BA hero pilot plans to quit in disgust at bosses' unfair treatment

Captain Peter Burkill has reportedly been grounded since the incident and has had his salary cut.

The hero pilot, 43, feels "betrayed" by the airline, claiming it has not been supportive enough since the Boeing 777 lost power on January 17th.

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He reportedly told friends: "I've had enough. They told me I was a hero - but they've treated me like a fool.

"They said they would be there for me after the crash but I feel badly let down"

After taking time off with post traumatic-stress, the married father-of-five's salary was halved from £120,000 through lost bonuses.

His pay was eventually raised to £90,000 but his bonus is still being withheld as BA claim he cannot fly again until an inquiry into the crash is complete - despite Second Officer Coward and the plane's third pilot returning to work as normal.

A BA source told the Sunday Mirror: "It beggars belief. They still won't pay him what he was earning when he was flying but its their fault he can't fly because their report is still not finished.

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"They even told him off when they found out he'd sent a couple of the flight's passengers thank-you cards for gifts they'd sent for saving their lives.

"Their handling of the whole thing has been woeful."

The captain has only flown once and was told by cabin crew that his actions during the January flight had sparked criticism by a trainer on a course they had attended.

They were told Burkill "froze" when the aircraft lost power.

But air investigators claimed he made a crucial wing adjustment that enabled the plane to clear the airport fence- saving the lives of everyone on board.

The BA source said: "Pete called his manager and demanded that everyone be told exactly what happend in the cockpit that day.

"He was told it would all be in the internal report and that he should stay home until it was published.

"He's asked every week when it will be completed and keeps being told that it's imminent.

"It should have been finished weeks aho. It's a classic BA cock-up and their hero pilot is suffering.

"He's at home getting more and more depressed. He hasn't spoken to anyone at BA for a month and it seems they consider that to be an acceptable situation."

Burkill has since considered quitting and has reportedly written to Richard Branson for a job at Virgin Atlantic.

A friend of Burkill's wife Maria said: "He's told me he would leave tomorrow if he had a job to go to.

"He's written to Richard Branson explaining everything in the hope he might be offered a job at Virgin.

"He and Maria have also been looking at houses in Dubai and I think Pete might approach the Emirates airline for a job."

"If he leaves he knows BA are going to look stupid."

Maria Burkill said: "Pete has been treated appallingly. I think he's a hero and I think every one of those 151 other people on board his plane that day would say the same."

Last night BA said: "Captain Burkill is a highly valued member of staff and will continue to receive the full support of British Airways. He has not been grounded by the company or encouraged to stay at home. On the contrary the company has publically supported the crew of BA38.

"Senior flight crew management and representatives from other areas of the airline have been in regular contact with Captain Burkill. This will continue to be the case."