Hero pilot with ‘crash’ CV has to sign on dole

The pilot who saved 152 lives by landing a stricken jet at Heathrow has signed on the dole after failing to get a job — because he has a crash on his CV.

Captain Peter Burkill was commended last year when his actions averted disaster after a Boeing 777's engines failed two miles short of the runway.

But Mr Burkill, 44, who took voluntary redundancy last month after 20 years with British Airways, has been turned down for one pilot's job and heard nothing back from dozens of other airlines.

Korean Air turned him down because his CV showed he was a pilot in charge of a plane which had "crashed".

His wife, Maria, 34, said: "If only they would see how fantastic Pete is and how experienced he is, but they refuse to see past the fact that his plane did crash land. They don't want to know the reasons behind it."