Where Are They Now?Please feel free to post contact information here if you are looking for long lost friends or trying to find out what has happened to colleagues. Obituaries and condolences can be posted here too.
It is with great sadness that I have to announce the passing of my friend, Peter Williams. Peter died on Thursday the 12th July in Zurich. He had a terminal condition and was suffering so this was the best way. Peter was in British Island Airways on the MD-80, Air Europe on the Fokker 100, in Bangkok Aiways and Sempati Air during 1991/92 , Sunways on the 757, and most recently Excel as Boeing 737-800 Captain. He was well known for starting the job shop after Air Europe went bust and helped many of his colleagues get work. He was a computer wiz by trade and still worked developing software in his spare time. He leaves a wife, Linda and step-daughter, Christine.
Last edited by Colonel Klink; 14th Jul 2012 at 17:24.
I was sorry to hear about the death of Peter Williams. We were both B757 Captains in Sunways and during the summer of '97 we were both based in Antalya and we used to frequent a bar there with all the crew when not flying early next morning!
There was a music machine there and Pete started fiddling with the keys on it and I said what are you doing? He said I am putting a message on PPRuNe. What the hell is PPRuNe I asked?
He said watch this and the message ran something like this. Sunways are buying some B767's for long haul routes and are looking for experienced crews. Apply to Joe Sharps Chief Pilot in Stockholm. No ex BA or women!!!
Was thinking about Pete and he got up to some funny stuff in Bangkok as well. We were there for almost all of 1992, having ferried a brand new Fokker 100 there. On Friday nights Pete would end up at this particular bar where, alcoholically fuelled, he would do a dance on the stage and let a snake crawl though his pants!! Then, with a compulsion to ride a motor bike home to our hotel, the nearest thing he could do is pay a tuk- tuk driver to sit in the back while Pete drove them both back to the hotel. Can only imagine the terrified look on the driver as his tuk- tuk was being trashed in front of his face, but Pete made it home safely every time!!!
I was very sad to hear this news, I had a lot of time for Pete and was very impressed with the pragmatic way he ran the FDM when he was at XL.
As a Captain the only flying I did with Pete was when he was line checking and this was always a good day out.
I know that Pete was wildly respected by those within the industry and it only took a few minutes flying with him to see why he commanded that respect.
Very sad news indeed. I had the pleasure of knowing Peter during my time in XL. He did several of my command upgrade flights and every time was a complete pleasure. Also had some fun times during our short secondment to Bangkok during the winter of 2008.
Missed by many I'm sure, condolences to those he leaves behind
Would like to add my condolences to his family. Worked with Pete at XL and had a lot of respect for what he was doing with the FDM. A good bloke, sorry to hear he had been suffering.
Pete was a star amongst giants! As a Crewing Controller, you could count on him to do eaxctly what the company required. On a personal level he was the nicest guy, always had a good word to say. The days of Sabre/Excel (then XL) were great fun & made even better with Pete Williams. Even under the worst conditions (E.g Level 2 HRG) he would do what he could to get the job done. I am very sorry to hear of his passing, he an absolute gent.....
I great pity, condolences to his family and close friends. I flew with Pete at XL Airways on the 737, he did my first flight at the airline to GVA, amazing I even can remember that, but he was a nice relaxed trainer. I remember approaching him about an unpleasant windshear go-around I had when I wasnt based in Bangkok on an XL secondment. Very approachable man showed me the FDM event,
A sad loss to the industry, a true 'trainer' and not 'checker'!!!
My Wife and I are very sadened by the news of Peter's demise. He and I flew for Gill Air back in 1988, and then we moved up in types. He boarded with us in New Castle/Cambo, and was mighty proud of his E type jag. Peter was an execellent pilot and very trustworthy. We were together one night up by Pole Hill when we had a total radio failure, and subsequently growled around in the dark, on top, crappy weather, but made it into Manchester. We both went to BIA, I was on the 1-11 he got onto the MD80. From there we went our own separate ways. Does any body know what the illness was, and for how long was he sick?
Very sad. Pete checked me in to some of the more "challenging" airfields such as Skiathos, Samos etc during the XL days. We found we'd worked together before about 20 years previously in another world called SSL, before flying, but did not know one another then as it was a huge world wide oil exploration company.
He was a top guy and will be sadly missed by people whose lives he came into contact with.
Very sad news - R.I.P. Capt Pete Williams - A Gentleman
I am very sad to hear the news of the passing of Pete Williams. I worked with him in Excel Airways and XL Airways. He was a real gentleman and a brilliant Trainer for whom I had the greatest respect. I endorse 747 Downwind - a "Real" trainer and not a checker. A very sensible operator of XLs FDM. It was used so that everyone could learn, and you could always ask for a printout of any flight details.He sounds like quite "a lad" in his early days. I am truly sorry to learn of his suffering and hope that he is now at peace. My condolences to his family. RIP.
I was so sorry to come across this very sad news by accident regarding Peter, whilst trying to track other f/d for an airline re union which i am helping with..
I am ex Sunways cc..and flew with Peter way back then...in the good old days of Sunways in Turkey and Scandinavia...
I have passed on the sad news to the old Sunways crews via a group on facebook... https://www.facebook.com/groups/4660...ps/4660787539/
He was a True Gentleman and Absolute Pleasure to fly with....(well was old school..and you can't get better than that xxx)
Please pass on from all Sunways... ex cabin crew deepest sympathies to his family...and let them know how highly he was regarded and loved by us all xxx
Our dear Peter In July I travelled to be with my brother Peter in Switzerland..Zurich..so that he could end his days together with me, his wife and her sister at a special place called Dignitas. He was suffering from the disease PSP innocent sounding initials that stand for Progressive Supranuclear Palsy. It is really up there with the very worst of the degenerative diseases that man can suffer from and involves great indignities...and with him it was fast. Peter could not countenance such a miserable end to his life and therefore chose to have a controlled and dignified ending. It was very peaceful and his courage and calm were inspirational..I cannot begin to describe how focused and certain he was that this was the right choice for him. In the week leading up to the fateful day we had a lot of laughter and story telling. It was profoundly surreal and we simply shared a strong desire to make sure nothing stopped him in his intent. We walked with Pete in his wheelchair, the many paths along the lake, we drank cool beers and delicious wines..we had fun and laughed and wept. The last day was as good as ever it could have been..really At the clinic the two people who took care of us were an older man and woman..very lovely, kind and caring people who were nothing but sensitive primarily to Peter. They new all our names and our relationship to each other. They made emotional and physical space for us..there was no sense of rush. Peter set the pace. He was surrounded by love and held in our arms...what more could any of us wish for. We are now home...shattered but so glad he is in peace. Now I am determined to do as much as I can to shine light on this as an ethical and viable option for people suffering from any of these dreadful complaints that make life unendurable. We must change the law so that sick people do not need to travel to foreign and it has to be said expensive lands, in order to die quietly and with dignity at a time of their choosing. It cost a lot of money it's a fact. That is another issue that should be addressed when we tackle the legalities and logistics of setting up something in the UK. There was no question of anyone doing this to or for him..Dignitas provided a safe professional place with experienced professionals on hand to help him reach the conclusion he desired so strongly.
This was not euthanasia..no one put a stop to his life which is another thing entirely. This assisted dying..for that is what it is..allows a person to end their own life within a safe framework. Not an easy option by any means but when the alternative is too horrific for an individual to countenance then it must become a legal way out.
Peter Williams RIP
