Captain perfect: Charming pilot saved 151 lives by keeping cool

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Friends told today how Captain Peter Burkill is known as "Peter the Perfect Pilot".

The 44-year-old father-of-five was hailed a hero by the Prime Minister and British Airways' chief executive for averting a disaster when his Boeing 777 lost power on its descent to the airport yesterday.

He told the Evening Standard today: "I'm fine." After crash-landing the plane on grass just inside the airport's perimeter fence, he was questioned for five hours over what had happened in the final minutes of Flight BA083 from Beijing.

The pilot - who has 20 years' experience - and his crew then went for a curry in a bid "to return to normality". A relative said of him today: "He is very handsome and very charming. We always used to call him 'Peter the Perfect Pilot'."

Today a major investigation was under way to find out how the plane - one of the safest in aviation history - lost power on its final approach.

The Standard has learned that Boeing 777s have been involved in at least 12 serious incidents when electrical systems overheated, causing "major damage" to power panels on at least four occasions.