Ex-BA Captain Talks About Heathrow Crash

0

The basic details are strikingly similar but the outcomes for the captains of two airliners that crash landed without loss of life couldn’t be more different. On one hand, there’s Capt. Chesley Sullenberger, sometimes called the Hero of the Hudson, who ditched his A320 in the Hudson River in Jan. of 2009. Sullenberger was able to retire early from an industry of which he was sometimes openly critical. Then there’s Capt. Peter Burkill, the senior officer aboard British Airways Flight 38, which suffered an uncommanded dual engine rollback on short final and crash landed short of the runway at Heathrow Airport in 2008. Burkill recently broke his silence on the crash and has written a book on the topic. He says he resigned from BA due to persistent malicious rumors about his actions during the crash. He’s now on welfare. In a podcast interview with AVweb‘s Glenn Pew, Burkill gives his description of the 30 seconds that preceded the crash and his role in its survivable outcome.

Burkill’s account of the story has caused controversy on various pilot forums and in the mainstream media of his home in the UK. In a followup podcast, Burkill will describe the aftermath of the crash, the investigation and the work environment he says led to his resignation and his subsequent inability to find work.

Related Content:
Listen to our podcast interview with Burkill

LEAVE A REPLY