Mr Chris Henkey, the pilot of the British plane that caught fire before takeoff, followed the correct procedures to help 171 other people have a chance to survive.

Mr. Chris Henkey. Photo: Facebook

Mr Henkey is said to have immediately made a distress call, which was recorded on the flight recorder. After the plane stopped, he ordered the evacuation of the 157 passengers and 13 crew members.

The Guardian newspaper quoted experts as saying that Mr. Heny, 63, and two senior crew members, yesterday took steps to respond according to regulations "as per the manual" after the Boeing 777-200's engine suffered severe damage.

Jacob Steinberg, a Guardian reporter who was on the plane, said “the blood drained from Henkey’s face” when he later told passengers that a “severe” engine failure had caused the incident. Passengers gave the “hero” a round of applause.

Images on social media showed flames engulfing the fuselage of the plane and a large column of smoke billowing into the sky.

Henkey graduated from the College of Air Training, which was formerly the British training ground for pilots.

According to VNE