´óÏó´«Ã½

Programmes

Last updated: 19 may, 2010 - 17:18 GMT

A crash landing

Pilot Peter Burkill

To play this content JavaScript must be turned on and the latest Flash player installed.

Peter Burkill was the captain of a Boeing 777 which crash landed at London's Heathrow airport in January 2008.

Both engines failed as the plane was making its final descent.

Peter's quick reactions avoided it coming down in a built up area and almost certainly saved the lives of the 136 passengers and 16 crew on board.

In fact, only one of the passengers was seriously injured.

At first Peter was hailed as a hero. He was praised in the official inquiry report and received a safety medal from the airline.

But now he says he's finding it impossible to get work as a pilot, and has been unemployed for a year.

Peter told Matthew Bannister about the day a routine flight from Beijing to London became a life-changing event.

Peter Burkill's new book about his experiences is called Thirty Seconds to Impact and is co-written with his wife Maria.

British Airways Boeing 777 plane after its crash landing at Heathrow airport on January 18th 2008. Photo: Steve Parsons/PA Wire

British Airways Boeing 777 plane after its crash landing at Heathrow airport on January 18th 2008. Photo: Steve Parsons/PA Wire

More From Outlook

  • Human interest stories behind the headlines

Related Stories

´óÏó´«Ã½ iD

´óÏó´«Ã½ navigation

´óÏó´«Ã½ © 2014 The ´óÏó´«Ã½ is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.

This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.