The captain said all four engines had stopped...we thought it was the end: Air stewardess on board BA flight tells how she was certain she was going to die when a plane risked crashing into Indian Ocean - but reveals the 'very British' way the crew reacted

With a dose of understatement that was typical of his dry sense of humour, Captain Eric Moody told his passengers and crew words that surely signalled their doom.

Speaking after his plane - British Airways Flight 009 - had flown through a cloud volcanic ash, Captain Moody said: 'Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. 

'We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them under control. I trust you are not in too much distress.'

That message was, according to former air stewardess Claire O'Donnell, 'the coolest announcement that has ever been made.'

The 67-year-old, who now runs an Airbnb at her home near Basingstoke, told MailOnline how, in a way that was 'very British', all the crew on that flight in June 1982 were 'marvellous' despite the apparent certainty that they were going to die.    

'It was terrifying because it was the end. It was so serious that I just thought that it was curtains. Over,' she said.

But in large part because of the skill of Captain Moody, Claire and everyone else on board - all 263 of them - lived to tell the tale.

Now, Claire, whose maiden name was Wickett, feels nothing but gratitude for Captain Moody, who died last month aged 84. 

Former British Airways stewardess Claire O'Donnell (right) with colleague Lorraine Stewart standing in front of one of the engines of Flight 009 shortly after the brush with death. The plane lost all four engines after flying through a cloud of volcanic ash in 1982

Captain Eric Moody calmly told passengers and crew: 'We have a small problem. All four engines have stopped'. Above: Claire and Captain Moody with the rest of the flight crew in front of their damaged plane

'When I heard about Eric, I did stop, I did think and I did say thank you. Because without him we wouldn't be here,' she said.

Flight 009 had initially taken off from London Heathrow and was ultimately bound for Auckland in New Zealand, with stops in India, Malaysia and Australia. 

In what became known as the 'Jakarta Incident', the plane appeared doomed when it flew through a cloud of volcanic ash after passing over the Indonesian city at 36,000feet.

That day, there had been eruption of the Mount Galunggung volcano south-east of Jakarta, and Flight 009 was its seemingly helpless victim. 

Ash had sandblasted the aircraft and choked its engines.  

Acrid smoke began filling the cabin as huge flames burst from plane's engines. Captain Moody, who had moved from his seat to stretch his legs, returned to the flight deck.

The highly-skilled airman, who was one of the first pilots ever trained on the 747, began to shut down one malfunctioning engine. Then another failed. 

Then flight engineer Barry Townley-Freeman revealed the unthinkable: all four engines had failed.

The 67-year-old, who now runs an airbnb at her home near Basingstoke, told MailOnline how, in a way that was 'very British', all the crew were 'marvellous' despite the apparent certainty that they were going to die. Right: Claire with First Officer Roger Greaves from Flight 009

Captain Moody received the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air. Above: The pilot receiving the Hugh Gordon Burge Memorial Award during the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators awards in 1982

Flight 009 was now a glider and was slowly falling from the sky. The crew realised they had less than half an hour before the plane hit the sea.

'We went from being a perfectly normal flight, we were collecting the meal trays, everyone was settling down, dim lighting, and then all of a sudden it was "oh my god what is happening", and the plane was going down,' Claire said.

The former stewardess, who was then unmarried, added: 'It was so serious you didn't need to know that something was really, really wrong.   

'One thing happened after another very quickly. The masks dropped down, the cabin filled with smoke. Everyone was on oxygen. 

'You just go into an emergency drill, put on your oxygen, go around reassuring passengers. I had a baby in my section. We made sure they had masks on.

'Everyone was very good. The passengers were really sensible. We had some New Zealanders and Australians. They were very level.'

She added: 'On the whole people were brilliant but they were terrified. I seriously thought this is the end.

'Honestly, you just replay how you feel in your mind. "I'm 25, I've had a pretty good life, but it is coming to an end."

'I moved three really nice men to my emergency exit.

He was responsible for famously saving the lives of 263 people when in June 1982 all four engines of a Boeing 747 he was piloting stopped mid-air when it flew through an ash plume over Jakata

Captain Eric Moody died peacefully in his sleep, aged 84, at his home in the UK this week

A photo  of terrified passengers on the plane with oxygen masks held to their mouths

'I thought obviously we are going down, either we are going to crash down or we are going to ditch and you need all the help you can get at the emergency doors. 

'So that seemed a logical thing to do. They were brilliant. Very cool.'

Claire went about trying to reassure as many passengers as she could. 

Only one, an American in Club class, was 'really out of order' by demanding to see the Captain, she said. 

'It wasn't a case of running around like headless chickens. It was stay in your area. 

'Just look after people and reassure. I remember being really calm and walking down the aisles and looking at everyone, nodding at them. 

'My knees were knocking but it didn't show. That is what I remember more than anything, is really tying to keep a cool head. But my knees were wobbling.'

The chief steward, Graham Skinner, was communicating with passengers using a megaphone, trying to keep them calm despite knowing in his gut that hope was lost. 

'I think what was frightening, every time they tried to start the engines, they flared. It was like a huge burst of flames,' Claire added.

Passenger Betty Tootell, who was on the flight with her 80-year-old mother Phyl and went on to marry the man sitting in front of her, had the same memory.

Claire and Captain Moody at a party put on my Lloyd's of London after their ordeal

Writing in her 2009 book about the experience, she said: 'There were huge flames coming out of all four engines. You were plagued by questions: Are we going to burn to death? 

'Are we going to choke to death on the smoke? What's causing it? What are they going to do about it?'

Captain Moody decided to turn the crippled aircraft back towards the closest airport, just outside Jakarta.

But he knew that without at least one functioning engine, they would not make it. 

And because some oxygen masks had not worked due to the loss of cabin pressure, the pilot took drastic action.

He forced his plane into a nosedive, making it drop 6,000feet in one minute so it could reach an altitude where there was enough oxygen in the outside atmosphere to fill the cabin.

Unexpectedly, this action almost certainly saved the lives of everyone on the plane.

Suddenly, the fourth engine roared back into life. After the plane fell past 13,000 feet, another engine started working again, followed by the other two. 

Although the crew were euphoric, one of the engines then failed again, making their worries return.

With three engines still working, the plane closed in on the airport.

How the Daily Mail reported Captain Moody's heroics in 1982

But the plane's windshield glass had been damaged by the ash cloud and landing equipment on the ground that should have helped them was not working.

Captain Moody needed all his skill - and the help of First Officer Roger Greaves and the engineer - to land the aircraft safely.

The passengers, saved from apparent certain death, cheered and clapped.  

'The relief was afterwards when we landed. That was the moment the passengers couldn't believe it. It was lovely to see them all get off. Shaken but very elated,' Claire said.

'We as crew were exhausted but couldn't believe our luck that we landed. 

'I remember the next day, we went back to the airfield to look at the plane. We just couldn't believe the damage that was done to it. 

'The paintwork was stripped off. The windows were opaque.'

Despite the stress of the ordeal, Claire - who began working for BA on her 21st birthday in 1978 - was back in the air within a week. 

On her return flight, she said the pilot of the plane had an 'error of judgement' and the aircraft was left 'badly damaged' on the tarmac in Nairobi.

'I said you know what, this is ridiculous. I said to BA I quite fancy going home for a couple of weeks. I remember them letting me,' she said. 

Despite the second near miss, Claire opted to continue her career as a stewardess for another decade. 

She did however stop the flying lessons she had been having in a light aircraft. 

Claire has two grown-up children and lives with her husband David (both pictured)

'I was like "no, no I do not need to learn to fly". You realise that all their training, it may be mundane, but when it goes wrong, that's when you need the good ones.

'In our case, Eric Moody and the team were brilliant. That's when they stack up and are amazing.'

Despite the fact that Claire lived only a few miles away from Captain Moody in his later life, she found out about his death via a friend living in Australia.  

'Eric was literally seven miles up the road from me and I didn't know he had died,' the mother-of-two said. 

'It gave me pause for thought. I did sit quietly and just think of him and be grateful. Because he gave me extra time that I might not have had.'

Captain Moody told The Times in 2010 that finding a way to rescue Flight 009 was 'a bit like negotiating one's way up a badger's a**e.'

For his heroism, the pilot received the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air.

Claire, who gave up her role with BA in the early 1990s when her daughter was born, added: 'I had cancer last year. When I was diagnosed, one of the first things I thought was "I could so easily have gone at 25 and I've had this extra 40 years. I can't complain. I am still here."