BOAC Flight 712 (

callsign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a Identifier, unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be form ...

Speedbird The Speedbird is the stylised emblem of a bird in flight designed in 1932 by Theyre Lee-Elliott as the corporate logo for Imperial Airways. It became a design classic and was used by the airline and its successors – British Overseas Airways ...

712'') was a

British Overseas Airways Corporation British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) was the United Kingdom, British state-owned airline created in 1939 by the merger of Imperial Airways and British Airways Ltd. It continued operating overseas services throughout World War II. ...

(BOAC) service operated by a Boeing 707-465 from

London Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...

bound for Sydney via Zurich and Singapore. On Monday 8 April 1968, it suffered an

engine failure A turbine engine failure occurs when a turbine engine unexpectedly stops producing power due to a malfunction other than fuel exhaustion. It often applies for aircraft, but other turbine engines can fail, like ground-based turbines used in pow ...

on takeoff that quickly led to a major fire; the engine detached from the aircraft in flight. After the aircraft had made a successful

emergency landing An emergency landing is a premature landing made by an aircraft in response to an emergency involving an imminent or ongoing threat to the safety and operation of the aircraft, or involving a sudden need for a passenger or crew on board to term ...

, confusion over

checklist A checklist is a type of job aid used in repetitive tasks to reduce failure by compensating for potential limits of human memory and attention. It helps to ensure consistency and completeness in carrying out a task. A basic example is the "to do ...

s and distractions from the presence of a

check pilot A check pilot (or check airman) is an aircraft pilot who performs an oversight, safety, and qualification role for commercial pilots undergoing evaluation. The role of the check pilot is to ensure that the flight crew member has met competency stan ...

contributed to the deaths of five of the 127 on board. The direct cause of the fire was the failure of a compressor wheel, due to metal fatigue.

Flight attendant A flight attendant, also known as steward/stewardess or air host/air hostess, is a member of the aircrew aboard commercial flights, many business jets and some government aircraft. Collectively called cabin crew, flight attendants are pri ...

Barbara Jane Harrison Barbara Jane Harrison GC (24 May 1945 – 8 April 1968), known as Jane Harrison, was a British flight attendant who was posthumously awarded the George Cross for her role in the evacuation of BOAC Flight 712. She is one of four women to ...

was posthumously awarded the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, has be ...

for heroism during the accident, another crew member received a

British Empire Medal The British Empire Medal (BEM; formerly British Empire Medal for Meritorious Service) is a British and Commonwealth award for meritorious civil or military service worthy of recognition by the Crown. The current honour was created in 1922 to ...

, and an air traffic controller was made a

Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

. As a result of the accident, BOAC changed certain aspects of its emergency procedure checklists.

Flight

Flight 712, scheduled to depart from Heathrow's Terminal 3 at 16:15 BST (15:15

GMT Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London, counted from midnight. At different times in the past, it has been calculated in different ways, including being calculated from noon; as a cons ...

), took off from Runway 28L at 16:27 BST (15:27

). It had 127 people aboard, including a crew augmented by the addition of an acting

flight officer The title flight officer was a military rank used by the United States Army Air Forces during World War II, and also an air force rank in several Commonwealth countries, where it was used for female officers and was equivalent to the rank of fligh ...

, John Hutchinson (later to become a

Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France and t ...

captain), and a check captain for routine

performance review A performance appraisal, also referred to as a performance review, performance evaluation,Muchinsky, P. M. (2012). ''Psychology Applied to Work'' (10th ed.). Summerfield, NC: Hypergraphic Press. (career) development discussion, or employee appr ...

of the pilot in command, Captain Cliff Taylor. As well as the passengers, the aircraft was carrying baggage, mail and a

radioactive Radioactive decay (also known as nuclear decay, radioactivity, radioactive disintegration, or nuclear disintegration) is the process by which an unstable atomic nucleus loses energy by radiation. A material containing unstable nuclei is consi ...

isotope Isotopes are two or more types of atoms that have the same atomic number (number of protons in their nuclei) and position in the periodic table (and hence belong to the same chemical element), and that differ in nucleon numbers ( mass number ...

from the Isotope Production Unit at Harwell destined for the

University Hospital A university hospital is an institution which combines the services of a hospital with the education of medical students and with medical research. These hospitals are typically affiliated with a medical school or university. The following is a ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

. Seconds after takeoff from Heathrow's then-

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt concrete, as ...

28L (extended, years later, and now re-designated as 27L), there was an unexpected bang and the aircraft started vibrating. The

throttle A throttle is the mechanism by which fluid flow is managed by constriction or obstruction. An engine's power can be increased or decreased by the restriction of inlet gases (by the use of a throttle), but usually decreased. The term ''throttle'' ...

controlling number two engine was shutting down. While Captain Taylor ordered an engine failure drill,

Flight Engineer A flight engineer (FE), also sometimes called an air engineer, is the member of an aircraft's flight crew who monitors and operates its complex aircraft systems. In the early era of aviation, the position was sometimes referred to as the "air ...

Thomas Hicks carried out the engine failure drill, but both he and Check Captain Geoffrey Moss reached for the switch to cancel the undercarriage warning horn. At the same time, First Officer Francis Kirkland inadvertently cancelled the fire bell. Hicks reached for, but did not pull, the engine fire shut-off handle. Moss, observing the fire, exclaimed "Bloody hell! The wing's on fire!" A

Mayday Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice-procedure radio communications. It is used to signal a life-threatening emergency primarily by aviators and mariners, but in some countries local organi ...

was broadcast at 16:29. In the

control tower Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled air ...

, the takeoff had been observed by John Davis, who saw what he initially thought was the sun reflecting off the aircraft's wing during its initial climb. Davis quickly realised that the aircraft was on fire. Davis instructed Flight 712 to make a left turn, with the intention that the aircraft would land on runway 28L. He hit the "crash button" which alerted the emergency services and declared an aircraft accident. The emergency services were informed of the type of aircraft involved and given a meeting point at which they were to assemble. By this time, the windows on the

port side A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ha ...

at the rear of the

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an engine as well, although in some amphibious aircraft t ...

were beginning to melt. As the aircraft flew over Thorpe the burning engine broke away from its mounting; no one on the ground was injured. At this time, the undercarriage was lowered and full

flap Flap may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Flap'' (film), a 1970 American film * Flap, a boss character in the arcade game '' Gaiapolis'' * Flap, a minor character in the film '' Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland'' Biology and h ...

selected. The flaps stopped three degrees short of their full travel. The aircraft was at a height of and flying at . Retrieved on 26 March 2008 Cabin crew member Jennifer Suares repeated the emergency landing drill for passengers. The crew realised that the aircraft would not last long enough to enable a landing back on 28L and declared a Mayday. Davis cleared the aircraft to land on runway 05R, which was long. He also instructed two other aircraft to perform a

go-around In aviation, a go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft that is on final approach or has already touched down. A go-around can either be initiated by the pilot flying or requested by air traffic control for various reasons, such as an uns ...

, as runway 05R crossed runway 28R, which they were due to land on and Davis did not know whether Flight 712 would be able to stop before reaching that runway. The crew accepted Davis's offer of runway 05R, even though it was much shorter and not equipped with ILS. Taylor was able to safely land the aircraft on 05R, using wheel

brake A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction. Backgroun ...

s and thrust reversing the outboard engines to halt the aircraft. NB: Report has wrong date and wrong direction of flight 'over Hounslow' The aircraft touched down about beyond the threshold and stopped in . Taylor asked Davis for permission to evacuate, but the cabin crew were already opening the emergency doors. The flight crew started the fire drill, but the port wing exploded before this could be completed. As a result, the fire shut off handles were not pulled, and the

booster pump Booster may refer to: Amusement rides * Booster (Fabbri ride), a pendulum ride * Booster (HUSS ride), an evolution of the Breakdance ride * Booster (KMG ride), a pendulum ride Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters * Booster, a ch ...

s and electrical supply were left switched on. Due to the short period of time between the Mayday being declared at 16:29 and the aircraft landing at 16:31, there was no time for the emergency services to lay a carpet of foam, which was standard practice at the time.

Evacuation

The cabin crew started the evacuation, even before the aircraft had come to a halt, via both forward galley doors, both rear doors and the

starboard Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which a ...

overwing exits. Eighteen passengers escaped via the overwing exits before the fire grew too intense to use that route. The forward port galley door escape slide caught fire before it could be used, but one person jumped from there. 84 people escaped via the starboard galley door. Three of the crew escaped by using the emergency cockpit rope. The rear starboard door escape slide had twisted on deployment, so Taylor climbed down to straighten it, leaving stewardess Jane Harrison at the door assisting the passengers. Six passengers escaped via this route before the slide was punctured and deflated. Harrison pushed out passengers too frightened to jump. Eleven people escaped via this route, and five more escaped via the rear port door before the slide was destroyed. Harrison was last seen preparing to jump, but she turned back and disappeared into the passenger cabin, in an attempt to save the remaining four passengers, including a disabled woman and an eight-year-old girl. Harrison was awarded the

posthumously in recognition of her selfless courage. Thirty-five people were injured, and five died.

Fire-fighting

The first two

fire engine A fire engine (also known in some places as a fire truck or fire lorry) is a road vehicle (usually a truck) that functions as a firefighting apparatus. The primary purposes of a fire engine include transporting firefighters and water to ...

s to arrive were unable to do much, as they stopped too far from the aircraft and their design prevented their moving once they began making foam. Also, buildup of paint on the coupling threads of nearby

fire hydrant A fire hydrant, waterplug, or firecock (archaic) is a connection point by which firefighters can tap into a water supply. It is a component of active fire protection. Underground fire hydrants have been used in Europe and Asia since at least ...

s prevented hoses from being attached. A backup foam

water tender A water tender is a type of firefighting apparatus that specialises in the transport of water from a water source to a fire scene.Barbara Jane Harrison Barbara Jane Harrison GC (24 May 1945 – 8 April 1968), known as Jane Harrison, was a British flight attendant who was posthumously awarded the George Cross for her role in the evacuation of BOAC Flight 712. She is one of four women to ...

and four passengers. All five were determined to have died of "

asphyxia Asphyxia or asphyxiation is a condition of deficient supply of oxygen to the body which arises from abnormal breathing. Asphyxia causes generalized hypoxia, which affects primarily the tissues and organs. There are many circumstances that ca ...

due to inhalation of fire fumes". Survivors included the pop singer

Mark Wynter Mark Wynter (born Terence Sidney Lewis; 29 January 1943) is an English singer and actor, who had four Top 20 singles in the 1960s, including " Venus in Blue Jeans" and "Go Away Little Girl". He enjoyed a lengthy career from 1960 to 1968 as a p ...

, who was travelling to Australia to be married, and Katriel Katz, Israeli Ambassador to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. Katz, a large man, was the only passenger to escape by jumping through the forward port door; Hutchinson and Unwin tried to direct him to the slide on the starboard side and were almost carried through the port door by Katz, who was seriously injured in the jump.

Aircraft involved

The aircraft involved was a Boeing 707-465 registered G-ARWE with a total of 20,870 flight hours since it first flew on 27 June 1962. On 21 November 1967 it had suffered an engine failure resulting in an

aborted takeoff In aviation terminology, a rejected takeoff (RTO) or aborted takeoff is the situation in which it is decided to abort the takeoff of an airplane. There can be many reasons for deciding to perform a rejected takeoff, but they are usually due to a ...

with no injuries. The aircraft was insured for £2,200,000 with

Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is an insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gove ...

. The aircraft's nose section was salvaged for use on a Convair CV-580 for test purposes as part of the Total In

Flight Simulator A flight simulator is a device that artificially re-creates aircraft flight and the environment in which it flies, for pilot training, design, or other purposes. It includes replicating the equations that govern how aircraft fly, how they rea ...

program. (Accounts that the nose from G-ARWE was used to repair a damaged

TWA Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with F ...

707 are incorrect.)

Investigation

Metal fatigue In materials science, fatigue is the initiation and propagation of cracks in a material due to cyclic loading. Once a fatigue crack has initiated, it grows a small amount with each loading cycle, typically producing striations on some parts o ...

was ultimately blamed for the failure of the number five

compressor A compressor is a mechanical device that increases the pressure of a gas by reducing its volume. An air compressor is a specific type of gas compressor. Compressors are similar to pumps: both increase the pressure on a fluid and both can trans ...

wheel in the number two Rolls-Royce 508 Conway

turbofan The turbofan or fanjet is a type of airbreathing jet engine that is widely used in aircraft propulsion. The word "turbofan" is a portmanteau of "turbine" and "fan": the ''turbo'' portion refers to a gas turbine engine which achieves mechanical ...

engine, initiating a rapid chain of failures. The crew's omitting to shut off the fuel to the engine was blamed for the rapid growth of the fire and the loss of the aircraft. Check Captain Moss had accidentally cancelled the fire warning bell instead of the undercarriage warning bell. Moss had also issued orders to Captain Taylor, in breach of the normal protocol for his duties. However, the report on the accident also stated that Captain Taylor had briefed Moss to act as an extra set of eyes and ears inside and outside the cockpit. Moss's actions therefore could be seen as acting within that remit. Although Moss had alerted the crew to the fire, none of them were aware that the number 2 engine had fallen off until after the evacuation on the ground. As a result of the investigation, and lessons learned from the chain of events, BOAC combined the "Engine Fire Drill" and "Engine Severe Failure Drill" checklists into one list, called the "Engine Fire or Severe Failure Drill". Modifications were also made to the checklist, including adding to the checklist confirmation that the fire handles had been pulled. The aircraft's number 2 port engine No.5097, constructed in 1961, had run for 14,917 hours from new, and had been overhauled in spring 1965 because of vibration caused by metal fatigue that had led to the failure of a stage 8 high-pressure compressor blade. In 1967 the engine had been removed from service because of flame tube deterioration, and as part of the repairs, the low-pressure compressor, of which the number 5 wheel was an original component, was overhauled, but the wheel itself was not tested for fatigue. On 22 November 1967 the engine was bench tested and rejected because of excessive vibration of the high-pressure compressor, but was later released as serviceable following further analysis. After 1,415 hours service on another 707 and modification to the

turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced by a turbine can be used for generating ...

seals, on 5 April 1968 No.5097 became number 2 engine of the port wing of the aircraft, scheduled to fly

long-haul In aviation, the flight length refers to the distance of a flight. Commercial flights are often categorized into long-, medium- or short-haul by commercial airlines based on flight length, although there is no international standard definition and ...

to Sydney, Australia, three days later. According to Rolls-Royce's investigation, shortly after takeoff on 8 April 1968 the 5th stage low-pressure compressor wheel failed in fatigue at the run out radius of the wheel web with the rim, causing secondary failures to other parts of the engine. The wheel then burst through its casing and severed the main fuel pipe, igniting the fuel which was being pumped at 50 gallons (approx. 227 litres) per minute. The engine's two extinguishers had been disabled by damage to the engine cowling. The fire's heat caused the engine pylon to give way, allowing the engine to detach. However, the fuel booster pump continued to function, intensifying the fire until it spread to the wing itself, sweeping back from forward of the leading edge towards the tail. The application of reverse thrust on landing, and the westerly

crosswind A crosswind is any wind that has a perpendicular component to the line or direction of travel. This affects the aerodynamics of many forms of transport. Moving non-parallel to the wind's direction creates a crosswind component on the object and th ...

on the runway, blew the flames underneath the wing and set light to the fuselage. The rapidly intensifying fire then spread under the aircraft and ignited the fuel lines and oxygen tanks, which, within seconds of the aircraft coming to a stop, caused a series of explosions that broke through the fuselage and set fire to the cabin.

Awards

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

awarded Barbara Jane Harrison a posthumous

(GC), the only GC ever presented to a woman in peacetime. Her medal was accepted on her behalf by her father, Alan. Harrison is the youngest ever female recipient of the George Cross. Neville Davis-Gordon was awarded the

for Gallantry (BEM). The citation for Harrison's GC is on p.1, Davis-Gordon's BEM is on p.3 John Davis was appointed a

(MBE). The citation for Barbara Jane Harrison's GC reads:- The citation for Neville Davis-Gordon's BEM reads:- In addition, Air Traffic Control Officer John Davis, who was responsible for Flight 712 and had first spotted the port engine fire from the ground, was appointed MBE. Captain Cliff Taylor and Acting First Officer John Hutchinson had managed to safely land their aircraft which, having lost an engine, was on fire carrying about 22,000 gallons of fuel, in the most testing of circumstances and almost certainly saved 121 lives. Taylor was recommended for an award by BOAC, but following the publication of the official inquiry report in August 1969, the decision was taken at ministerial level not to recognise any member of the flight crew. Both Taylor and Hutchinson received, along with First Officer Francis Kirkland and Check Captain Geoffrey Moss, but not Flight Engineer Thomas Hicks, commendations from BOAC, and Captain Taylor was awarded the British Airline Pilots Association Gold Medal.

Flight

Evacuation

Fire-fighting

Aircraft involved

Investigation

Awards

See also

Notes

References

External links