said: “It’s kind of hard not to think about it. When I look in the mirror, I have visual scars.”

Not only did Cichan’s mum perish in the crash, but so did her dad and six-year-old brother. The family had been returning from a holiday.

Cichan herself suffered serious injuries, including a broken leg, third degree burns, a broken skull and broken collarbone. After the crash, Cichan had to have four skin grafts.

She was then raised by her uncle Franklin Lumpkin and her aunt Rita - who is the sister of her late mum - and they made sure to shelter Cichan from media attention after the crash.

Cichan eventually left hospital after seven weeks and grew up in Alabama.

Speaking in the documentary, Cichan - who has a tattoo of a plane on her wrist to commemorate the tragedy - said she wanted to speak out about the incident because she was able to do so alongside other survivors, explaining: “That’s why I’m willing to get involved and be part of something bigger.”

Incredibly, Cichan kept in touch with the families of those who died, and even became friends with firefighter John Thiede, who pulled Cichan from the wreckage.

Of finding the little girl, Thiede previously said: “I heard that faint cry a baby doll makes. I looked to my right and I could see an arm, kind of bent, coming out of a chair.”

Thiede was even at Cichan’s wedding many years later and said of the special day: “To see her come down the aisle, my heart, I lost it really. Just to see her in person was something.”