Qantas QF32 hero Richard de Crespigny runs out of time

The mothballing of Qantas A380s has cut short the career of one of the airline’s heroes, Captain Richard de Crespigny.

Qantas pilot Richard de Crespigny is now faced with the reality of reaching retirement age before A380s return to service. Picture: John Feder

As the captain of Qantas flight QF32, Richard de Crespigny was responsible for saving hundreds of lives when an engine exploded shortly after take-off, causing ­extensive damage to the A380.

Ten years on from those ­heroics, Captain de Crespigny, 63, like many of his peers, is being forced into early retirement by the COVID crisis, with ­Qantas’s fleet of A380s now ­mothballed in California until at least 2023. International pilots ­retire at 65.

It is an inglorious end to a stellar career, with the cruel turn of events of 2020 not lost on the 63-year-old pilot.

“I am disappointed that my ­career did not finish in the manner I had planned,” he said.

“But I am just one of thousands of pilots, mechanics, support staff, along with countless second victims, who are suffering now. I think more than 90 per cent of Australian transport pilots are currently stood down without an airline income.”

Captain de Crespigny acknowledged the “platform” QF32 provided for him, resulting in a best-selling book about the events of November 4, 2010.

Minutes after take-off from Singapore, an explosion in engine 2 fired shrapnel through the wing and fuselage, damaging or ­destroying vital flight systems and back-ups. It was a situation no one on the flight deck had ever envisioned but they calmly went through checklist after checklist, carefully troubleshooting until it was agreed the superjumbo was able to land.

With one engine disabled, three more degraded and the ­hydraulics, electrics, brakes, landing gear and flight controls compromised, QF32 touched down at Changi, bursting four tyres in the process.

Two hours later, with engine 1 unable to be shut down, all 469 people on board disembarked. No one was injured.

While many might prefer to forget such a traumatic experience, Captain de Crespigny said his most cherished memories were “inevitably of the challenges when things went wrong”.

“My best memories are shared experiences in novel places and situations where people performed at their best in challenging situations,” he said.

“I have experienced five engine failures during my (35-year) Qantas career. Each one was unique, challenging, with different successful outcomes. I’ve learned from them all.”

While he may have benefited from leading the crew of QF32, Captain de Crespigny said the A380 brand had suffered.

Airbus made its last superjumbo in September after accepting that demand for 600-seat aircraft no longer existed, even beforeCOVID hit.

“The A380’s demise is sad, early, but not unexpected,” he said.

“Technical product life cycles are progressively getting shorter, and I forecast the A380s ultimate demise in my second bookFLY!.”

Despite the current grounding of all but a handful of A380s worldwide, Captain de Crespigny remained confident they wouldfly again, as demand for travel returned.

But he regretted that he would not be at the controls of the four-engine aircraft.

“I had not planned an early (COVID) retirement. I had hoped to continue flying for many years,” he said.

“I have always wanted to fly after the biggest-best-most high tech aircraft. That was the F-111 in the Royal Australian AirForce and the B747, then A380 in Qantas.”

With his wings now clipped, Captain de Crespigny planned to write more books and work with organisations that would benefitfrom his experience and skills.

“Only after the day I die will I retire and play golf,” he added.