 G-ARPI, photographed in June 1969 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 18 June 1972 |
| Summary | Deep stall and loss of control on takeoff |
| Site | Staines, England, UK 51°26′21″N 0°30′32″W / 51.43917°N 0.50889°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Hawker Siddeley Trident 1C |
| Operator | British European Airways (BEA) |
| IATA flight No. | BE548 |
| ICAO flight No. | BEA548 |
| Call sign | BEALINE 548 |
| Registration | G-ARPI |
| Flight origin | Heathrow Airport |
| Destination | Brussels Airport |
| Occupants | 118 |
| Passengers | 112 |
| Crew | 6 |
| Fatalities | 118 |
| Survivors | 0 |
British European Airways Flight 548 was a scheduled passenger flight from London Heathrow to Brussels that crashed near Staines, England, United Kingdom, shortly after take-off on 18 June 1972, killing all 118 people on board. The accident became known as the Staines air disaster. As of 2024[update], it remains the deadliest air accident (as opposed to terrorist incidents) in British aviation history and was the deadliest air accident involving a Hawker Siddeley Trident. Initially, there were two survivors of the accident: a man who was discovered in the aircraft cabin and a young girl. Both died at the scene.
The aircraft suffered a deep stall in the third minute of its flight and crashed to the ground, narrowly missing a busy main road. The public inquiry principally blamed the captain for failing to maintain airspeed and configure the high-lift devices correctly. It also cited the captain's undiagnosed heart condition and the limited experience of the co-pilot while noting an unspecified "technical problem" that the crew apparently resolved before take-off.
The crash took place against the background of an impending pilots' strike that had strained relations between crew members. The strike had also disrupted services, causing Flight 548 to be loaded with the maximum weight allowable. Recommendations from the inquiry led to the mandatory installation of cockpit voice recorders (CVR) in British-registered airliners. Another recommendation was for greater caution before allowing off-duty crew members to occupy flight deck seats. Some observers felt that the inquiry was unduly biased in favour of the aircraft's manufacturers.