The airway crossed southern Laos and South Vietnam (at Da Nang, IIRC?) . The bombing was in the north initially, then it moved south with the VC advance until the airway was finally closed later in the war - can't remember the date.
In the absence of another eye witness coming forward, the story could perhaps best be commented on thus:
Did BOAC VC10s encounter fully laden B52s? - Certainly.
Did some crews see evidence of war on the ground including shell bursts and low level bombing? - Probably.
Did any crew ever see high level bombs falling from B52s in the far distance off the airway? - Possibly.
Did any VC10 crew ever see a stick of bombs pass by out of a clear blue sky within the airway (as the story told to you implies)? - Highly unlikely!
I suspect the story is an (understandably) slightly exaggerated account of scenario number three. Whatever the truth of this particular account there is no doubt that civil airliners passed too close to the action for too long.
Edited with an addition.
Last edited by Albert Driver; 20th Apr 2007 at 05:59.