M.Mouse

Quote:

1. Your command decision to leave John as PF while you took command of the situation was outstanding, and clearly led to the next decision which saved a worse outcome.

Sorry to interrupt your eulogising but that is the way BA train the handling of the majority of non-normal situations....


... and I understand that BA was one of the very early adopters of this philosophy.

My point is that Capt. Burkill exemplified this philosophy and put it to good use under extreme stress.

If we haven't been in the position he was, how do we know whether a eulogy is deserved or not?

I prefer to allow him the benefit of praise for his actions because we will never know whether all BA Captains, with the benefit of their training, would have responded equally or not.

[QUOTE]Since I'm apparently as thick as a plank and you apparently have more knowledge about what was happening in the cockpit than the entire French investigation team, I'd suggest you call them and offer the inquiry your expert opinion. It's clearly wasted here./QUOTE]

Thick as a plank ?? Dunno, just a tad slow prehaps ?
Anyhoo, I think there is a thread somewhere that fits the 447 topic.

Yep, that's right.

When I'm trying to save the lives of hundreds of passengers and crew (not least my own!!), a MAJOR priority is making sure they know where to look for the bodies should I fail........

MONUMENTALLY stupid initial comment, made all the worse by the above attempt to justify the indefensible.....

Why has this thread about BA038 (B777) become the place to argue about a MayDay call (or lack thereof) on AF477?

Especially since twice, there seems to be confusion about the one being discussed.

For Pete's sake

I wish i had a vacancy............ i'd interview this guy in a heart beat.

GW

M.Mouse Ref: # 3194

Living up to your PPRuNe Moniker, are we ?

Hope you're never in the same position.

Bizman - spot on.

This thread...
 

...has clearly lost the will to live. It was good, now it needs to be put out of its misery. Send it to dignitas, someone, please....

Pinkman sir,

I do know what you mean after some of the recent posts here but, ultimately, I do disagree with you; as a fully paid up head banging veteran of every post I think we need to keep this thread going until we get the final report.

Yes I bought the book.

I have been both informed and saddened by it, I am quite certain that most families would not have coped as well as PB's.

From the normality of obscurity to feeling the need to employ Max Clifford is frightening indeed and this visited on a chap who, at the very least, is judged to have done a "good job".

Lets keep it rolling if we can.

CW

Do you mean the final report published in February 2010?

AAIB Link to report.

Having read much of this thread, and listened to the podcast, I can only conclude that Peter Burkhill has been very severely wronged by BA management and badly let down by BALPA.

As I see it, (from the perspective of being a retired 757/767 captain and I guess most pilots would share this view, so I may be stating the obvious) cabin crew trainers are NOT qualified to make any judgement about a pilot's technical handling of an accident such as this particularly when they are not privy to an investigation which has not even been concluded.

For cabin crew trainers, of all people, to make judgement of this captain, or indeed any other pilot, BEFORE the publication of the internal BA report and BEFORE the publication of the AAIB report and pass on this criticism to their trainees strikes me as grossly irresponsible to put it mildly.

Perhaps someone legally qualified could cast some light on whether Peter might have grounds to sue the perpetrators for slander, it should not be difficult to track down those "trainers".

In the meantime I wish him every good luck for the future.

Absolutely. And demonstrates perfectly how dysfunctional BA is at LHR.

So, what does all this prove??...

NEVER, EVER, go into print after a prang!

Buying the book is one way of showing our support for Peter. It has been tough for him and all this for saving the lives of many.

I look forward to reading the book. I just hope that the cabin crew trainer who spread this rumour was not just passing on what someone else in another management position or training position had told him.

I have bought Peter`s book and am half way through it. I must say I am flabbergasted by its revelations to such an extent that I will have to put a sling around my head to avoid a Gordonian jaw droop. Has anyone read the book and what is their view.

How about some perspective? Through no fault of their own, Burkill and Coward landed a 150 ton glider reasonably close to the runway, without loss of life, and the Boeing deserved to be written off for letting them down. What would a pax on Colgan have given to be with these two chaps instead of chatty and the screamer in Buffalo? What about the Turkish? Their a/c was serviceable, but they managed to screw the Poodle anyway. The Mary thread is in San Francisco, let's have a break from the whining. Pete, John, :ok:

bear

It isn't the first time that someone in BA has made a misrepresentation of an aircraft accident to make a training point. Twice I have had to pull a trainer up for it. On one occasion they would have had no real knowledge of the incident and no real technical knowledge of the subject at all and in the other they should just have known better.

I read Pete and Marias book within a couple of days of getting it. I'ts not a happy read and sadly I wasn't surprised at much of the contents with respect to BA's actions. It's a very personal reflection of what happened to them and worth buying to support a super crew who were dealt a very poor hand in more ways than one.

I am also half way through reading Pete and Maria's book. I would like to point out that it has been an excellent read so far and is very difficult to put down!

The way that Pete and Maria were handled by BA is beyond ridiculous. I couldn't believe BA's approach to this entire incident. I was gobsmacked. I wasn't entirely surprised by the actions of this country's press.

However Pete, I do want to ask you/Maria a question. Do you regret reading the tabloids after this incident? I think, in hindsight, that reading the tabloids was probably not the best of ideas because tabloids tend to make somebody look like a hero one moment and then a villain the next, without any concrete facts.

The rumours which circulated on the other hand could not have helped your recovery process. In fact, if I was you and was told that cabin crews were being told by trainers that I had froze at the controls, I would have confronted the trainers personally and put them straight.

Anyway, good luck with finding a job. I will read the rest of the book within a few days and then post a review on Amazon!

P.S: Oh, I found it extraordinary that John posed for the tabloids with his family and BA advised you not to.

I've read the book as well, and it is an excellent read. The main thing that stands out is the incompetence of the BA management and BALPA in dealing with the situation, it appeared as though they didn't care about Peter and basically left him to fend for himself. I'm glad I no longer work for BA.