I have just been reading the reports of the Trident Crash at Staines.

I flew as a Stewardess on Papa India many times, and also with Captain Key.

There were many crew members with BEA so it was hard to remember them individually, because we generally flew with different people every day.

However, Captain Key was very memorable, as he was not a very pleasant or friendly captain to fly with, he was always the same. Most second officers are very young and probably did not have enough experience of courage to contradict someone like Captain Key, in fact I don't know anyone who contradicted him.

I had the impression he was not a very happy person. Certainly he was not a Captain one would choose to fly with. In fact I cannot think of a more unpleasant person any crew member would wish to fly with. I think it was probably the norm for him to be unfriendly with his own cockpit crew, as well as the cabin crew.

If he did have a medical problem which caused him psychological problems, I would think it probably had it for a long time, or else he had severe problems somewhere else in his life. Most airline crew are very laid back and friendly.

Hope this is of interest to you. [Editor's note: It is. Thank you.]

--Linda Coyle (BEA 1966 - 1972)