Even though everyone had survived, for Peter Burkill, captain of the British Airways Boeing 777 that in 2008 crashed short of the runway at Heathrow, the drama was in many ways just beginning. The crash was, in Burkill’s words, “unprecedented” as was, for Burkill, the personal impact it had on his life. The airliner had suffered a double-engine rollback on short final. With everyone alive, and the plane’s voice and flight data recorders in the hands of investigators, answers should have been quick in coming. But they weren’t. Burkill found that along with the absence of answers came speculation and he quickly found himself as a target at its center. Last week, AVweb‘s Glenn Pew spoke with Burkill in a podcast about the captain’s experience of the crash itself. This Friday’s podcast will cover the story of what happened next.
Eager to share his account after the crash, and after one early interview, Burkill says he was soon held quiet by his employer during the ongoing investigations at both British Airways and the Air Accidents Investigation Branch. As those investigations stretched from days to months to years, Burkill, explains that his experienced reality was often taking second seat to speculative perception — even within British Airways. And Burkill was paying a price. Friday’s podcast covers Burkill’s experience in the aftermath of the crash and is offered it in two parts (Part 1 and Part 2, for easier download), or one full-length version.
