Chris Henkey, the hero pilot whose quick thinking when his British Airways Boeing 777 caught fire upon takeoff, announced today, "It's safe to say I'm finished flying."
The seasoned pilot certainly earned his retirement. He remained calm and collected, delivered the "Mayday" call, requested firefighters and still managed to step on the brakes to halt the flight, saving the lives of his crew and passengers.
The British Airways Flight 2276 from Las Vegas to London that burst into flames when the left engine caught fire upon takeoff was the second to last in Henkey's 42-year career. His final flight was going to be to Barbados for a vacation with his daughter Charley, a favorite destination. The 63-year-old pilot, now being called a hero, calmly alerted airport officials to the fire, according to the Inquisitr. The twenty-seven passengers that suffered minor injuries from the incident, were mostly injured while fleeing the aircraft
"You could smell the smoke from the outside, you could see it. I heard later that a couple of windows had melted," says Guardian sports reporter Jacob Steinberg who was on board " A couple of minutes later the stewards told us to evacuate - that sparked a lot of panic."
A team of 50 firefighters contained the blaze, according to the Huffington Post, which is under investigation by the US National Transportation Safety Board, as is common protocol.
This is not the first time the Henkey has cheated death, according to The Daily Mail. In the 1980s, Henkey rolled his MG Midget and had to have reconstructive surgery to repair damage to his face after rolling the tiny sports car.