Book review: QF32

IT could have been one of the world's worst air disasters: a Qantas A380 had left Singapore on its way to Sydney when a mid-air explosion shattered one of the aircraft's engines.

QF32

IT could have been one of the world's worst air disasters: a Qantas A380 had left Singapore on its way to Sydney when a mid-air explosion shattered one of the aircraft's engines.

Despite the chaos that could have ensued, captain Richard de Crespigny stayed calm and landed the plane, bringing all 469 passengers and crew safely to the tarmac.

That was November 4, 2010. Now, with the release of his book, the 55-year-old pilot reveals the motions he went through on that potentially fatal flight.

QF32 was just four minutes out of Singapore's Changi Airport when the explosions occurred on what was the largest and most advanced passenger plane ever built.

The hydraulics, electrics, brakes, fuel, flight controls and landing gear systems were all compromised. De Crespigny and the other pilots went through about 125 checklists, a task on a scale they don't train for in the simulator, and a public address was made to passengers every 10 minutes during the four-hour ordeal.

After disaster was averted, it was another four months before de Crespigny would be at the helm of a Qantas plane. In that time, he saw a psychologist, and replayed the incident repeatedly in his head.

"I thought, 'Could I have done something better? Should I have done something differently?' Today I don't think I'd change anything. I'm very pleased with that," he said.

VERDICT
Calm replay of crisis

QF32
Richard de Crespigny
Pan Macmillan, $34.99