The damaged British Airways Boeing 777-200 sits at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. Photo / AP
The damaged British Airways Boeing 777-200 sits at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas. Photo / AP
Retiring veteran pilot executed near-perfect emergency protocol on final week.
It was supposed to be one of his final flights, a 10-hour trip from Las Vegas to London before celebrating his retirement from a 42-year career with a holiday in Barbados.
But Captain Chris Henkey was thrust into action when a "catastrophic failure" on his British Airways Boeing 777-200 generated a massive fire that threatened the lives of more than 150 passengers.
Travelling at 145km/h and just moments from takeoff, he had seconds to avert disaster, stopping the plane and calling for help in a near-perfect execution of emergency protocol.
Within a few minutes, Henkey and the 13-strong crew of BA Flight 2276 had evacuated all 159 passengers on board, with 14 of those suffering minor injuries.
Henkey, 63, said: "I am very proud of the cabin crew and relieved everyone is okay."
The pilot's family declared he did a "bloody good job" to save all the passengers. He had been due to return home yesterday to the Berkshire village of Padworth, where he lives with his fiancee, Lenka Nevlona, 40.
Nevlona had planned to join him as he captained his last flight to Barbados today, where they were hoping to join his 26-year-old daughter.
Nevlona, a health service worker, said yesterday: "I feel very proud. He is a hero. He is a great man with a warm heart and generosity. I was very shocked. I'm glad that no one was hurt and everything is going to be fine."
Pilot Chris Henkey, 63, said: "I am very proud of the cabin crew and relieved everyone is okay." Photo / Supplied
Charley Henkey, his daughter from a previous marriage, also spoke of the pride she felt for her father. She told the Reading Chronicle: "I was just heading out for dinner with my best friend when I got a text from dad saying there had been a massive explosion on the plane but that he was okay. I couldn't sleep all night, because I was just waiting to get a call from him. I think the most emotional part is that I am just so proud of him."
The pilot, who also used to be the pub landlord of the Hatchgate Inn, in Reading, graduated from the College of Air Training in 1971 and has worked for BA for over 40 years. In 2013, the Federal Aviation Administration added his name to the Airmen Certification Database - a scheme that honours pilots who have "met or exceeded" the FAA's high educational, licensing and medical standards.
Several years ago, Henkey was left badly disfigured when his sports car overturned. He spent months recovering and was eventually declared fit to return to the cockpit.
Julian Bray, an aviation expert, described Henkey and his crew's work as a "textbook emergency evacuation" and Jim McAuslin, general secretary of the British Airline Pilots' Association, praised his calm reaction.
Dominic Worthington, a Briton who was on the plane when the fire broke out, described a "slight jolt, then a bang" before the plane came to a stop. He told CBS News: "We had a matter of seconds before it could have escalated into something very serious."
Although it will take months for a definitive explanation for the fire to emerge, experts have suggested the blaze was due to what is known as an uncontained engine failure.
General Electric, the maker of the GE90, insisted its engine was safe.
