Posted on 09/22/2009 4:14:48 PM PDT by naturalman1975
A hero pilot who saved the lives of 152 people by landing a stricken passenger jet at Heathrow airport is facing joining the dole queue - because he has a crash on his CV.
Captain Peter Burkill, 44, was commended for his actions while safely bring down a Boeing 777 after both engines failed two miles short of the runway.
The British Airways pilot, fought to keep the plane in the air, narrowly avoiding houses and also flying over the Prime Minister's motorcade which was on a nearby road at the time of the accident in January last year.
Despite being lauded for his actions, Capt Burkill is struggling to find work after last month taking voluntary redundancy from his £100,000-a-year BA job following more than 20 years service.
He has already been turned down for one pilot's job and has heard nothing back from scores of job applications.
His loyal 34-year-old wife Maria, a former BA stewardess, today claimed that her husband of six years faces living on £64-a-week Jobseeker's Allowance. Korean Air - which has a fleet of Boeing 777s like the one Capt Burkill flew at BA - turned him down because his CV showed he was a pilot in charge of a plane which had 'crashed'.
Mrs Burkill said: 'Korean Air said they wanted somebody who didn't have a crash on their record.
.....
At the time of the accident, Capt Burkill was commended for his 'cool, calm reactions' by telling co-pilot John Coward to take the controls.
Capt Burkill then managed to lift up the plane in the final 25 seconds of its flight so it missed the airport's perimeter fence and eventually slid to a halt on grass next to the runway.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Was he citied at fault for the crash? More to this story I’m sure.
This does seem very strange. Also, wouldn’t the union stand up for him if he was being unfairly treated?
damn, a ‘deadstick’ on a 777. good job getting it to the ground in that few pieces
No, he was not found to be at fault. The incident was caused by both engines failing due to ice crystals that formed in the engines. Fortunately the failure happened in the last two miles of an 5000 mile fight, and there was flat open ground available.
iced fuel lines to both turbines, also he handed over control to his co-pilot for some reason....it’s vague
If the co-pilot was doing the actual flying, then what happened to him? Is he still working? Did he get any credit for apparently doing the lion’s share of getting the plane down in one piece? And why did the captain hand off the controls at such a critical moment? Maybe that has more to do with no one wanting to hire him.
LOL, No, he’s a renegade.
A union-worker pilot would have let the plane crash./s
No, that would cut into their bottom line. They would only stand UP to him if he refused to pay his dues.
This does seem very strange. Also, wouldn’t the union stand up for him if he was being unfairly treated?
______________
We live in a world dominated by lawyers.
A: So Mr. Airline Executive... is it true you hired a pilot that had already crashed one plane? Yes or No?
B: Yes but....
A: Thank you. I rest my case.
B: How many zero’s do you want in your check?
It’s all about cost - benefit - risk analysis and the individual is simply replaced by statistical values on a sheet of paper ultimately designed by or for lawyers.
It’s a shame because it sounds like he did a magnificent job of landing that plane. Common sense is dead.
Yes.
Did he get any credit for apparently doing the lion’s share of getting the plane down in one piece?
Yes, he did, including from the Captain who right from the outset pointed out that the co-pilot was the one flying the plane and who did most of the work getting them down safely. The Captain adjusted the flaps at a critical moment which kept them in the air a few more seconds until they cleared the airport fence, but he made it clear that it was his co-pilot who was doing most of the work.
Quote from Captain Burkill, the day after the accident:
"I'm proud to say that every member of my team played their part, displaying the highest standard of skill and professionalism, no one more so than my senior officer, John Coward, who was the handling pilot on approach. He did the most remarkable job."
And why did the captain hand off the controls at such a critical moment?
At the time he handed over the landing to the co-pilot everything was going normally. Co-pilots are perfectly qualified to land planes just as they are perfectly qualified to do anything else involved in piloting the plane and they routinely handle any part of the flight. The Captain and the co-pilot share the jobs between them. Once the emergency developed the Captain didn't take back the plane because he could see his co-pilot was doing everything right, and he didn't want to interrupt things in such a crisis situation.
It's not like there are many of them around. There are these guys, Capt. Sulley, and that's about it, right?
I'd think they'd be prized possessions for their knowledge.
-PJ
Seems nutty to me. Getting the plane down safely w/o engines that failed should be the highest recommendation!
Is he a Conservative?
Having experience counts for little now.
This guy can’t get a job because of a crash on his CV; one doesn’t have to have a CV including one’s college grades in the US to be President.
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