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 30 August 2008 15:32 BST

Co-pilot feared BA flight was heading for "disaster"

Sunday, 20 Jan 2008 14:34
The British Airways plane at Heathrow is being moved today from the southern runway
A hero co-pilot has admitted he feared everyone on flight BA38 was going to die in a "catastrophic disaster" before he steered the plane to safety.

John Coward miraculously averted tragedy when the Boeing 777 lost power at 600ft as it came in to land on Thursday.

The 41-year-old senior first officer was given just 40 seconds to land the plane safely at Heathrow airport with 152 passengers and crew on board.

Mr Coward, a British Airways pilot, said he acted on "instinct" when both engines lost power just two miles from landing.

"As the final approach started I became aware that there was no power," Mr Coward told the Sunday Mirror newspaper.

"Suddenly there was nothing from any of the engines, and the plane started to glide.

"When I came in to land, I thought, 'This is going to be a catastrophic crash. This is it'."

Coward used the plane's wing flaps to give enough lift to clear the perimeter fence, which prevented the Boeing crashing into nearby houses.

"I didn't think we'd clear the fence at first. As we landed I was bracing myself for an enormous thud," he added.

"But instead of one thud, there was a series of thuds as it bounced along the grass.

"Eventually it shuddered to a halt. While I was trying to stop the plane, I struggled to try and keep it in a straight line.

"I turned around and composed myself and heard a lot of commotion behind me."

British Airways is investigating what went wrong on the flight from Beijing, with a computer glitch thought to be the reason for the engines shutting down.End of story


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