Captain of stricken 747 to give talk at FAA Museum
 “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress”.
These were the words broadcast to his passengers by Eric Moody, Captain of British Airways flight 9, a Boeing 747 on the 24th June 1982 that turned it into a Jumbo glider having flown into a volcanic ash cloud over Indonesia.
The ash cloud came from Mount Galunggung in West Java, Indonesia and was at a height of 37,000 feet.
Many passengers wrote notes to relatives. One such passenger was Charles Capewell who wrote "Ma. In trouble. Plane going down. Will do best for boys. We love you. Sorry. Pa XXX" scrawled on the cover of his ticket wallet.
The crew began the engine restart drills, however all attempts failed and as pressure within the cabin fell, oxygen masks dropped from the ceiling.
At 13,500 feet (4,100 m), and after 14 minutes of silent flight they were making plans for a wet landing. As they performed yet another engine-restart procedure, engine number four started and Captain Moody used its power to reduce the rate of descent. Next, engine three restarted, allowing the aircraft to climb slowly and shortly after that, engines one and two successfully restarted.
As the aircraft approached its target altitude Captain Moody throttled back; however, engine number two surged again and had to be shut down. The crew immediately descended and held 12,000 feet (3,700 m). Finally, to the indescribable relief of all, Captain Moody was able to land his 260 passengers and crew in Jakarta.
The experiences of Captain Moody and flight 9 were a major consideration during last year’s volcanic eruptions in Iceland.
Captain Moody will give a gripping account of the incident at the Fleet Air Arm Museum on the evening of May 26th in the Museum’s newly refurbished Swordfish Centre. Tickets are available for £10.00 and include a buffet supper and glass of wine.
Application forms can be downloaded on the Museum’s website www.fleetairarm.com or by calling Rosanne Crowther on tel: 01935 822143
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