 The burning 707-465, showing the tail section's skin melted to expose its interior. | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 8 April 1968 |
| Summary | Uncontained engine failure resulting in number 2 engine catching fire and detaching |
| Site | Hounslow, United Kingdom |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 707-465 |
| Operator | BOAC |
| IATA flight No. | BA712 |
| Call sign | Speedbird 712 |
| Registration | G-ARWE |
| Flight origin | London Heathrow Airport Middlesex, United Kingdom |
| 1st stopover | Zürich Airport Zürich, Switzerland |
| 2nd stopover | Singapore International Airport, Singapore |
| Destination | Sydney Airport Sydney, Australia |
| Occupants | 127 |
| Passengers | 116 |
| Crew | 11 |
| Fatalities | 5 |
| Injuries | 38 |
| Survivors | 122 |
BOAC Flight 712 was a British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) service operated by a Boeing 707-465 from London Heathrow Airport bound for Sydney via Zurich and Singapore. On Monday 8 April 1968, it suffered an engine failure 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, confusion over checklists and distractions from the presence of a check pilot 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 Barbara Jane Harrison was posthumously awarded the George Cross for heroism during the accident, another crew member received a British Empire Medal, and an air traffic controller was made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. As a result of the accident, BOAC changed certain aspects of its emergency procedure checklists.