Hero pilot saves plane passengers
Published: January 17, 2008
A hero British Airway pilot saved the lives of his 136 passengers with a miraculous emergency landing at Heathrow Airport this afternoon.
His Boeing 777 is feared to have been in difficulties as it approached the airport and the pilot had radioed ahead warning that he was in trouble.
It is thought to have had undercarriage problems so it could not touch down normally on the runway without risk of sparking a major disaster.
The plane, flight BA038 from Beijing, landed on grass more than 100 yards short of the tarmac.
Witnesses told how it banked violently and came in very low before slamming onto the grass.
The pilot them managed to keep control of the massive jet and brought it to a standstill safely at the start of the runway.
One wing was almost ripped off and both engines badly damaged.
Moments later the passengers poured out of the jet on emergency chutes as fire crews laid down a carpet of foam over the plane and the landing site.
Amazingly only three of those on board were slightly injured in the drama that closed one runway and delayed scores of flights, including one taking Prime Minister Gordon Brown and business leaders to India and China.
Eye witness Neil Jones who has a pilot’s licence said: “You could see the plane was clearly in trouble as it came in to land. It turned sharply to the left and approached significantly lower than normal.
“The pilot was working extremely hard to keep control. He managed to stop very quickly without any fire. He has done a great job.”
Passenger Fernando Prado said moments after getting off the aircraft: “I feel very lucky to be alive. I feel like I’ve won the lottery.”
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