Pilot to talk of jet engines drama

Tuesday 15th December 2009, 6:45AM GMT.

cosford_cold_war The pilot of a Boeing 747 airliner who famously informed his passengers “We have a small problem – all four engines have stopped” is talking about the incident in Shropshire this week.

A huge cloud of ash thrown up from a volcanic eruption clogged the engines, forcing them to cut out and turned the jumbo jet flown by Captain Eric Moody into a giant glider.

The engines were successfully restarted after the airliner had cleared the ash cloud following the longest glide in a non purpose-built aircraft up to that date.

The plane landed safely.

Captain Moody will be giving a lecture about the incident – which happened in 1982 near Java – to the Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Cosford branch of the Royal Aeronautical Society, whose monthly meeting is at the National Cold War Exhibition at the RAF Museum, Cosford, on Thursday. It is titled “All Four Engines Have Failed.”

After the drama Captain Moody was awarded the Queen’s Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air in the 1983 Queen’s birthday honours list. He was also named Man of the Year for his efforts in 1982, receiving a gold Medal from the British Airlines Pilots’ Association.

He retired in 1996 having flown a total of 17,000 hours in his career.

View more: Raf Cosford news.