Just flew into Heathrow last night from Boston on a BAW T7 (IJ). We departed BOS at 0815, landing at LHR at 1927; interesting to see that in the USA there was little or no coverage of the accident, CNN and FOX mentioned it but not in depth. Also interesting to note that the flight was virtually empty even though on checking in online I noted most of the seats in Club were full however on boarding most were empty. Had a great chat with the First Officer and Senior Cabin Director about the incident with no speculation on what had happend (very refreshing). It was also very refreshing to look around the cabin during the safety demo to see absoultley everyone putting down their reading material, stop chatting and listen intently to the demo. The only delay I had on the route was the taxi from 27R to T4 (3 quaters of an hour), and of course the every so joyful baggage claim at T4.
I am not one for speculation or posting of comments when an ongoing investigation is in full throw but what I will say is bravo to the crew, the safety services and London ATC. As we discussed on the plane yesterday, it doesnt matter who you are or what responsiblity you have, considering they had just undertaken such a long haul sortie, they reacted superbly to the incident and I suspect saved many lives in the process. The Fire and Rescue teams performed admirably, again considering the actual incidents that happen. I know these guys practise, practise and practise but you get complacent quite easily (I was a Fire and Rescue Team Commander during the Firefighters Strike based at Hounslow, supplimenting LHR Crews during incidents) and reacting to the real thing is a lot different from exercises; it is a whole different adrenalin rush!! They did a superb job in reacting to and controlling the scene and casualty handling etc. Again hats off to London Control who again have a plan in place ready for such an event and they implimented it with the utmost professionalism….if any of the teams involved read this….well done!!!
Si
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