Qantas Pilot Who Saved 469 Lives to Speak at AirVenture 2015

15th Jul 2015

Richard the Crespigny, captain of the Qantas Airline Airbus A380 who led a crew of nine and 460 passengers on board to a safe landing after one of the engines exploded, will speak at the opening of EAA AirVenture 2015 at the Theater in the Woods in Oshkosh, Wisconsin on 19th July about his experience.

Landing the Plane and Suffering from PTSD

Flight QF32 departed Singapore for Melbourne on 4th November, 2010, when the second engine of the plane exploded, causing various problems for de Crespigny and his crew to deal with. Fortunately, they were successful in brining all 460 passengers and themselves to ground safely.

The ordeal, however, wasn't the end of troubles for de Crespigny, as the pilot then continued to fight another enemy - PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). As a result of it, de Crespigny went on a self-imposed flying hiatus, lasting several months. His company, Qantas Airlines did clear him for piloting a week after the incident, but de Crespigny felt he just wasn't ready yet.

Well-Sought Out Speaker on Crisis Management and Author of "QF32" Autobiography

De Crespigny (57) wrote a book, entitled "QF32", an award-wining autobiography, in which he relates, in detail, the moment he and the others on board the Qantas A380 went through on that day.

He also speaks often on problem solving and crisis management and encourages others to look for help instead of pushing their problems down the carpet.

De Crespigny, who flies the Airbus A380 since 2008, will appear to speak at 7 PM during the "Evening with Champions", EAA AirVenture's pre-convention program. This will be his first time to speak in America.

Tye Mortensen will serve as the Master of Ceremonies for the event.

Before joining Qantas, de Crespigny was a pilot at the Royal Australian Air Force, where he served for 11 years.