DARING FEATS OF MID-AIR BRAVERY
ALASTAIR ATCHISON is among a band of incredible pilots who have stared death in the face and won.
In November 2010, an engine on a Quantas superjumbo exploded, damaging a wing and causing a fuel tank fire with 469 people on board, but the captain managed to land safely.
In April of the same year, a Cathay Pacific service from Indonesia lost the ability to change thrust as it neared Hong Kong, causing it to land at double the recommended speed.
Probably the most famous came in January 2009 when Chesley Sullenberger III, at the helm of US Airways Flight 1549, pulled off an unpowered landing on the Hudson River after a flock of geese disabled the aircraft – the incident is soon to be a major film, starring Tom Hanks.
In January 2008, a BA flight was just two miles from Heathrow when the plane lost power due to ice in the fuel, leaving the pilot to emergency land in a field.
In 1988, an Aloha Airlines flight carrying 90 people was cruising towards Honolulu at 24,000ft when a large hole was torn in the roof, killing one flight attendant before the plane was landed.
An Air Canada flight going from Montreal to Edomonton in July 1983 was carrying 143 people when it ran out of fuel at 41,000ft. The pilot managed to glide the plane down for a safe landing.
In June 1982, a British Airways flight was passing over Jakarta when volcanic ash knocked out all of its engines. The pilot was working out how much longer they could glide for when the engines kicked back in.