2017 will mark the thirtieth anniversary of the Helderberg plane crash – the worst air disaster in the history of South African aviation. It was an event that shocked the nation and for eight year-old Dominique Luck (nee Ackermann), it was the defining moment of her young life. Her mother, Gina, and baby sister, Samantha, were killed when flight SA 295 plunged into the Indian Ocean off Mauritius at midnight on 28 November 1987. There were no survivors. Speculation immediately spread about the cause of the fire that caused the crash and possible political motivations, but despite renewed investigation during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the answers have never been forthcoming. For nearly thirty years Dominique and other family members of the ill-fated passengers have been struggling to rebuild shattered lives and find personal closure. Dominique’s father, Jean Ackermann, never recovered and essentially abandoned her as a child. After excelling in school in a bid to win his acknowledgement – and failing – Dominique embarked on a mission of self-destruction, but her true crisis came when her own children were born, and her marriage threatened to fall apart. The trauma of losing her mother was brought to the fore and forced her to face up to the issues she had suppressed her whole life. In reaching out for help, at last, she began a painful process of recovery.