Friend tells of pride at hero pilot

A proud friend of the Midland pilot who safely landed a stricken aircraft at Heathrow Airport, spoke today of "our hero".

See also: Heathrow crash investigated

Neighbours of British Airways Captain Peter Burkill, aged 43, who has been praised for his actions on-board the Boeing 777, described him as "brilliant".

Valerie Firminger, who lives near Captain Burkill, his wife Maria and their three young sons in Worcester, said he was "everything you imagine a pilot to be".

She said: "He is cool, calm and collected and is very good looking. I think he would have coped brilliantly. He is that kind of guy, nothing fazes him. If you are in that situation you would want Peter as the pilot because he can do the business."Mrs Firminger, who together with her husband Paddy socialises with the family, said Mrs Burkill was staying away from their five-bedroom detached home in King Stephens Mount, a quiet cul-de-sac near the centre of Worcester, but was relieved her husband escaped injury.

She said she had been texting Mrs Burkill and understood that the incident was caused by a power loss at 500ft.

"Apparently you put flaps up which gives you an extra lift and he had just managed to get over the perimeter fence," she said.

Mrs Firminger said Captain Burkill, his wife and their sons Troy, who is almost three, Logan who is about 18 months old and baby Coby, who is just a few months old, have been living at the house for about 12 to 18 months.

One airport worker said Captain Burkill told him the Boeing 777, one of 43 in the BA fleet, lost all power as it came in to land. The plane just cleared a fence by a busy perimeter road before skidding across the grass short of the runway and pulling up around 1,000m from a plane about to take Prime Minister Gordon Brown on an official visit to Beijing.

Mr Brown was among those who praised Mr Burkill, whose actions limited casualties among the 136 passengers to just 18 minor injuries despite extensive damage to the plane, which had flown in from Beijing.

Speaking from China, Mr Brown said: "I think it's right to pay tribute to the calmness and professionalism of the British Airways staff and the captain and what he achieved in landing the aircraft. The speed of the evacuation we saw at first hand, and the total professionalism and dedication of the staff."

A statement from BA said Captain Burkill was now resting after the ordeal.