Almost 10 years ago I walked away from a plane crash AMA

ATC checking in. I was 4 months into my training at Heathrow as a young trainee ATC when I walked back upstairs from a break and was greeted to the sight of the BAW 777 coming over the fence and crashing. I probably had the best view of anyone of your near death experience! Up in the tower at first we thought the pilot was being a smart arse and trying to do a short landing to come off at one of the early exits, then it dawned on the controller in charge of that runway that shit was about to get real. There’s a good YouTube video of the ATC tape of my former colleague doing a fantastic job of co-ordinating the emergency. In it you will even hear the pilot calling the mayday and uses the incorrect call sign, he used the call sign BA use in their simulator when they PRACTICE emergencies, so they literally went into “auto pilot” mode.

It actually was a blessing that the plane landed short of the runway and in the grass, which was soft from the perpetual English rain, as it’s believed the runway surface may have caused a fire on impact. Having low amounts of jet fuel left in the tanks after a long flight also probably decreased the likelihood of fire.

10 years later, I have never seen anything like it in my career as an ATC, and I don’t wish to. The whole tower staff on duty were deeply affected for days afterwards but everyone involved from ATC, pilots, crew, ground staff, emergency services did an amazing job and turned a potential disaster into a Very British Plane Crash which caused some minor disruption, some grumbling about delays, and was mostly forgotten by the media in a matter of days.

How did it affect you afterwards? I see your sense of humour is still intact but did you have any PTSD or similar? I’m sure I’m not alone as an ATC/Pilot that has dreams about crashes or emergencies, some of which are based on my memories of your crash.

Thanks for doing this AMA

Poor dude, best comment, never got a response

Upvote his comment and OP said he'd be back :)

I'm guessing /u/shrimp_42 was on a later shift or changed time zone as it was 2am when he posted.

I was so traumatised by what I saw on that fateful day, that I decided to move to Australia. I now get traumatised watching planes here but with nicer weather

A spiders the size of your head.

You probably had it worse as you could see how bad it was. I was listening to a show called what goes up might come down. Look it up, it's an after dinner speech by an ex ATC man.

How much did you get in compensation?

I got;

A 2 week holiday anywhere in the world for myself and 3 friends with business class flights.

5 years of gold level membership in the executive club.

Most importantly I got to go down the evacuation slide.

It's nice to see you have your priorities straight. ;)

What's worse is the plane was listing to the right so the slide wasn't as steep as it should be. I didn't think asking to go back and try the other side was a great idea though.

There there. There'll be other crashes, sweetie.

Fingers crossed.

So where did you go??

Trans-Siberian railway from England to China.

How was it? Would you recommend it?

10/10 would crash again.

As for the holiday absolutely. I describe it as epic and surreal.

I don't think I'd ever take that route again but only because I've already done it. As long as you are good spending a lot of time with someone else I recommend it.

not flying again eh?

That was the way out. The flight home from that was the crash. Two weeks of train travel without an issue. One lousy 11 hour plane ride...

I think the question was where did you go on free vacation anywhere in the world

Yeah I got lost in the trail of replies. The compensation holidays were to Antigua and then India.

Came here to ask about the slide.

Sadly not as fun as I would have expected :(

Did they not let you have another go?

Something about it being too dangerous. Health and Safety gone mad I tell you.

Did you try to put on the oxygen masks? or did you just bs right out of there?

I almost did, the impact dropped them but something in my mind kicked in and reminded me that it wasn't going to be much use on the ground.

But you can't assist others until your own mask is on!

I like to think I led by example and made my way swiftly to the door.

Anybody act stupid while evacuating, like trying to retreive thier overhrad baggage or was it all for the door

Far far too many.

Were people panicked at all, or just sorta confused and shaken up?

A mix of everything. I think confused and shaken up is the most common expression I saw that day.

did it crash when it was supposed to be landing at the airport, or during the normal flight?

Right at the end. Another hundred meters or so and we would have made it to the runway.

Would you credit your survival to the fact that you had your tray table up and your seat back in the full of right position?

More that the person in front did. If that had been reclined I could easily have smashed my head into the back of it.

Would you credit the crash being caused by your cell phone not being in airplane mode?

10 long years ago by phone was a Nokia brick that would have cost me a fortune to use overseas. That was sitting safely at home.

What's more likely was the terrible fruit machine game I was playing on the in flight entertainment that kept paying out so much I had already overflowed from the credit display and I was trying to see if I could wrap an integer value.

That was sitting safely at home.

Let's be real, it doesn't matter where a Nokia phone is sitting, it's always safe.

No kidding I found it recently, battery still holds a charge.

Did this cause a fear of flying for you, or someone close to you?

Did you have a concern for your life?

Did the other passengers reactions make it harder to stay calm?

No I still fly now whenever I can and look forward to it.

Not at all. I was oblivious to the whole thing so by the time I knew it could have been worse it was over so nothing to be scared about.

The other passengers stopping to get their bags before leaving just gave me a clear path to the exit so I didn't spend a long time stuck inside.

Edit:

My sister refuses to be on the same plane as me now. I like to think I've got a proven track record and everyone else is just untested.

I guess you figured "I've been in one plane crash, statistically, what're the chances it'll happen again?"

edit: yes, I know thats not actually how statistics work.

There was a guy on the flight who claimed it was his 4th or 5th plane crash and had also been in a helicopter one.

I treat it as there's nothing I can do about it so why worry. Plus each flight includes an entry in the prize draw for more free flights.

Plot twist: that guy was the pilot.

Nah the pilot was a guy known in the industry as Perfect Pete.....

The other passengers stopping to get their bags before leaving just gave me a clear path to the exit so I didn't spend a long time stuck inside.

This chills me and enrages me. Airline pilot here. There are few people more detestable on earth than a pax who stops to grab luggage in an evacuation. Other people may die because you needed your Hermes bag or other replaceable junk

I've never understood it, I've always thought it would be a good deal to lose my luggage. In a crash. It's just a bag full of sudoku and twizzlers. But when I go to file the claim, suddenly my $500 designer bag was full of cash, new laptop, cell phone, and lots of expensive jewelry.

I could easily have claimed for a new laptop and there would have been no questions asked.

Curse my honesty.

Did you get your bag back eventually? I would be scared of getting off without my phone / passport / wallet / medication at least. I guess all the other stuff I could replace easily.

Passport was in my pocket.

Wallet was in my bag so I had to cancel all the cards in it.

Phone was an old Nokia brick so I left it at home.

Wow thanks for the answer! One more question if I may:

What did the process after the crash look like? You got off the plane. What happened then until you got home?

We walked across the grass to a guy who was gathering up passengers without getting close himself. From there we were bussed to the terminal and had to chat with the police as they were immediately investigating it.

While I was chatting with them ("Are you okay?", "Yup", "Seriously?!") the border force were determining if we had the right to enter the country. I was lucky as I had my passport in my pocket. Those who didn't (like my friend) were asked questions to determine if they were actually resident in the UK or had permission to enter.

After that we were moved to the 1st class lounge to be held there till we were ready to go. Didn't stay long as they had cleared the alcohol away and turned all the TVs off.

After my friend and I met back up we got out and met up with her parents who had come to collect us and while walking back to their car a journalist for the BBC pounced on us in the car park for an interview.

What an eventful day. Shame the booze went(probably for the better now that I think of it).

Thanks for the answers!

Well it gave me plenty to talk about on the date I had arranged for 2 days later. Certainly impressed her enough that she stuck around long enough for me to marry her.

How many other marriages resulted from the crash?

I don't know of any. Hopefully they will turn up here and comment if they did.

Ahhh sounds like one if the 3 friends for the first class trip anywhere

Business class. They reserve 1st class compensation for when they run out of tea on a British Airways flight.

And yes she loved the holidays. Sadly it gave her a taste for expansive hotels.

I feel like I'd rather be on a plane WITH you on it, because you've had your plane crash already so the chances of it happening again have to be less... Right??

My thoughts exactly. Tried to tell that to a colleague sitting next to me who was afraid of flying but he didn't take it well.

Edit : spelling

As I recall from the news reports it had been a totally normal flight right up until the last few seconds.
1. When did you realize that something had gone wrong? 2. Describe the impact and the first few seconds following. Were people more stunned or was there a sense of panic?

I figured it was a rough landing. I just wasn't sure how rough.

There was some sense of concern. I think if you could see out a window you would have had a much better idea what was happening.

There were some people crying once we got off the plane and there were the people who stopped to get their hand luggage and a few people shouting at the crew.

The cabin crew was fantastic they got us all off quickly and safely.

What freaks me out about a crash landing is being trapped in a burning aircraft by passengers gathering their luggage. What was your reaction to other passenger's instincts to gather luggage rather than self survival?

My friend and I shared a look of "Seriously?!" and then used their delay to get the hell off the plane.

I didn't even grab my jumper. January on a runway at Heathrow in a t-shirt is not a warm experience. On the plus side Russia and China was colder so I was somewhat acclimatised.

How were you reunited with all of your luggage? Did the airline gather it all up and put it on the carousel like normal? Was there much damage to passengers luggage?

Mine was flatter but intact.

It took a few days before they could extract it from the wreckage and send it back in a taxi.

You gotta be fucking kidding me. I lose my luggage in a regular domestic flight and the dude who fucking crashes gets his in a few days.

To be fair I actually got my friends luggage first but her clothes don't fit me so I swapped back.

Wait, you swapped the luggage or the clothes!?

Both.

I was so glad to hear there was no fatalities in this crash, mostly due to the pilots expert crash landing. This is one of my favourite "Air Crash Investigations", did you see the episode?

The complexity of sequence of events that made the engines fail and the length the investigation teams went to try to reproduce the problem was good work all round.

edit: english

I didn't. Lots of people mentioned to me that they saw it but I kinda knew the ending.

I've watched it now and yes it's pretty interesting. My cousin works for Rolls Royce and her husband was working on the investigation. I think he was told not to talk to me about it.

Did you and the other affected persons got compensation from the air company?

I managed to get 2 holidays out of them. I was travelling with a friend and I took her, her boyfriend and my significant other on my compensation holiday and she then did the same for me.

I also got a new camera and replacement mp3 player as mine were tragically "destroyed".

How was China?

Freezing cold. I went to Harbin for an ice and snow festival, failed to order dumplings in a dumpling restaurant, tobogganed off the great wall and ate huge amounts of duck in Beijing.

Sounds chill.

All terrible puns aside it was at times below -25C. At one point I thought the hotel bathroom floor had underfloor heating actually my feet were just so cold the tiles felt warm.

Before urbanization and all that harbin used to get a lot colder in the winter. My dad said when he was a kid it would once in a while hit -40. If you're peeing outside you would have to hit you pee with a stick just so it doesn't freeze while you're going at it. I spent a few years of my childhood in harbin. Really interesting place with a lot of Russian architecture. Too damn cold though.

It was so cold that I didn't spend much time outside. I think it made it to -30C but my thermometer failed at -25. Really once it's that cold you stop caring.

I went to a dumpling restaurant to get warm food and not speaking Chinese they brought me a hand translated menu that they had laminated. Unfortunately it was in Russian so I guessed what to tick on it and got a selection of cold cuts.

Can you go more details about the ice festival? Worth it? Too cold?

It was stunning. Lots of ice sculptures that were lit at night and the snow sculptures were astonishingly vast at times.

If I ever found myself in Harbin at the right time of year I wouldn't hesitate to go again.

What was the process for you like from landing to getting back home? More importantly did you get a lottery ticket on your way back?

I actually wish I had. The guy in the bank suggested it, I was in there cancelling my cards as they were still in the plane.

Wow. Just read the article. It seems like a the problem wasn't apparent until the very end of the flight. Did the crew have time to tell the passengers anything? Did you know the plane was going in for a hard landing before it happened?

Another question I had for any pilots or anyone with knowledge about aircraft: how would water get into the fuel lines? Isn't water a contaminant in a fuel system?

We didn't even get a call to brace. I remember looking out the window (across 3 seats because I was in the middle block) thinking we were coming down a little steep. I also heard a motor adjusting something which could have been either the flaps or landing gear as the pilot was doing his best to get maximum glide time.

The sad truth is I thought we'd come down a bit hard and then gone off the side of the runway. It wasn't until we got the call to evacuate and I went down the slide to be treated to the view of our undercarriage in the distance and half an engine leaking fluid that I realised just how bad it was.

I was sitting 7 or so rows back from the wing exit and I was the second person down the slide.

In the distance there was a man in a high vis jacket waving for us to head that way so off I set. I was also motivated by the smoker who on getting out of the plane and standing next to the engine decided that then was the time to light up.

How was he not immediately suffering from a fractured skull?

I'm not a tall man so my head doesn't reach the seat in front.

Now I'm sure the space between the seats has shrunk. Next time it happens I'll test it and let you know.

How do people react when you tell them about this? Is it a lot of sympathy, or shock, or disbelief? Seems like such an interesting conversation piece.

Depends on the person. Work colleagues who travel a lot are jealous of the gold card, now sadly expired. Most people start out concerned then get jealous over the holidays.

What did having the gold card get you?

Use of the first class lounge and check in desk no matter what ticket class I bought. This along with the fast lane in security was what I used the most.

Priority upgrades though I can't say I ever got one.

Priority boarding. Handy when the flight is busy and you want to be sure you can stow your hand luggage but otherwise why would I want to see on a plane longer?

whats your favourite kind of soup?

Tom Yum with mushroom.

Do you have an opinion of the 10 passengers that decided to file the lawsuit a year later for $1 million each? Were you ever contacted about it?

I was asked to be a witness for Boeing though it never went that far that they needed me.

I was perfectly happy with the compensation I received and while sure a big pile of money would have been nice I genuinely couldn't claim that it had such an effect on me that I would require that much money.

Very glad you made it through that traumatic experience. Did it go in slow-mo for you crashing? How fast did it feel? When you were falling, what were your thoughts when all of this was going on when you were going down? Are you more aware and safe how when you travel to fly? And lastly, did you see anyone overly panic or pass out through being scared or panic? Thanks.

I always read the safety card and check where my exit is. And I do pay attention to the cabin crew when they do their safety briefing in case they sneak something new in I should know about.

Spoiler alert: They haven't yet.

The only thought that was it was odd hearing the flaps being adjusted so late in the process. Now I know it was either that or the undercarriage to help with gliding.

There were a few people crying but far more just getting on with it.

Where did you go on your compensation holiday?

I took my friends to Antigua. We learned to S.C.U.B.A. dive and drank a vast quantity to rum.

My friend took us on a tour of India.

How long were you kept in the airport afterwards? Did you need to be interviewed by anyone and how soon did the media try to get at you?

It was a few hours to get processed past the police and immigration.

After that we got jumped on by the BBC as we walked through the carpark telling my friends parents about it.

I also got the local papers and the radio calling me from the next day. I'd love to know for sure where they got my contact details from.

Did you get your carry-on and hold luggage back?

Yes it was all put in a taxi and sent back a few days later. They mixed my friends and my bags up so I did wonder where the lace underwear and bras had come from for a few minutes before my brain caught up.

Do you use this story to get bumped to first class?

I wish. With me frequent flyer card I'm sure it appears whenever I check in. I once got bumped to business on a flight to Texas which was great I was sitting there watching The Revenant and realised I had a massive grin on my face while Leo was being eaten by a bear. Must have been a little off putting for anyone walking past.

What was your reaction to looking at the plane when you got out?

Well bugger me.

When the plane was landing i assume you were sitting right? So does it hurt and how big is the impact to the insides of the aeroplane?

For this one I have to assume it was about as gentle as it can be and still be a crash landing. I was sitting and wearing my seat belt. The most pain was from my hand being flung forwards into the seat in front.

What was your first distinction that made you realise something was wrong?

The grumbling noise of soil against the fuselage.

how many people approximately were on your flight? any serious injuries? I was in a plane crash in a dual engine cessna (so small, 4 seater plan) when i was around 6-7 years old (so about 17 years ago). cant imagine being surrounded by even more panicking people... that was the scariest part...

It was a 777 and near full so that means between 300 and 400 depending on how it was configured. I didn't stop to count.

What was the reaction of the flight crew when it became apparent you were going to crash? Did they stay calm and professional or did they lose their shit? I have visions of them losing their shit and after they survived trying to regain their professionalism.

The flight crew you can hear the recording here The pilot did a stunning job though managed to tell the tower to evacuate because he still had the wrong mic keyed.

Cabin crew were as in the dark as us and leapt into action like the stars they are.

Firstly this is going to sound weird but this is one of my “favourite” crashes. I for one reason or another enjoy reading up on plane crashes and I’ve always enjoyed the story of this one. Anyway my question is, what was your first thought after impact? Did you initially sense something was wrong or was there a sort of “holy shit we just crashed” moment?

"That was a rough landing, did we go off the side of the runway?"

As it happens it's my favourite crash as well.

Did you have a chance to talk to the pilots after the crash? If so, what did you discuss?

No I never did. The pilot did run a blog for a while and I sent him and email thanking him but never got a reply back. At the time all the media outlets were asking me to hail him as a hero and I thanked him but at that point didn't know what he did to save us all.

What was the first thing your family said when you came back?

I called in at my parents house on my way home and my dad greeted me with "Saw you on TV"

My sister had to be sent home from work because she was panicking having seen the news. It was a bit pathetic on her part because she didn't actually know I was on that flight she just assumed I was.

My cat just looked at me expecting food.

I actually saw this plane on the runway from just outside Heathrow just after it happened, I heard more people where found to be injured after an hour or so as it’s when the shock and adrenaline wore off, did you experience that and if so what’s it like to not really realise you are injured till a while after the fact?

Nope I'm like Bruce Willis in that movie.

A ghost.

Did you rush to the slide to get away from the crash, or to go before the people who had peed their pants?

Definitely to get to go first.

What happened to the animals they transported in the cargo?

If there were any I doubt they survived.

Uh...

stutters...

Happy Holidays, I guess...!

Are you fine, though? Did the thought of almost dying ever come haunt you, or did you never experience that? Have a good day!

Perhaps once did I consider it. I'm not one to dwell on things like that though.

How was the flight?

Pretty good, landing was a bit bumpy.

Did you sh*t your pants?

Nope but probably only because of my obliviousness to it all at the time.

How is your life today? Whats your favourite music band? Have you ever thought about the influence of this plane crash in your life over these almost 10 years?

Life's pretty good.

Picking a favourite band is always really hard. On my birthday this year I went to see The Darkness, they are seriously dedicated to their music while also taking the piss out of the industry in general. Rufus Taylor is an absolute monster on the drums. I guess It's a tough 3 way fight between The Darkness, The Levellers and The Goo Goo Dolls.

In the first few years sure. I was getting free holidays and it was handy for unleashing it as a fact in team building exercises with unsuspecting people.

Now as time goes on unless something relevant happens to remind me I don't think about it much at all. I nearly didn't realise it was going to be 10 years in January.

Was BANE on that plane??????

No but there might have been snakes.

Im not familiar with this story, sooo did anyone die or get seriously injured? How did you avoid that?

No one died. I think the worst injury was a broken leg though I'm not sure if that was during the crash or the slide after.

How far did you get?

To a safe distance.

Do you like spaghetti?... I do :)

Far too messy to eat.

Did you join the mile high club?

No the only bang was right at the end.

Did this experience change anything about your attitude towards how you live life in general, as near death experiences do for some? If so, how?

Nah I'm pretty laid back both before and after. What will be will be.

Were you reunited with your luggage?

A few days later it was returned a little flatter than before.

why didnt you try again? walking away is not the way

The saying goes. "If you can walk away from a landing, it's a good landing. If you use the aeroplane the next day, it's an outstanding landing."

This was only a good one.

[deleted]

No my iPod died horribly with the sudden jolt at the end. I went shopping and bought a Zune (me and Star Lord know how awesome they are) and at the same time I got a new camera as I needed one.

I did highlight the Zune on my receipt but instead of sending me a cheque for that they just took the figure at the bottom and paid me for the entire shopping trip.

When I went on the holiday (England to China by train via Russia) with a friend I was very very single. I had accidentally arrange a date for 2 days after I got back. That date turned into my significant other. It was a year later that I took the holiday.

Did you call 9/11 or try to help anybody before you walked away or did you just walk by and notice a plane crash and do nothing?

I hate it when I have to call 9/11.

Being British I rarely have to shout anything about the 9th of November.