The pilot of a British Airways airplane that suffered a catastrophic engine failure in Las Vegas Tuesday was heralded as a hero, and he now claims the incident was the final straw that will force him to retire. Henkey claims that this incident was the first life-threatening emergency he faced during his 42-year career, and he told NBCNews.com that “I am finished flying”, instead focusing now on enjoying his retirement, Travel Pulse reported. This was supposed to be his second-to-last flight, but he will not be making a curtain call. Witnesses reported that Henkey acted quickly and calmly under pressure, bringing British Airways Flight 2276 to an emergency stop just before takeoff when he realized one of the plane’s engines had caught fire. Henkey immediately called in an emergency to the air traffic control tower and firefighters were on the scene a short time later. There were only 27 minor injuries to the 159 passengers and 13 crew members on board at the time, and the pilot is credited with their survival.
