Boeing flown by 'top drawer' British pilot

A British pilot, Captain Paul Phillips, was flying the freight plane that collided with a Russian passenger jet over southern Germany on Monday night.

A highly rated and experienced pilot, Captain Phillips was flying the Boeing 757 from Bahrain via Bergamo, Italy, to Brussels with his Canadian co-pilot, First Flight Officer Brant Campioni, when it crashed into the Russian aircraft at 36,000ft.

The two men were alone in the plane, which belonged to the courier company DHL, and both were killed.

Formerly from Liverpool, Capt Phillips, 47, was living with his wife and three young children – a boy and two girls – in Bahrain.

He joined DHL Worldwide Express in April, 1989, and had more than 10,000 hours' flying experience, making him one of the company's most senior pilots.

One industry source described him as "top drawer". Chris McCafferty, a DHL spokesman, said the two pilots had flown together regularly on this route, and described them as "a strong team". He said: "Capt Phillips was exemplary. His loss will be sorely felt."

A DHL spokesman said: "At the very last moment, when alerted by his aircraft's collision-avoidance system, Capt Phillips tried to take corrective action. Tragically, it was too late."

Mr Campioni, who joined DHL in 1999, had 5,000 hours of flying experience. He was married with no children.

Bashkirian Airlines said the chief pilot on the Russian Tupolev 154, Alexander Gross, 52, had 12,000 hours of flight time and the navigator, Sergei Kharlov, 50, had 13,000 hours. Both had flown Unesco humanitarian aid flights to Brazil and Pakistan.