*Dangers of flying into Volcanic Ash*

*Dangers of flying into Volcanic Ash* On the night of June 24, 1982, British Airways Flight 9 floated high above the Indian Ocean. A Boeing 747 carrying 263 passengers, gliding peacefully through clear skies. The world below was silent and dark, and inside the cabin, most people were asleep. In the cockpit, Captain Eric Moody and his crew enjoyed a calm, uneventful flight. Then something strange began to happen. A soft blue glow appeared on the edges of the cockpit windows. At first it looked like harmless static, almost beautiful. St Elmos fire, they thought. But then the glow grew brighter, crawling across the glass like electric fingers. Out on the wings, shimmering sparks trailed behind the aircraft as if the giant jet had dipped its wings in fire. The crew exchanged uneasy glances. They had thousands of hours of flying experience. They had seen storms, turbulence, and unusual weather. But nothing like this. Then the first engine failed. Engine four wound down with a low, sickening sound. Before they could react, engine two followed. Then engine one. Then engine three. In less than ninety seconds, every engine on the 747 shut down. The aircraft became a silent glider, falling through the night from thirty seven thousand feet. In the cabin, passengers watched sparks dance outside the windows. Oxygen masks dropped. Smoke filled the aisles. The calm night had turned into a nightmare. Some people cried. Some prayed. Some wrote final messages to their loved ones. Then the intercom crackled. Captain Moody spoke with the calmness of someone announcing turbulence. “Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our best to get them going again. I trust you are not in too much distress.” A small problem. All four engines gone. Seven miles above the ocean. It was more than calmness. It was quiet, steady leadership when panic could have taken over. Meanwhile, in the cockpit, chaos and determination mixed together. The co pilot’s oxygen mask broke, leaving him gasping for air. Moody descended quickly, trading altitude for breathable air to save his colleague. The flight engineer scrambled through engine restart procedures, while the first officer tried to coordinate with Jakarta control. They attempted to restart the engines again and again. Nothing happened. The aircraft continued to fall. Fifteen thousand feet. Fourteen. Thirteen. Somewhere below lay the mountains of Java, invisible in the darkness. Just when hope felt thin, engine four coughed. Then roared back to life. Moments later engine three restarted. Then engine one. Then engine two. After thirteen minutes of silence, every engine was alive again. Relief filled the cockpit, but the danger was far from over. When the crew looked through the windscreen, they saw nothing. The glass had been sandblasted to a cloudy white. They were almost flying blind. They used side windows for glimpses, trusted their instruments, and relied on the calm voices from Jakarta approach control to guide them. And somehow, unbelievably, Captain Moody brought the wounded aircraft down safely at Halim Perdanakusuma Airport. Not a single life was lost. All 263 passengers and crew walked away. Only after landing did they learn the truth. They had flown straight into a massive volcanic ash cloud from Mount Galunggung. The ash was not visible on radar. At night it blended into the sky. When the engines inhaled it, the tiny particles melted, stuck to the hot engine parts like molten glass, and choked the engines. When the aircraft descended into cooler air, the melted ash hardened and broke off, allowing the engines to breathe again. It was luck. But it was also skill. The skill kept them alive long enough for the luck to matter. Flight 9 changed aviation forever. From that night onward, the aviation world created real time volcanic ash warnings, new air routes, global monitoring systems, and new training for ash encounters. What happened to Moody and his crew became a lesson for every pilot who would ever fly through the night sky. Captain Eric Moody continued flying for British Airways for many years. He is remembered for his steady hands, his calm voice, and that famous line that has been quoted around the world. “We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped.” It was the understatement of a lifetime. And it saved hundreds of lives. The story of Flight 9 teaches something deeper. The impossible can happen. Calmness saves lives. Persistence matters. If the crew had given up after their fourteenth restart attempt, the aircraft would never have made it. But they tried again. And on that fifteenth try, the engines came back. British Airways Flight 9 became the night the sky went dark but human courage shone brighter than anything outside the aircraft windows. It is a reminder for all of us that even when every engine in life seems to fail, you keep trying. You stay calm. You do not quit. Because sometimes, the final attempt is the one that brings you safely home. Credit: WW&F