RIP Captain Eric Moody

[Lighthouse]

I was saddened to learn this morning of the passing of Eric Moody, a couple of days ago, at the age of 84. I never met him personally but he was a Saints fan and occasional poster on this site.

Eric was famously the British Airways captain who in 1982 safely landed a 747, after having ingested large amounts volcanic ash off the coast of Indonesia. If anyone wants to know more about the incident, including an interview with Eric, there’s an Air Crash Investigation episode based around the events of BAW009.

[trousers]

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress" - Captain Eric Moody, June 24, 1982. 

RIP Sir 😥

 

Edited 21 March, 2024 by trousers

[The Kraken]

Legend.

[do i not like fizzy pop]

That's really sad news. Hero and a Saint. RIP Eric, condolences to your family and friends.

Edited 21 March, 2024 by do i not like fizzy pop
Plural not singular, obviously

[LGTL]

A hero to so many that night. RIP 

[64saint]

Here's one of his great quotes.   

Reflecting on the incredible events Capt. Moody mused: “When I learnt to fly in the 50s, flying was dangerous and sex was safe. “When I retired in the 90s, that had gone the other way around!”

RIP Sir

[Challenger]

I suppose being a Saints fan helped him cope with the stress of that flight. RIP.

[Jimmy_D]

Very sad news  

How he dealt with losing all four engines of the plane he was flying will always be legendary.

RIP

[Whitey Grandad]

Legend. 
 

Rest in Peace, sir.

[VectisSaint]

Very sad, wonderful to read about his heroics, not something I was really aware of previously.

Is it too much to ask what name he posted on here as, maybe obvious to some.

[Lighthouse]

18 minutes ago, VectisSaint said:

Very sad, wonderful to read about his heroics, not something I was really aware of previously.

Is it too much to ask what name he posted on here as, maybe obvious to some.

West Stand. I’ve not seen him post for a while but I seem to remember him referencing some of his exploits on the Sala plane crash thread a few years ago.

[Jimmy_D]

This is all about the flight in question, including interviews with him.

[suewhistle]

18 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

West Stand. I’ve not seen him post for a while but I seem to remember him referencing some of his exploits on the Sala plane crash thread a few years ago.

Yes, the poster was obviously well informed on the subject, and now we know. I'll have a look at that video when I've a moment. I've been in a 747's cockpit on landing once (thanks Fitzhugh F of this parish!) and it is some beast.

[Behind Enemy Lines]

From a fellow Saints fan and aviator, it’s very sad news to hear. Have studied THAT flight in depth and only recently completed a recurrent Volcanic Ash course.  
 

My deepest condolence’s to all family and friends.
 

RIP. 

[Jimmy_D]

22 minutes ago, Behind Enemy Lines said:

From a fellow Saints fan and aviator, it’s very sad news to hear. Have studied THAT flight in depth and only recently completed a recurrent Volcanic Ash course.  
 

My deepest condolence’s to all family and friends.
 

RIP. 

No exaggeration to think he and the rest of the crew saved many more lives than just that flight that day.

The understanding of the danger that’s posed by volcanic ash that came from being able to forensically investigate the intact plane and engines completely changed how airlines deal with it.

[TheAlehouseBrawlers]

Sounds like he was real hero.

Condolences to his nearest and dearest - RIP

[Lighthouse]

1 hour ago, Jimmy_D said:

No exaggeration to think he and the rest of the crew saved many more lives than just that flight that day.

The understanding of the danger that’s posed by volcanic ash that came from being able to forensically investigate the intact plane and engines completely changed how airlines deal with it.

I don’t know how much of it was down to that flight (KLM had a very similar incident over Alaska not too long after) but volcanic activity is now routinely included in all preflight significant weather briefings.

 

[The Kraken]

4 hours ago, Lighthouse said:

West Stand. I’ve not seen him post for a while but I seem to remember him referencing some of his exploits on the Sala plane crash thread a few years ago.

He also posted on the Malaysia flight 370 thread offering various snippets of interesting info.  Quite hilariously, forum moron aintclever didn’t know who West Stand was and definitely didn’t like him “speculating” about events, and told him he didn’t know what he was talking about. Shortly afterwards it was pointed out who West Stand actually was, and that he had an infinitely better understanding of the scenario than basically anyone else in the thread (especially his accuser).

Quite fond memories actually of me asking West Stand “please tell me that was you?” when asking if he was indeed the hero of BA009 and him replying “yes it was!”. I genuinely felt a bit humbled to share this mental online space with an actual real life hero.

[derry]

Eric was a good friend of mine. We both had season tickets in Block 5 along with Weston Saint and his brother Mike, He was real Saints supporter and even after giving up his season ticket he continued to watch all the Saints games, Eric was very much a local, a Testwood lad who lived in Sylvia Crescent as a youngster. He went to Peter Symonds in Winchester, thence to Hamble and BOAC which along with BEA became British Airways. I knew Eric when we were both going to School but not that well. However years later when we were both involved in the pilots union BALPA we met up again. For me, Eric was a great bloke who said it how it was. I will miss him RIP Mate.

[LuckyNumber7]

Had the privilege of meeting him very briefly a few years ago. Knowing who he was and also that he posted on here I'd have loved to have had more of a chat with him but sadly didn't have time. He did seem like a lovely down to earth bloke.

Very sad news. RIP.

[SNSUN]

Oh wow, I'd heard of this incident (I find Plane incidents interesting to read about although I shouldn't as a nervous flyer myself) but I didn't know he was a Saints fan. RIP Eric.

[Saint Keef]

Thank you guys for your contributions to this link. I didn't know him and I didn't know about him so I've learned a lot tonight. I do recall that someone was posting here during the Sala incident, who clearly had aviation experience and knowledge. It's good to tie up the loose ends. Thanks again for the posts here and RIP to one of our own. 

[Fan The Flames]

The longest unplanned glide in aviation history.

Condolences to his family and friends.

[Yorkshire Saint]

4 hours ago, Saint Keef said:

Thank you guys for your contributions to this link. I didn't know him and I didn't know about him so I've learned a lot tonight. I do recall that someone was posting here during the Sala incident, who clearly had aviation experience and knowledge. It's good to tie up the loose ends. Thanks again for the posts here and RIP to one of our own. 

Agreed, thankyou for articulating my own thoughts perfectly too. 

[eurosaint]

RIP Eric, a great and brave man.

[gandalf]

22 hours ago, Jimmy_D said:

This is all about the flight in question, including interviews with him.

Thanks for posting this. Remarkable achievement.

[CylonKing]

Just watching the latest edition of QI and Capt. Moody and his story is on. He looks so healthy, such a shame. RIP.

[Eric The Red]

Yes just seen it as well. Captain Moody was brilliant and a lovely tribute on national television. At least they were able to record it before he passed away.

[CSA96]

Just seeing this thread now - RIP. Do remember his expertise on the Sala thread and, yes, him being questioned and told he shouldn't speculate on things he isn't an expert on. Classic internet.

This is a great read: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8622099.stm

Edited 5 April, 2024 by CSA96

[trousers]

The QI clip here: https://www.facebook.com/share/v/iSvUcaHkmrDMLWai/

[Huffton]

On 21/03/2024 at 20:38, derry said:

Eric was a good friend of mine. We both had season tickets in Block 5 along with Weston Saint and his brother Mike, He was real Saints supporter and even after giving up his season ticket he continued to watch all the Saints games, Eric was very much a local, a Testwood lad who lived in Sylvia Crescent as a youngster. He went to Peter Symonds in Winchester, thence to Hamble and BOAC which along with BEA became British Airways. I knew Eric when we were both going to School but not that well. However years later when we were both involved in the pilots union BALPA we met up again. For me, Eric was a great bloke who said it how it was. I will miss him RIP Mate.

As an aviation enthusiast myself I'm ashamed to say I didn't know he was a Saints fan, or that he grew up so local to me. Do you know if he stayed in the area or had moved away?

RIP Capt Moody, a true hero

[derry]

On 06/04/2024 at 08:54, Huffton said:

As an aviation enthusiast myself I'm ashamed to say I didn't know he was a Saints fan, or that he grew up so local to me. Do you know if he stayed in the area or had moved away?

RIP Capt Moody, a true hero

After joining BOAC/BA Eric lived for many years in Camberley however his mother lived in Testwood. After retirement in 1996 at some point he moved back to the area. He lived in Chilworth for a number of years and a couple of years ago he moved to Romsey. I knew Eric, but not that well when he was at Peter Symonds, I met up with him again at BALPA in the early eighties and have been in contact with him ever since. Although I've spoken to his wife a couple of times since his death I haven't yet heard the PM result. It was a terrible surprise, so unexpected.

[iansums]

Just read an obituary about Eric Moody who was the heroic pilot who famously said the words “This is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped.” There was an Air crash investigations episode about it. A true hero. I think he used to post on here.

[The Kraken]

5 minutes ago, iansums said:

Just read an obituary about Eric Moody who was the heroic pilot who famously said the words “This is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped.” There was an Air crash investigations episode about it. A true hero. I think he used to post on here.

It was a bit more than that, from memory: “This is your captain speaking, we have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We’re doing our damnedest to get them started again. I trust you’re not too distressed.”