Experts help move crash jet

Specialist engineers from Stafford played a major role in inching the wreckage of the British Airways plane to safety at Heathrow Airport.

Abnormal Load Engineering (ALE), the worldwide heavy transportation and lifting specialist which employs around 110 people at its headquarters in New Road, Hixon, moved BA038 from the southern runway to an engineering base.

The BA Aircraft Recovery Team placed the 209ft, 200-tonne aircraft on to electronically controlled platforms supplied by ALE and positioned under the belly of the aircraft.

The specialist equipment arrived from ALE's Hixon base so the weekend operation could go ahead, with the airline's expert team of 20 engineers having worked around the clock since last Thursday's crash to stabilise and steady the stricken plane.

Hydraulic jacks and airbags were used to position eight canvas straps under the belly of the hull.

These were attached to two specialist cranes each capable of lifting 150 tonnes. Once in position the aircraft was jacked up inch by inch until it was the right height for the three platforms to be positioned – each of them capable of holding 80 tonnes.

Dave Purslow, general manager UK Operations for ALE, said they had supplied three sets of self-propelled trailers, using one under each engine and one under the rear fuselage.

"We operated the trailers at crawl speed to move the plane around 500 metres. We had never done a recovery like this, but we did move one of the Concorde's from Heathrow up to Scotland," he said.