Donald at the flight controls

Co-pilot Donald in the simulator

The dramatic scenes at Heathrow on Thursday lunchtime, shown around the world, when a British Airways Boeing 777 crash-landed with miraculously only minor injuries sustained among the 140 passengers and crew, may well have had an impact on top English golfer Luke Donald.

The previous day his preparations for this week's Abu Dhabi Golf Championships - he's currently level par in 41st spot after two rounds - were given a helping hand by leading sponsor Etihad Airways.

Under the guidance of Captain Nazmi Zainuddin and in a similar cockpit to the stricken Boeing, Donald 'piloted' an Airbus A330 simulator around the city and over the championship course, before finally descending into Abu Dhabi airport and landing safely.

Donald in Abu Dhabi

Said Captain Zainuddin: “If Luke drives the ball as well as he flew our simulator I'm sure he'll have every chance of winning soon.”

Donald also is expected to play in Qatar and Dubai over the next two weeks after missing out the first two PGA Tour events in Hawaii where he had two top ten finishes last year. He's usually a fast-starter in the US schedule but says he needs to regain his confidence.

He plays for the first time on the PGA Tour in 2008 at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am in the second week of February.