Wing and a prayer of hero pilot
“LADIES and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking.We have a small problem.All four engines have stopped.
“We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress.”
It was with these calm words in 1982 that Captain Eric Moody became part of aviation folklore, as he navigated his way to safety after his British Airways Boeing 747 flew into a deadly cloud of volcanic ash spewing forth fromWest Java’s erupting Mount Galunggung.
After exhausting all options on the engine failure checklist to no avail, Moody “threw out the rule book”, explaining that had he not, they would not have survived.
He descended fast to pick up better air in a bid to kick-start the stalled engines, which with seconds to go finally spluttered into life.
And in one final heroic act, the unflappable pilot then managed to land the plane despite having minimal visibility through the cockpit windscreens and a failed runway instrument landing system,
saving the lives of 263 people. Moody and cabin manager Graham Skinner were awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air for their bold actions. Eric
Henry John Moody was born in the New Forest, Hampshire, to Henry and Margaret.
He attended grammar school in Winchester before securing entry to the BOAC pilot training college at nearby Hamble.
Moody, who took gliding lessons when he was 16, became obsessed with flying after his father took him to see BOAC flying boats in Southampton and aVE Day air show at Beaulieu. “My big crush began there,” he said.
He eventually retired in 1996 and flew privately in a Piper Navajo.
He became a popular public speaker and regularly warned young air crew about what he called “keyboard” or computerised piloting, encouraging them to study good airmanship instead.
He spent his retirement in Chilworth, and had a Southampton FC season ticket for many years.
Moody married Patricia Collard in 1966.They had a daughter, Sarah, and a son, Iain, who is also an airline pilot.
He died peacefully in his sleep.