Saturday, January 19, 2008
The Hero Pilot of the crashlanded British Airways Freared Catastrophe
SKY.com - Hero pilot John Coward has told Sky News he feared the Heathrow crash-landing would end in catastrophe.
The BA plane lost power two miles from landing, leaving the senior first officer just seconds to bring the aircraft down.
As the plane narrowly cleared the perimeter fence and landed short of the runway, the 41-year-old said "it wasn't just one thud but a series of thuds".
All 136 passengers miraculously survived with just a few suffering minor injuries. But Mr Coward thought it would be much worse.
The BA officer was speaking from his mother's home in France where he is recovering from his ordeal.
He said he tried everything he could to keep the plane in a straight line.
The BA officer said when the jet stopped there was "an eery silence". He then heard the cabin crew evacuating passengers and there was panic.
He went on to say when everyone was grouped together in a safe place he just sat by himself because "he had done his job".
Mr Coward said the engines had completely lost power. He said he was trained to restart them in mid-air but not during landing.
An initial report into Thursday's crash suggests the two engines failed to respond to demands for more thrust as it approached the world's busiest airport.
The senior first officer was praised yesterday by his captain Peter Burkill who handed over the controls to his co-pilot before landing.
It is standard practice for the co-pilot and captain to share roles throughout the flight.
Mr Coward said he is not nervous about flying again but desperately wants to know what exactly happened.
He added that his nine-year-old daughter keeps saying how proud she is of him.
The BA plane lost power two miles from landing, leaving the senior first officer just seconds to bring the aircraft down.As the plane narrowly cleared the perimeter fence and landed short of the runway, the 41-year-old said "it wasn't just one thud but a series of thuds".
All 136 passengers miraculously survived with just a few suffering minor injuries. But Mr Coward thought it would be much worse.
The BA officer was speaking from his mother's home in France where he is recovering from his ordeal.
He said he tried everything he could to keep the plane in a straight line.
The BA officer said when the jet stopped there was "an eery silence". He then heard the cabin crew evacuating passengers and there was panic.
He went on to say when everyone was grouped together in a safe place he just sat by himself because "he had done his job".
Mr Coward said the engines had completely lost power. He said he was trained to restart them in mid-air but not during landing.
An initial report into Thursday's crash suggests the two engines failed to respond to demands for more thrust as it approached the world's busiest airport.
The senior first officer was praised yesterday by his captain Peter Burkill who handed over the controls to his co-pilot before landing.
It is standard practice for the co-pilot and captain to share roles throughout the flight.
Mr Coward said he is not nervous about flying again but desperately wants to know what exactly happened.
He added that his nine-year-old daughter keeps saying how proud she is of him.
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