Jet crash at Heathrow causes cancellations and delays

As the wrecked Boeing remained in its final position across the end of a runway, passengers at the airport faced a long wait.

BA said it was planning to operate all its long-haul departures from Heathrow today and up to 90% of its short-haul departures.

The airline advised passengers to check the BA website before leaving home and warned that a number of incoming flights at Heathrow would be cancelled.

By shortly after 9am, more than 50 flights - mainly short-haul ones - had been cancelled.

Airport operator BAA said: "We are doing everything possible to minimise disruption to our passengers and additional staff are on hand at the terminals to assist passengers.

"At this stage, we are working hard to restore near-normal operations. However, it is extremely important that passengers due to fly from Heathrow today contact their airline regarding the status of their flight."

By the end of tomorrow, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) will give the first indication of what might have happened in the last few moments before the Boeing 777 arrived at the west London airport.

AAIB chief inspector David King yesterday promised an initial report into the accident "within 48 hours" and a preliminary report within 30 days.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown was among those who praised BA's captain Peter Burkill, 43, whose actions limited casualties among the 136 passengers to just 18 minor injuries despite extensive damage to the plane, which had flown in from Beijing.

The Boeing just cleared a fence by a busy perimeter road before skidding across the grass short of the runway and pulling up around 1,000 metres from a plane about to take Mr Brown on an official visit to Beijing.

Arriving later on a delayed flight in the Chinese capital, Mr Brown said: "I think it's right to pay tribute to the calmness and professionalism of the British Airways staff and the captain and what he achieved in landing the aircraft.

"The speed of the evacuation we saw at first hand, and the total professionalism and dedication of the staff. It's at times like these you remember you are in the hands of staff who do a remarkable job.

"When we arrived at the airport, we knew there was an incident taking place and at the same time we saw the evacuation taking place very quickly indeed. I'm very pleased to hear people are safe."

Neither the AAIB nor BA are commenting on what might have caused the accident.

Various theories have been put forward, including the possibility that a flock of birds could have been sucked into the engines.

A dramatic loss of power just as the aircraft was about to land has also been put forward as a reason why a modern plane flown by a top international airline should crash-land at a well-equipped international airport.

One airport worker said Captain Burkill told him the Boeing 777 - one of 43 in the BA fleet - lost all power as he came in to land.

The airport worker went on: "He just glided it in and lifted the nose up and managed to get it down. He lost power very close to coming in to land. He said he had no warning - it just went.

"It's a miracle. The man deserves a medal as big as a frying pan. He has done a fantastic job."

While the basic facts and possible causes of the incident should be known within 30 days, it could be many months before the AAIB is in a position to publish its full report.

But the AAIB can make safety recommendations as soon as they think fit.

A BA spokeswoman said: "Captain Burkill is resting today. He has been through an ordeal."

She added that it was hoped that the stricken plane might be moved later today.