Cecelia Cichan
Cecelia Cichan – Cecelia Marie Cichan or Cecelia Marie Cichan-Lumpkin is best known as the 4-year-old girl who was the only survivor of the August 16, 1987 crash of a McDonnell-Douglas MD-82 operating as Northwest Airlines Flight 255.
The aircraft crashed during takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport. It was bound for Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, with an onward flight to Santa Ana, California.
A popular, but untrue, story credited her mother, Paula Cichan, with saving Cecelia’s life. Supposedly Paula Cichan wrapped herself around the seat that her daughter occupied, protecting Cecelia from the post-crash fire. However, Cecelia was located by rescue workers in her seat – several feet away from her mother’s body. Paula Cichan died in the crash, along with Cecelia’s father, Michael Cichan, and her 6-year-old brother, David Cichan.
After the crash Cecelia Cichan born April 10, 1983 lived with relatives in Birmingham, Alabama, who shielded her from public attention. Cecelia graduated from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in the spring of 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in psychology.
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