Loved ones of Flight 255 crash victims return to honor lives lost on anniversary

ROMULUS, Mich. (FOX 2) - Each year the family of the crash victims of Northwest Flight 255 gather at a granite memorial where the crash happened, just off Middle Belt at I-94.

They come from all over to remember and honor a list of names 154 long.

"… Who perished August 16th, 1987 at 8:46 p.m. when Northwest Flight 255 crashed seconds after take off," said the deacon.

And also to remember the one 4-year-old child who was the sole survivor of the crash.

"Cecelia Cichan, now Cecilia Crocker."

Since 1994, the year the memorial was installed, the family of those crash victims have been coming back to the site - even when it has not been easy.

Joan Pontante lost five family members in the plane crash.

"When they say time heals," said Joan Pontante. "It doesn’t heal. You cope with it differently when this happens."

(Original Caption) Detroit: Investigators inspect the wreckage of Northwest Flight 255 which came to rest under a overpass of Interstate 94 late August 17th after it crashed on takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport killing more than 150 people.

Pontante visits each year from Syracuse, New York. to remember her lost loved ones from the flight - including her brother Bill.

"He was 36, his wife Kathy, she was 32, and little Billy, he was 5, and Hilary 3. The baby was 4 months old," she said.

She is far from alone.

Tony zanger lost his brother, Michael, in the plane crash.

"We always say we don’t get over it, we get through it," he said. "And this is the way we get through it. The best thing to do is honor them because they lived, and remember them because they are no longer with us."

There were people there from California, Minnesota, Arizona and all over the state. For a few hours each August 16th they are with family.

"Thirty-six years later, it’s not a place of sadness it’s a place of peace," Zanger said. "We feel this is also sacred ground. Those of us who are religious, and I am, we feel that this is holy ground, so we treat it as such."

And for those who may have no connection at all to a crash now 36 years old, there are still lessons to be taken away.

"Cherish your loved ones." Zanger said. "Because you never know when you are going to see them again."

The organizers say as long as the family is willing to come out each August 16, the ceremony will continue.