Qantas A380 pilot Richard Champion de Crespigny's wife tells how he handled Singapore drama

THE wife of the pilot who safely landed the damaged Qantas A380 in Singapore yesterday has spoken of her husband's “incredible skill”.

Qantas pilot Richard de Crespigny pictured after he guided his A380 to an emergency landing in Singapore yesterday.

THE wife of the pilot who safely landed the damaged Qantas A380 in Singapore yesterday has spoken of her husband's "incredible skill".

Richard Champion de Crespigny, who has 35 years' flying experience, has been universally praised by passengers for the way he handled the critical incident, and the manner in which he addressed the 466 people on board after the mid-air explosion.

When the engine blew, Mr de Crespigny said over the plane's intercom: “I do apologise. I'm sure you are aware we have a technical issue with our No. 2 engine ... I'm sure you are aware we are not proceeding to Sydney at this stage. The aircraft is flying safely at this stage. Thank you for your patience.”

Today his wife Coral Champion de Crespigny said she was not at all surprised that her husband kept so cool in the crisis.

“That's just the way Richard is. He is calm by nature. But he is a very special man, an intelligent man,” Mrs Champion de Crespigny told The Australian.

“He's passionate about his job, and he's very competent.

“I was not at all surprised to hear how calm he was when talking to the passengers. I'm sure he would have been thinking, `what words would I like to hear from the captain if I was a passenger'.”

Mrs Champion de Crespigny said she spoke to her husband as soon as he got back to his Singapore hotel last night, and he gave no indication that the experience had rattled him.

“He just said that there had been an explosion, and that he and the crew had done what they had done thousands of times before in the simulator.

“All I can say is that the passengers are very lucky that Richard was their pilot yesterday.”