WEEKS after suicide hijackers seized control of planes and flew hundreds of people to their deaths over the USA, a pilot from Mid Cheshire has been honoured for saving the lives of almost 400 passengers and crew after a crazed mam burst into the cockpit and sent a jumbo jet plunging into a nosedive in the skies over Kenya.
Phil Watson fought off the intruder and seized the controls to bring the plane back on course.
The Boeing 747 was cruising at an altitude of 35,000 feet en route from Gatwick to Nairobi when a 25-year-old Kenyan man burst into the cockpit in an apparent suicide bid.
He knocked off the autopilot, sending the aircraft plunging 10,000ft.
Had it not been for the brave co-pilot, the 379 passengers and 19 crew members would have perished within seconds as the plane rolled on to its back and began to fall from the sky.
Among the terrified passengers on board were Lady Annabel Goldsmith, rock star Bryan Ferry and his wife and Jemima Khan, wife of Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan.
The incident made headlines across the world on December 29 and lead to calls for the 38-year-old hero from Northwich to be publicly honoured for his bravery.
And on Wednesday, that is exactly what happened when he and the captain of the airplane, Bill Hagan, received an award from the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators.
They were presented with the Hugh Gordon-Burge Memorial Award by Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter Squire, Chief of Air Staff with the Royal Air Force.
The citation which accompanied the award praised Mr Watson's courage, bravery and flying skills which saved the plane and passengers.
The modest father of two, who still flies jumbos out of Heathrow and Gatwick, said he felt humbled by the award.
He said: 'I am very honoured to have been given this award and humbled in many respects.
'There were other people given awards that evening and when I heard all their stories of people being rescued from helicopters by pilots who put their own lives at risk I felt honoured to be in such good company.
'My own experience, and watching the terrible events of September 11 unfold on television, has made me more aware of the different world we live in and its dangers.'
