BA712 BOAC B707 Crash Heathrow 1968
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BA712 BOAC B707 Crash Heathrow 1968
I see from Amazon that a new book is being published in April about this crash. There's a pre-publication discount if anyone's interested.
On the subject of that crash, BA712 was going to Zurich but was that the final destination? I've also seen other BOAC pictures of aircraft at other european airports like Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Rome. Wouldn't BEA have served these destinations as well?
airsmiles
On the subject of that crash, BA712 was going to Zurich but was that the final destination? I've also seen other BOAC pictures of aircraft at other european airports like Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Rome. Wouldn't BEA have served these destinations as well?
airsmiles
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Yes, BEA would have been there too, but the small number of passengers wanting to fly long-haul made it necessary for BOAC to fly its long routes in short hops, in order to fill its aircraft. Thus, in 1964 on a BOAC 707 to Hong Kong we went via Frankfurt, Rome, Beirut, Bahrein, New Delhi and Bangkok. I don't suppose more than ten of us flew the whole route (which went on to Tokyo), but the aircraft was 90% full on each sector.
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T'was that the crash where the crew did a mighty effort to get the thing back on the ground (x-wind landing?) but had neglected to pull the fire handles?
I think that was also the crash where one of the flight attendants lost her life trying to save a passenger whose seat belt had jammed. What price a knife to have cut the strap?
If I had read the link above first I could have answered my own question.
I think that was also the crash where one of the flight attendants lost her life trying to save a passenger whose seat belt had jammed. What price a knife to have cut the strap?
If I had read the link above first I could have answered my own question.
Last edited by PLovett; 31st Jan 2008 at 23:57. Reason: Updated information
Just to be pedantic but can you actually classify it as a "crash"? Accident yes, but crash? Aircraft was landed on the runway and brought to a halt before being burnt-out in the continuing fire.
My aunt was living to the north of Chertsey at the time and saw the aircraft on fire turning over their house.
She did not see the engine fall away but it was described to me that it fell into a flooded gravel pit about a mile from their house, in the area of Thorpe Park and the M25/M3 junction nowadays.
She did not see the engine fall away but it was described to me that it fell into a flooded gravel pit about a mile from their house, in the area of Thorpe Park and the M25/M3 junction nowadays.
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BOAC's European stations were Rome, Frankfurt and Zurich, as calls on their African and Eastern services. In the late 60s, each of the three had at least one service a day (with maybe the odd exception) but at odd times. Passenger loads for these sectors rarely exceeded a dozen although it was a highly pleasurable way to fly shorthaul, especially if you got an upgrade to F/C 
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A piece of trivia.
In Sydney, months after the crash, I received a letter from the British Postal authorities enclosing a "postal article from BA712", with an apology for the water damage.
Wish I'd kept it now.
In Sydney, months after the crash, I received a letter from the British Postal authorities enclosing a "postal article from BA712", with an apology for the water damage.
Wish I'd kept it now.
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Yes, you're correct in that I shouldn't have referred to it as a crash.
The routings are certainly different today than yester-year! These days it's mostly point to point services. Does anyone have a sample timetable for a LHR-Sydney routing then? I wondering about night-stops and crew scheduling.
Thanks for the replies.
airsmiles
The routings are certainly different today than yester-year! These days it's mostly point to point services. Does anyone have a sample timetable for a LHR-Sydney routing then? I wondering about night-stops and crew scheduling.
Thanks for the replies.
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Even some long-haul flights with BA in the 1970s went via European stations. For example, I have a log of flying from Heathrow to Nairobi in October 1977 via Frankfurt on a BA 747-200.
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As a junior planner in BA's Eastern Routes division in the early 1970s I was tasked with developing a 'passenger preference model' based on the loads on 6- 5- and 4- stop routings by day of the week. My mathematical hokum impressed the managers but I didn't believe a word of it, with just (max) one flight a day on any given route, you took what you were offered. And Thursday was the busiest day because the fares were higher on Fri-Sat-Sun (surprise).
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She did not see the engine fall away but it was described to me that it fell into a flooded gravel pit about a mile from their house, in the area of Thorpe Park and the M25/M3 junction nowadays.
On that day I was based in a building a few feet from the peri track under 28R approach.
A VC10 did a very late aborted landing over us and we ran out to see it but were then confronted with the scene of the 707 on fire.
A very sad day.
Sitting on my front wall in Stanwell that fine sunny evening my friend and I heard a young lad shout-look that planes on fire. Seeing the 707 oddly inbound to 23 ( they were taking off behind me on 28L we thought it was the evening sun on the bare metal below the cheat line. Moments later we realised it was plane on fire and on fire in a big way.
A very very very frightening sight as the plane sank below some rooflines because we knew what had to follow from all the films we had seen and sure enough what seemed like moments but was probably 2 minutes later a horrible soft 'boooom' and an immense black mushroom cloud. We thought everyone must have died and were very surprised when we found out what had happened and the loss of life was so small but so sad with the loss of the brave cabin crew who waited too long to try and save an elderly passanger.
A very very sobering experience and a sight I hope I never see again -40 years ago and I can remember every single detail of its passage through our field of view
A very very very frightening sight as the plane sank below some rooflines because we knew what had to follow from all the films we had seen and sure enough what seemed like moments but was probably 2 minutes later a horrible soft 'boooom' and an immense black mushroom cloud. We thought everyone must have died and were very surprised when we found out what had happened and the loss of life was so small but so sad with the loss of the brave cabin crew who waited too long to try and save an elderly passanger.
A very very sobering experience and a sight I hope I never see again -40 years ago and I can remember every single detail of its passage through our field of view
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oh I have a slide of the photo in the link that I acquired as a kid - I always assumed it was a training exercise or something.
If anyone wants me to scan it, let me know and I'll post it - I'd love to know who the photographer was also.
If anyone wants me to scan it, let me know and I'll post it - I'd love to know who the photographer was also.
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The Stewardess who died was Barbara Jane Harrison, who was awarded a posthumous GC. She could have escaped through the nearby rear passenger door but persisted with her efforts to free to elderly passenger(s). This was real heroism.She is buried in Fulford Cemetry, York.
It was amazing , and a great tribute to the cabin crew's rapid and calm evacuation that the loss of life was not greater. Within a minute or so of the aircraft coming to a halt there was a massive column of acrid black smoke rising from the centre of fuselage , leaving just the area from the forward door to the tip of the nose, and the tail from just forward of the rear door clear.
The intact nose section was later sold to TWA who grafted it onto the front of N776TW, one of the 3 hijacks to Dawsons Field where it had its own forward section blown up.
G-ARWE had an unfortunate career as it had only returned to flying the previous January after substantial and lengthy rebuilding in Honolulu after an incident there. So good was this work that it flew back to London as a scheduled passenger BA 911 ex Honolulu to Tokyo and on to London via Hong Kong and the usual 3 , 4 or 5 stops thereafter. The outbound trip to San Francisco via the same routing had been cancelled to accomodate it. BOAC were, despite its image, very cost conscious and nimble on their feet when opportunities to save money came into sight.
It was amazing , and a great tribute to the cabin crew's rapid and calm evacuation that the loss of life was not greater. Within a minute or so of the aircraft coming to a halt there was a massive column of acrid black smoke rising from the centre of fuselage , leaving just the area from the forward door to the tip of the nose, and the tail from just forward of the rear door clear.
The intact nose section was later sold to TWA who grafted it onto the front of N776TW, one of the 3 hijacks to Dawsons Field where it had its own forward section blown up.
G-ARWE had an unfortunate career as it had only returned to flying the previous January after substantial and lengthy rebuilding in Honolulu after an incident there. So good was this work that it flew back to London as a scheduled passenger BA 911 ex Honolulu to Tokyo and on to London via Hong Kong and the usual 3 , 4 or 5 stops thereafter. The outbound trip to San Francisco via the same routing had been cancelled to accomodate it. BOAC were, despite its image, very cost conscious and nimble on their feet when opportunities to save money came into sight.
Last edited by Skylion; 3rd Feb 2008 at 11:29. Reason: Wrong flight number rectified.
sylion
i didnt know the fwd fuselage of 'we' was used later on a TWA a/c which then was the dawsons field a/c...
'we' was built for eagle but i cant remember if both her and 'wd' appeared in eagle colours, very interesting, thanks
I was with my mum and dad seeing off my sister on a british eagle 1-11 to venice and we saw the 707 just after landing on rwy 05 which was a very odd runway on the day (we realised later it had returned quickly to 05 after a few mins flt)
it was ghastly and i was 11
unbelievably but in the same year its true I was going on holiday with my mum and dad on british eagle to spain and we were also at LHR when BKS ambassador crashed into the new britannic/terminal one building at LHR slicing off the tails of some tridents,
we were in the terminal 2 (called the europa building then) we didnt see it,
only saw the tridents in bits...
the previous year in 1967 the same weekend we were flying in june on british eagle to rimini (everyone went on holiday on them!) a BMA argonaut crashed at stockport and the evening before an airferry dc4 crashed in france,
erm if i said my mum was very nervous flyer after then would be an understatement!
i joined BMA 77-85 at LHR
i didnt know the fwd fuselage of 'we' was used later on a TWA a/c which then was the dawsons field a/c...
'we' was built for eagle but i cant remember if both her and 'wd' appeared in eagle colours, very interesting, thanks
I was with my mum and dad seeing off my sister on a british eagle 1-11 to venice and we saw the 707 just after landing on rwy 05 which was a very odd runway on the day (we realised later it had returned quickly to 05 after a few mins flt)
it was ghastly and i was 11
unbelievably but in the same year its true I was going on holiday with my mum and dad on british eagle to spain and we were also at LHR when BKS ambassador crashed into the new britannic/terminal one building at LHR slicing off the tails of some tridents,
we were in the terminal 2 (called the europa building then) we didnt see it,
only saw the tridents in bits...
the previous year in 1967 the same weekend we were flying in june on british eagle to rimini (everyone went on holiday on them!) a BMA argonaut crashed at stockport and the evening before an airferry dc4 crashed in france,
erm if i said my mum was very nervous flyer after then would be an understatement!
i joined BMA 77-85 at LHR
Last edited by rog747; 4th Feb 2008 at 08:14. Reason: add