Peter Burkill was the pilot on flight 38 from Hong Kong and ultimately responsible for the lives of its 152 passengers. Seconds before landing, two of the plane’s engines failed. With the plane losing height fast, Burkill let his copilot John Coward take the controls while he himself adjusted the wing flaps to help the plane reach the runway. His risky decision worked. The plane missed some houses and landed heavily on the grass just short of the runway. After skidding for a few hundred feet, it miraculously came to a stop without turning over. The passengers escaped without serious injury. As far as Burkill was concered, he had done what any captain would have done. The rest was luck.