If you would like to comment on this article or anything else you have seen on Future, head over to our Facebook page or message us on Twitter. Sullenberger, now retired, speaks internationally on airline safety. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. "We were heading straight for the buildings around Hatton Cross Tube station," Burkill recalled. Fortunately, all other passengers were belted up, and the pilot - Robert Schornstheimer - managed to land 13 minutes later, avoiding further loss of life. And about 100 over the runway I sank back into the seat and said, well, that's it, lads. One of the passengers, Betty Tootell, wrote a book about the incident, All Four Engines Have Failed. No announcement was made to instruct the passengers to fasten their seatbelts, and 20 of the 57 passengers died in the accident. Copyright Civil Aviation Safety Authority Australia, Captain Moodys wisdom: the aeroplane might break any minute. Gliding as low as 12,000 feet, they turned back towards Indonesia. The minimum time in grade to be considered eligible for retirement is two years. The City of Edinburgh had been cruising at 37,000 feet over the ocean on a June night w The resulting explosive decompression tore off a larger section of the roof, and a 57-year-old flight attendant called Clarabelle Lansing was swept from her seat and out of the hole in the aircraft. It wasnt until later, when he, his crew and the 247 passengers on board the flight, were safely back on the ground, that Moody discovered the cause of the narrowly averted catastrophe volcanic ash. The report went on: "He did this, but with power still applied and possibly a gust affecting the aircraft, a normal touchdown was followed by a bounce, from which the aircraft landed heavily. Luckily, Captain Bob Pearson was an experienced glider pilot, guiding the 767 to RCAF Station Gimli. I trust you are not in too much distress.. One such passenger was Charles Capewell, who scrawled "Ma. Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. Perhaps the best known incident of recent times, involving the most brilliantly monikered pilot. And I found that difficult because the internal telephone system wasn't working. Ash had clogged the engines, which only restarted when enough of the molten ash solidified and broke off. Maybe its the idea that the body reveals more than we think, that underneath the impressive calmness which allowed Captain Moody to save the lives of 247 passengers, his body was telling a different story. As Flight 9 approached Jakarta, the crew found it difficult to see anything through the windscreen, and made the approach almost entirely on instruments, despite reports of good visibility. It wasnt until later, when he, his crew and the 247 passengers on board the flight, were safely back on the ground, that Moody discovered the cause of the narrowly averted catastrophe volcanic ash. But as they flew over Java, an engine failed. And there's no doubt if we'd gone to the bottom of the Java Trench of Indonesia, which is about, I think, six or seven thousand feet deep, I think to this day I'd have still be getting the blame. Eric Moody THE HAMPSHIRE pilot of the infamous 1982 British Airways Flight 9 incident today said he believed the Malaysian Airlines MH370 was brought down deliberately. The airliner, flown by Captain Eric Moody, lost thrust from all four engines at 37,000ft. Within seconds, and almost simultaneously, engines one and three flamed out, prompting the flight engineer to exclaim, "I don't believe itall four engines have failed!"[3]. Airmanship may sound old school but former British Airways captain Eric Moody argues it is just as important now as it was when he and his crew struggled to restart all 4 engines on his Boeing 747-200 in 1982. The crew began engine restart drills, despite being well above the recommended maximum engine in-flight start envelope altitude of 28,000 feet (8,500m). And quite honestly, it would probably be too heavy to make commercial sense. Hamble was strong on airmanship and those early lessons stuck with Moody throughout his career. There are times, he tells Flight Safety Australia, that pilots need to work outside the rules and this was one of them. Shortly before touchdown, "his prosthetic limb became detached from the yoke clamp, depriving him of control of the aircraft," said an Air Accidents Investigation Branch report. We have a small problem. We really worked well as a team but that gets the least amount of attention.. WebCaptain Eric Moody was later praised for a cabin announcement that was described as "a masterpiece of understatement." Moody and his crew began trying to restart the engines, even though the number 4 engine was technically not allowed. When I first moved to Jekyll from just up the coast my first job was as a waterski/wakeboard instructor at the now closed Ski Rixen Waterski Park where Tidelands Nature Center now resides. We love you. Moody's announcement was actually more than that. And I hand flew the airplane down. One of the first signs of a problem came when smoke began to accumulate in the cabin. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information. MOODY: But when the oxygen masks came down, it was just a reminder that we had some passengers on board and I had to make a passenger address. Im married to the lovely Claire Moody who is the General Manger of the Seafarer Inn and Suites on Jekyll. Gliding as low as 12,000 feet, they turned back towards Indonesia. Once he got landing permission from an airport in Southampton, Atchison guided the plane down, navigating as debris flew around the cockpit and Lancaster remained on the windshield, still held by the flight attendant. The puzzle of whether your hair can turn grey sounds like a simple one for medical science to solve, but its not. We have a small problem. The City of Edinburgh had been cruising at 37,000 feet over the ocean on a June night when the number 4 engine, a Rolls-Royce RB- 211, started surging and flamed out. And then another and another. The great rewilding debate should we be returning eagles and wolves to our national parks? Heading for Perth, Australia, the weather forecast for the five-hour journey was good and the crew were anticipating an uneventful flight. When the French queen, Marie Antoinette was led to the guillotine at the age of 37, her hair is said to have turned white the night before in anticipation of her execution. MOODY: I mean you're the first person at the scene of an accident and you're the first person to get the blame for an accident. The experience of Capt Moody, almost 30 years ago, shows the potential danger clouds of volcanic ash present to modern jet aircraft. Eric Moody THE HAMPSHIRE pilot of the infamous 1982 British Airways Flight 9 incident today said he believed the Malaysian Airlines MH370 was brought down deliberately. Eventually, after quarter of an hour without any power, the engines were brought back to life. Owing to the high Indonesian mountains on the south coast of the island of Java, an altitude of at least 11,500 feet (3,500m) was required to cross the coast safely. New York, New York, United States. SIMON: This was nearly three decades ago. In his calmest pilots voice Moody made an announcement: Good evening ladies and gentlemen, This is your captain speaking. Coastal Expeditions Charter Fishing and Dolphin Cruises. Part of a Airbus 320 plane, US Airways flight 1549, sticks out of the Hudson River near Battery Park City, where it was tied after it crashed in the river on 15 January 2009 in New York City. Because the ash cloud was dry, it did not appear on the weather radar, which was designed to detect the moisture in clouds. Post-flight investigation revealed that City of Edinburgh's problems had been caused by flying through a cloud of volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Galunggung. And we got to 13,000 feet and one engine started. Landing in gusty conditions is a minor inconvenience for any pilot. But this doesnt explain other anecdotal tales, for instance in young people who would have so few white hairs that if all their darker hair fell any white hairs remaining would be very sparse. [3] Flight 9 was not the first encounter with this eruption a Garuda DC-9 had encountered ash on 5 April 1982.[8]. "; The passenger jet effectively turned into a glider, Capt Moody accepting an award after his safe handling of the crisis, Clare Wickett, a flight attendant on BA 009, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites, How the world's oldest clove tree defied an empire, Why Royal Ballet principal Sergei Polunin quit, How Captain Eric Moodys brush with volcanic ash became aircraft lore-2 hrs ago, Why is volcanic ash a threat? The Miracle on the Hudson was hailed as the most successful ditching in aviation history by the NTSB. I don't - I'm not that demonstrative, no. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Although I was actually flying - hand flying the airplane. The events around one British Airways flight in 1982 reveal the potential dangers of this sort of dust. But he took voluntary redundancy in August 2009 and criticised BA over its handling of the incident, claiming he had been "hung out to dry". We owe it to all who fly to act on what we have learned and not just let important recommendations gather dust on a shelf., He added: I am still very glad that we were able to save every life in such a sudden and intense crisis for which we had never been specifically trained.. The minimum time in grade to be considered eligible for retirement is two years. Capt Moody, who had left the cockpit for a stroll, was summoned back to the flight deck. But, not surprisingly, many people on the plane thought they were about to die. As the engine cooled from inactivity, and as the aircraft descended out of the ash cloud, the molten ash solidified and enough broke off for air to again flow smoothly through the engine, allowing a successful restart. [3] At 13:44 UTC (20:44 Jakarta time), Greaves declared an emergency to the local air traffic control authority, stating that all four engines had failed. The landing was hard and fast Pearson had to brake so hard he blew two tyres, while the aircrafts nose fell off, starting a small fire but all 61 on board survived unharmed. However, Jakarta Area Control misunderstood the message, interpreting the call as meaning that only engine number four had shut down. Yet there is something about the idea of hair changing colour through shock that is fascinating. "That's not unusual in high wispy cloud. The aircraft was taken out of service in February 2004; in 2009, the then 30-year-old aircraft was scrapped. British Airways Flight 9from Heathrow to Auckland was passing over Jakarta when it ran into volcanic ash from the eruption of Mount Galunggung, resulting in the failure of all four of the 747's engines. The plane headed back to Jakarta where it landed safely, though even then one of the engines had failed again. A plume of volcanic ash from Iceland has led to flights across the UK being grounded. The authoritative record of NPRs programming is the audio record. Shortly thereafter, engine three restarted, allowing him to climb slowly. As his aircraft was accelerating down the runway, however, a second China Eastern Airlines plane - an Airbus A330-300 arriving from Beijing - entered its path. The plane landed safety in Jakarta despite the almost total lack of visibility. They had no idea what was causing the flame-outs. The crew decided that if the aircraft was unable to maintain altitude by the time they reached 12,000 feet (3,700m) they would turn back out to sea and attempt to ditch into the Indian Ocean. And If Id tried to do things by the book, I dont know whether wed still be here.. Despite the weather radar showing clear skies, the crew switched on engine anti-ice and the passenger seat belt signs as a precaution. Plane going down. Pilots Malcolm Waters and David Hayhoe were given the Polaris Award - from the International Federation of Air Line Pilots' Associations - for their heroism. Its a common tale, even said to have happened to Marie Antoinette. I trust you are not in too much distress.". The BBC is not responsible or liable for any diagnosis made by a user based on the content of this site. It was only after a nearby Garuda Indonesia flight relayed the message to Air Traffic Control that it was correctly understood. The flight crew immediately performed the engine shutdown drill, quickly cutting off fuel supply and arming the fire extinguishers. In September 2009 the environmental group 10:10 bought the fuselage of City Of Edinburgh to be made into tags. Moody hadnt a clue why. Jan 31 Saints and Broncos are finalizing compensation in return for Super Bowl-winning HC Sean Payton, sources tell ESPN. Broncos fans: 0:11 1.6M views WebCaptain Moody served with British Airways for 32 years, retiring in 1996 with over 17,000 flight hours. But it developed into something more than we'd ever seen before.". There was plenty of time to think and there were three of us, Moody says. SIMON: They are several hundred people that I bet feel they owe their lives to you and your crew. "The commander's decision to land the aircraft immediately on the runway remaining was sensible in the circumstances," anAir Accidents Investigation Branch report concluded. This is your captain speaking. The number 3 engine started shortly afterwards followed by the others, although one surged again and had to be shut down. This explanation might well account for cases like that of Captain Moody. MOODY: We'll, we didn't find out for sure until two days later, which was quite a worrying period because pilots always think that they're going to get the blame for whatever happens in an airplane. WebDespite the lack of time, Moody made an announcement to the passengers that has been described as "a masterpiece of understatement": Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. The subsequent explosive decompression saw part of the floor at the rear of the cabin give way, severing a control cable and disabling one of the engines. Most Popular Now | 56,514 people are reading stories on the site right now. same chemical used to bleach hair from bottles. Although the airspace around Mount Galunggung was closed temporarily after the incident, it was reopened days later. We have a small problem. It can be exacerbated by stress, which could account for the association of white hair with terrifying experiences. BA Flight 38, using a Boeing 777-200ER, had completed all but two miles of its 5,000-mile journey from Beijing to Heathrow when its engines suddenly failed to respond to the crews demand for extra thrust. With nerves of steel, the captain, Eric Moody, miraculously landed the plane. That changed 5 years later when he visited BOAC flying boat captains with his father and heard the stories about their lives. We must've come out of the ash cloud. It is thought to be caused by an auto-immune response, where the bodys defence system turns on itself. Saving the flight fell to Atchison, the co-pilot, who tried to get on the radio to declare an emergency, but couldnt hear the response because of the noises surrounding him. Moody's announcement was actually more than that. The minimum time in grade to be considered eligible for retirement is two years. The aircraft was diverted to Jakarta in the hope that enough engines could be restarted to allow it to land there. The only way to go faster, and avoiding stalling, was to take a steeper approach. "It was, yeah, a little bit frightening.". I was always brought up to expect the aeroplane might break any minute, he adds. All four engines have stopped. Little has changed since our flight. There was a scientist who afterwards, called Fred Prata - P-R-A-T-A - and he developed a volcanic ash detector. We did things that were outside the book. The crew received various awards, including the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air and medals from the British Air Line Pilots Association. MOODY: Yeah, they were. The captain considered getting the co-pilot to take control but concluded that, given the time available and the challenging conditions, his best course of action was to move his right hand from the power levers on to the yoke to regain control. The crew members of the incident segment had boarded the aircraft in Kuala Lumpur, while many of the passengers had been aboard since the flight began in London.[2]. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. It blew four tyres when it landed, but no one was hurt. A dry sense of perspective that probably did more to relax the passengers than thousands of words of explanation ever could have. A British Airlines flight 30 years ago flew through a cloud of volcanic ash off the coast of Indonesia. And thats something thats not changed at all. One study showed that hair naturally greys through the same chemical used to bleach hair from bottles. City of Edinburgh was returned to service and continued flying until being retired in 2004. We just kept trying. As the aircraft approached its target altitude, the St Elmo's fire effect on the windscreen returned. Captain Moody is not alone. [6] The crew subsequently requested and expedited an increase in altitude in order to clear the high mountains of Indonesia.[7]. And they were working equally as hard as me. I am old enough to remember this incident, but I had forgotten something important about it: What the plane's captain said to the passengers the moment after the engines failed. Minutes later there were no working engines left. -3 hrs ago, What volcanic ash does to planes-13 hrs ago, Why is volcanic ash a threat to planes? Moody displaying the cool-headed nature required of a pilot made the following announcement to his passengers: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Dec 2021 - Present1 year 2 months. WebSingle Family Office. We have a small problem. Captain Bryce McCormick, who initially believed the plane had suffered a mid-air collision, declared an emergency, while flight attendants took oxygen to passengers (masks did not deploy because the plane was below the 14,000ft limit). Eric Moody also showed little sign of being terrified as he managed to make an emergency landing at Jakarta airport later he discovered that a plume of ash from a volcano had knocked out all four engines. With cabin pressure dropping, the flight crew needs to get on oxygen but the first officers mask has problems and there is a risk he might succumb to hypoxia. An investigation found that air traffic control was to blame, and while Mr He was rewarded for his actions with a cash bonus equivalent to around 360,000, two air traffic controllers had their licenses revoked. Officers selected for but not promoted to the next higher grade must specifically decline promotion in their retirement in lieu of orders (RILO) request. It wasnt until sometime after landing that the crew discovered volcanic ash was the cause of the engine failures. Capt Moody was piloting a 263-seater British Airways Boeing 747 flight from London to Auckland in June 1982 when he ran into an ash plume erupting from Mount Galunggung in Java, Indonesia. However, it soon began to grow thicker and had an ominous odour of sulphur. Moody displaying the cool-headed nature required of a pilot made the following announcement to his passengers: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Jan 31 Saints and Broncos are finalizing compensation in return for Super Bowl-winning HC Sean Payton, sources tell ESPN. Broncos fans: 0:11 1.6M views Will do best for boys. So Fred developed this but he couldn't find anybody to put it into production. Despite the lack of time, Moody made an announcement to the passengers that has been described as "a masterpiece of understatement":[3]. Payton, sources tell ESPN climb slowly 56,514 people are reading stories on the Hudson was hailed as most... 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