By KUNA
London : Investigators are trying to find out why a British Airways (BA) plane carrying more than 150 people crash-landed at London’s Heathrow airport on Thursday, it was announced Friday.
All 136 passengers and 16 crew survived after the Boeing 777 from Beijing came down short of the south runway, near a busy road.
The UK Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said it was interviewing the pilot and crew and will file an initial report in 48 hours.
Passengers have been advised to check with their airline before setting out for Heathrow.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is on a visit to China, has praised 43-year-old pilot Peter Burkill’s “professionalism” for managing to avert a major disaster. The AAIB will now be checking flight data and cockpit voice recorders at its headquarters in Farnborough, southern England, delivering a further preliminary report within 30 days.
More than 200 flights had to be cancelled or diverted to other airports following the accident.
Witnesses described the plane coming in very low and landing short of the runway, before skidding across grass and tarmac.
Part of the undercarriage, including two wheels were torn off, and there was some damage to the wings.
Eighteen people needed treatment for minor injuries, including whiplash. By last night, all but one female passenger had been discharged from hospital, the emergency services said.
Brown’s own flight to China was delayed following the accident, which happened within sight of him and his entourage.
He said “I think it’s right to pay tribute to the calmness and professionalism of the British Airways staff and the captain and what he achieved in landing the aircraft.” “The speed of the evacuation we saw at first-hand, and the total professionalism and dedication of the staff,” he added.
BA chief executive Willie Walsh also paid tribute to the air crew, describing them as “heroes”.
So far, neither BA nor the authorities at Heathrow will speculate about the cause of the accident.
Theories as to the cause of the crash include a sudden mechanical or electronic failure, pilot error, or a freak collision with a flock of birds flying into the engines.
Aviation expert Julian Bray said it appeared the plane “suffered a very late technical incident which caused a catastrophic total loss of power in one or more engines”.
Some “ongoing disruption” to flights today is expected, while the runway is cleared, but the British Airports Authority said it hoped to provide “near normal operations” today.