LIGHTNING STRIKES BA PILOT

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LIGHTNING STRIKES BA PILOT

By JOHN KAY Chief Reporter

A BRITISH Airways pilot yesterday told of his terror when he was struck by lightning inside the cockpit of a packed jet he was flying at 5,000ft.

Senior First Officer Richard Adcock, 45, was preparing to land in driving rain when he saw an almighty blue flash, heard a crackling noise ... and felt a massive thud deep in his chest.

It was followed by the sickening smell of his burning flesh.

Lightning had struck the plane's glass windscreen. And because Richard's arm was touching it, the bolt surged through and drilled a hole the size of a five pence piece in his chest.

Richard, captaining the Boeing 757 with 160 passengers and crew, doubled up in agony, temporarily losing the use of his right arm completely.

But he managed to hand the controls to colleague Mike Tarry, 55. And despite the state of his pal, Mike landed successfully.



The drama happened as the Boeing - call sign "Kilo-Lima" - was completing its flight from Heathrow to Amsterdam.

Planes, like cars, are safe during thunderstorms because the bodywork acts as a cage keeping the electricity on the outside.

But Richard's arm brushing the screen at the crucial moment caused a million-to-one freak accident. In a dramatic account of what happened next, Richard told a friend:

"I had just throttled down as we came in to Amsterdam. I had my arm leaning next to the windscreen and all of a sudden there was a huge bang and flash.

"Right away I knew I'd been hit by lightning. It was a bit like being kicked by a horse in the chest from the inside out.

"I felt a severe pain in my shoulder and I couldn't use my arm.

"It was very frightening and I asked my skipper to take over.



"One of the air hostesses came in asking what the noise had been because she knew it wasn't a familiar plane sound.

"But she said only two or three passengers had noticed anything at all so mercifully there was no panic."

Medical tests later showed that Richard suffered a "burn wound in his chest consistent with an electrical discharge."

In his official report to BA bosses, Richard also revealed: "When I felt a heavy thud in my chest I was disorientated for a few seconds. I realised that the aircraft and indeed I had been struck by lightning.

"Mike asked me if I was all right and I said I was not and asked him to take control.

"I then realised I could not move my right arm and told Mike. I was effectively incapacitated at this point.

"Mike flew the aircraft making his own flap and gear selections informing me what he was doing all the time.

"On arriving, two paramedics boarded the aircraft. I was given an ECG and my blood pressure was taken."

Richard, who is married and lives in West Sussex, went on: "Accompanied by Mike, I was taken to the medical centre.

"Due to the irregularities with my ECG and high blood pressure, the doctor telephoned a cardiologist at a local hospital.

"I was told that I was fit to fly back to London Heathrow as a passenger the next day but not to operate as crew. I was later examined by a doctor who found a burn mark on my chest. He found me unfit to fly."

It is believed Richard escaped more serious injury because he was wearing rubber-soled shoes.

But the accident, in October last year, has caused other problems. Richard - who has flown for 25 years, 15 with BA - was originally off work for a fortnight. But on his first return to the air, a scheduled flight to Edinburgh, he became ill again suffering from an irregular heartbeat.

He had to get his captain to take over before he was taken to hospital for tests.

Richard now has to wear a heart monitor and is currently on long-term sick leave. But he hopes to return to flying next month if he passes a stringent health check.

A BA colleague said last night: "He has always played to win, whether it's golf, clay-pigeon shooting or flying.

"He's very determined and he was determined to get that plane down safely.

"Now he's determined to return to flying as soon as he can.

"The hole in his chest looks as though someone has inserted a red-hot drawing pin into it and it is still surrounded by burn marks." A BA spokesman said: "We have never heard of a case before where a pilot or crew member has been struck by lightning while in a plane.

"Aircraft are occasionally hit by lightning but they are designed so that the electrical charge is safely dissipated. This was a one-in-a-million freak occurrence and fortunately it all turned out well in the end.

"We hope the pilot can resume flying as soon as possible."

The incident was probed by the Air Accident Investigation Branch who issued a report yesterday.

Richard, an ex-RAF pilot, added: "A lot of my colleagues can't believe how lucky I've been and are asking me what my Lottery numbers are.

"But I'm not that lucky ... and certainly wouldn't want to go through that again."

THE pilot of a plane which crashed while taking jockeys Frankie Dettori, 29, and Ray Cochrane, 42, to a race meeting was unfamiliar with the aircraft, an accident report has revealed.

Patrick Mackey - killed when the Piper Seneca plummeted to the ground at Newmarket, Suffolk, moments after take-off - normally flew a Cessna.

Mr Mackey, 52, from Devon, may have made an error of judgment, the Air Accident Investigation Board report decided.

-- Uncle Bob (unclb0b@aol.com), February 21, 2001

Answers

He was the co-pilot. The pilot is able to do the things the co-pilot usually does during landing, such as adjusting the flaps and lowering the landing gear. Evedently he was in control when this happened and handed control back to the Pilot after. Although it doesn't take much work to fly those things, they just input data into the computer and put it on autopilot and it pretty much flys itself.

-- Cherri (jessam5@home.com), February 21, 2001.

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