UK: Pilot union hails staff who averted Heathrow disaster

Pilots’ union Balpa in the UK today described the captain and first officer who averted disaster in the Heathrow crash land drama as “ordinary people who did an extraordinary thing”.

Balpa said the two pilots, captain Peter Burkill and his first officer John Coward, had gone out for “a quiet curry” last night and had no wish to be perceived as heroes and considered the story’s front-page status “embarrassing”.

Balpa general secretary Jim McAuslan said: “Peter Burkill and John Coward are ordinary people who did an extraordinary thing.

“Air transport remains the safest form of transport, by a long way, but accidents do happen and the text book way in which this was handled by the pilots and the cabin crew is a testament to the professionalism of all involved.”

Mr McAuslan went on: “Our web forum has been inundated overnight with compliments from their fellow professionals. The vast majority of pilots will go through their whole career without experiencing the events of BA038, but all of them are trained to cope with the possibility. This training includes frequent simulator checks in which pilots rehearse how to calmly deal with the completely unexpected.

’The pilots and Balpa will be co-operating fully with the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) inquiries. Until we have their interim report it is inappropriate to comment on the cause of the accident; and history teaches us that their conclusions rarely reflect the immediate speculation.“

He went on: “After the long flight culminating in the accident, the pilots were then interviewed extensively yesterday by the AAIB. The pilots were supported throughout by experienced Balpa representatives. The pilots do not wish to be in the public spotlight and went out for a quiet curry last night. They do not wish or seek hero status’, and are ‘embarrassed that their aircraft is all over the front page.’

“The events of yesterday did not stop with the crew of BA038. Other pilots in other aircraft lined up behind on the approach would have needed to calmly gone about re-routing. All are ordinary people who do an extraordinary thing.”

BA said the crew would be given as much time off as they need, British Airways said today.

Today, Capt Burkill was resting after his efforts and was not expected to speak to the media.

A BA spokesman said: “There are no specific rules about staff returning to work after incidents like this.

“Our cockpit and cabin crew involved in this incident will be treated extremely sympathetically. Clearly, we would not want anyone to fly until they felt physically and mentally comfortable to do so.

“Our flight crew and cabin crew management will discuss these issues with the individuals involved.

“We want to show them every consideration, so that when they do come back to work, they return in a first-class medical and mental condition.”