Pilots and air crews who have shown courage, achievement and the highest standards of airmanship have been recognised by Honourable Company of Air Pilots.
Among the recipients were the crew of an RAF Chinook helicopter, who extracted Army soldiers under heavy and sustained gunfire in Afghanistan, and the BBC ‘Helicopter Heroes’ journalists, who are also full-time aircrew trained to assist with navigating and operating the Yorkshire Air Ambulance.
The awards, which are regarded among the world’s premier aviation accolades, were presented at a ceremonial dinner at the City of London’s Guildhall on 23 October. The Air Pilots awards are particularly noteworthy because the recipients are selected by their fellow pilots.
Other recipients included the Captain and First Officer of an Airbus A330 airliner, who safely landed in Hong Kong after contaminated fuel initially caused both engines to fail, then left one engine jammed on nearly full throttle.
The awards also recognised the endeavours of captain and crew of an RAF C-17 Globemaster aircraft, who successfully evacuated 275 civilians from Juba in war-torn South Sudan. In addition, a crew from ‘Rescue 193’, the Sea King helicopters of 771 Naval Air Squadron at RNAS Culdrose, has been awarded The Prince Philip Helicopter Rescue Award for the second time in three years.
Among further recipients are BAE Systems’ Combat Aircraft Chief Test Pilot Mark Bowman; air display pilot John Beattie MBE; The Blades, Britain’s only full-time civilian formation aerobatic team and Hybrid Air Vehicles for their innovative airship design.
