http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/pil ... nt-n424416
Pilot Who Saved Burning British Airways Flight in Las Vegas: 'I'm Finished Flying'
The pilot credited with saving the lives of dozens of passengers on a burning British Airways plane said it was the first time in 42 years of flying that he'd ever faced a life-threatening emergency — and it happened on one of his last runs before retirement.
"It's safe to say I'm finished flying," Chris Henkey told NBC News Wednesday by phone from a hotel in Las Vegas, where he was waiting to brief investigators.
Henkey, 63, has been praised for his calm under pressure and has become an instant celebrity in his native England. Holed up in his hotel, he acknowledged having a sense of the acclaim he's drawn.
He was cheered by his passengers after they made it back to the terminal, according to first-hand account in the Guardian newspaper.
But Henkey insisted that he wasn't the only one who helped save the 159 passengers aboard Flight 2276.
"It's not just me," Henkey said. "It's the whole crew, really."
Henkey would not discuss details of the incident — he's saving that for British and American investigators.
But he said that in 42 years of flying, he's never experienced such an emergency.
"Not at all," he said. "It's ironic, really. Nothing like it at all."
Flight 2276 was to be Henkey's second-to-last flight before he retired. His final run was to take him to Barbados, one of his favorite places in the world, where he planned to join his daughter on vacation.
But that last flight probably won't happen, he said. "It's looking unlikely for the moment."