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Coward hailed in UK
19/01/2008 19:15 - (SA)
London - London's Heathrow airport returned to normal on Saturday as investigators probed why a British Airways plane lost power and was forced to crash land with 152 people aboard.
The British press meanwhile toasted BA co-pilot John Coward, who was at the controls on Thursday when the engines failed, and landed the Boeing 777 just inside Heathrow's perimeter fence.
All 136 passengers and 16 crew on flight BA038 from Beijing escaped without serious injury.
"All operations are returning today, with all terminals returning to normal," said a spokesperson for airports operator BAA on Saturday. "All passengers can resume normal procedures for checking in."
BA added that it has fully restored long-haul flights schedule at Heathrow, with 95% of short-haul flights running as normal.
Coward said on Saturday that he feared there would be a "catastrophic crash," according to excerpts from an interview with Britain's Sky News television channel.
Footage showed the crippled plane still stranded on the end of the runway as investigators continued their work.
BA pilot Captain Peter Burkill had revealed his co-pilot's crucial role at a Heathrow press conference before the weekend.
"COWARD IS A HERO," read the headline on Saturday in The Sun, which is Britain's biggest selling tabloid newspaper. "He may be a real Coward... but he did a brilliant job," the paper said.
"Coward ... had to nurse the stricken plane for almost a minute over the rooftops as he glided towards the runway," reported the Daily Mirror tabloid, adding that he was a "Coward in name only."
In an initial report on the incident, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch said on Friday that the twin engines failed to respond to the throttles at a height of about 180 metres and three kilometres from touch down.
The Guardian broadsheet newspaper, citing an unnamed source, reported on Saturday that the pilots had received no warning that the plane was losing power due to a problem with the aircraft's alarm systems.
The pilots did not realise anything was wrong until they noticed that the plane was losing speed more rapidly than normal as it made its descent towards the runway, the paper added.
Eighteen people received treatment for minor injuries following the crash, which caused major disruption at one of the world's busiest airports.
Heathrow has struggled with cancellations and delays in the aftermath of the incident.
The near-disaster happened on Thursday shortly before Prime Minister Gordon Brown was due to take off for China on an official visit. His flight was briefly held up.
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