'HERO' PILOT OF HEATHROW CRASH DRAMA!

Airline captain Peter Burkill has been widely praised for his handling of the crash-landing of a British Airways Boeing 777 at Heathrow Airport. All those on board - 136passengers and 16 crew - survived as the plane skidded short of the airport's south runway.

BA described 43-year-old Mr Burkill as one of their most experienced pilots, who had been flying with the airline for nearly 20 years. Chief executive Willie Walsh said he was proud of Mr Burkill and his flight and cabin crew on board Flight BA038 from Beijing. He said they did a "fantastic job" and described them as "heroes".

Gordon Brown joined in the praise of the pilot's skill in getting the aircraft down safely. The prime minister said: "I think it's right to pay tribute to the calmness and professionalism of the British Airways staff and the captain and what he achieved in landing the aircraft."

According to one airport worker, Mr Burkill said the plane lost all its power and had to be glided down to the ground. The British Air Line Pilots Association (Balpa) said Mr Burkill and his co-pilots went for a curry on the night of the crash in an attempt to "return to normality". The union said the crash landing seemed to have been handled in "textbook fashion" and offered its full support to Mr Burkill and his colleagues.

Mr Burkill was resting the day after the drama of events at Heathrow, and BA said the pilot would not return to the cockpit until the time was right. "There are no specific rules about staff returning to work after incidents like this," a spokesman said. "Our cockpit and cabin crew involved in this incident will be treated extremely sympathetically."

The spokesman said the company would not want anyone to fly until they felt physically and mentally comfortable. "Our flight crew and cabin crew management will discuss these issues with the individuals involved," he said. "We want to show them every consideration, so that when they do come back to work they return in a first-class medical and mental condition."

Mr Burkill lives in Worcester with his wife Maria and their three young sons - all aged under three - in a five-bedroom detached home in a quiet cul-de-sac near the centre of the city. Mr Burkill is well known by his neighbours in Worcester, Paddy and Valerie Firminger, as they are friends of the Burkills. Mrs Firminger said she was not surprised Mr Burkill dealt with the situation so well. She said: "He's absolutely gorgeous. He's all you imagine an airline pilot to be. He's very good looking, very calm. "He's talked to me about flying because I'm not a very good flyer. So if ever there's a person you want in charge of that plane, it was him."
BBC NEWS REPORT.