The pilot of the British Aerospace 748 which caught fire early yesterday at Stansted Airport, with 44 people from Leeds United Football Club and its crew on board, was being hailed as a hero last night for guiding the aircraft to safety.
The former Ireland, Arsenal and Leeds United footballer, Mr David O'Leary, who is now assistant manager with the club, was also praised for his reaction to the crisis, during which he forced open an emergency door and ushered passengers from their seats.
The emergency began shortly after take-off at 12.20 a.m. yesterday when the right-hand engine of the Hawker Siddeley 748 aircraft exploded and caught fire. The players, club officials and a few fans were making their way back to Leeds after the team had played a Premiership football match in London against West Ham United.
But it was Captain John Hackett's split-second decision to ignore the rule book and immediately abort the flight at 150 feet, instead of circling and attempting to put out the fire using the fire extinguishers on board, that saved the passengers and crew.
Mr Hackett crash-landed the aircraft and the nose section collapsed when the plane overshot the runway. Emergency services quickly were on hand to put out the fire and miraculously there were no casualties.
The duty manager at Stansted Airport, Mr Melvyn Seymour, said he could not praise Mr Hackett highly enough. "I would think that they had another 30 seconds before there would have been a major fire. I dread to think what would have happened then. You would have been talking about a major explosion and I would think almost certain fatalities," he said.
Mr O'Leary added his voice to the growing praise for Mr Hackett, as the British public witnessed scenes that evoked memories of the 1958 Munich air disaster in which eight members of the Manchester United football team were killed when their plane crashed on a snowy runway.
"We were going down the runway," Mr O'Leary explained. "As we lifted off, a fire started in the engine and then there was an explosion. At that stage we had reached about 200 feet and suddenly flame started to shoot out of the right engine. The plane was like a roller coaster. It went up, then down and hit the deck."
Of his own role in the emergency, Mr O'Leary was modest. "There was smoke and a strong smell of fuel when we stopped and I opened the emergency door. The pilot did a brilliant job. He had to take a very quick decision and he made exactly the right choice. We were very, very lucky and thank God everyone got out OK."
However, the chairman of Leeds United, Mr Peter Risdale, praised Mr O'Leary for his quick reactions. "David O'Leary was in the opposite seat to me by an emergency exit. David opened it very, very quickly and started getting everybody out. David was superb," he said.
One relieved businessman described the experience as "terrifying" and vowed never to fly again.