A NEIGHBOUR of the Worcester pilot who safely crash landed a BA jet has said how lucky the passengers were to have him at the controls.

The pilot, 43-year-old Peter Burkill, and his family live in Kings Stephens Mount in the city.

Their neighbour, Valerie Firminger, described the heroic Mr Burkill as a "really nice chap."

"He is a charismatic family man and all you would expect a pilot to be," she said.

"He is good-looking, so this event will be a good excuse to hug him when he gets back.

"The passengers were very lucky to have him as the pilot."

For 18 months Mr Burkill has lived at the house with his wife of nearly five years, Maria, and their three sons - two-year-old Troy, 18-month-old Logan and two-month-old Coby.

They have been renovating the property and plan to make Worcester their family home.

"When he is not working and flying he is doing things around the house," said Mrs Firminger. "He is quite a handy man.

"Maria is lovely, she is very capable and full of life. I think she was a bit wobbly when she heard what had happened, but she is used to coping with stress as she is a paramedic.

"I'm sure she is fine, though."

The family left their home in Worcester last night and Mrs Firminger did not know whether they had been able to see Mr Burkill yet.

He has been a pilot with the airline for almost 20 years and was the captain of the BA flight from Beijing, China, which was forced to make an emergency landing at Heathrow yesterday.