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Fatal Events Since 1970 for British Airways

777 Crash Lands and London Heathrow - 17 January 2008

17 January 2008; British Airways 777; London, England: The aircraft touched down about 1000 feet short of runway 27L at London's Heathrow Airport. The aircraft skidded just over 1000 feet, tearing off its landing gear and coming to rest on the tarmac just to the right of the end of the runway. This was a scheduled international flight that was arriving from Beijing, China. There were at least two serious injuries, a broken leg and a concussion, but no fatalities among the 16 crew members and 136 passengers. This was the first serious accident for the 777 since it began commercial service in 1995.

This crash did not cause a passenger death and is not a fatal event as defined by AirSafe.com, but is included because of the seriousness of the event. For more information on the ongoing investigation, please review one or more of the podcasts listed below.

Podcast: Accident Investigation Update - 25 January 2008

Audio: MP3 | Video: iPod/MP4 | WMV | Google Video | YouTube

Podcast: Accident Investigation Update - 23 January 2008

Audio: MP3 | Video: iPod/MP4 | WMV | Google Video | YouTube

Initial Podcast About the Event (MP3) - 17 January 2008

Other AirSafe.com Podcasts
Details on the accident investigation including related links

The following events are those involving at least one passenger death where the aircraft flight had a direct or indirect role. Excluded would be events where the only passengers killed were stowaways, hijackers, or saboteurs.

1. 10 September 1976; British Airways Trident 3B; near Zagreb, Yugoslavia: The aircraft had a midair collision with a Inex Adria DC9-32. All nine crew members and 54 passengers on the Trident were killed. All five crew members and 108 passengers on the DC9 were also killed. The probable cause of this event was failure of the Yugoslavian ATC system to provide adequate separation.

2. 22 August 1985; British Airtours 737-200; Manchester Airport, England: The crew rejected the takeoff due to an uncontained engine failure. The failure led to a punctured fuel tank and a fire that spread to the cabin. The accident killed 53 of 131 passengers and two of six crew members.

   10 October 2000; British Airways 757; near Amsterdam, Netherlands: The first officer was flying the aircraft on approach to Amsterdam between two storm cells when the aircraft was struck by lightning just below the first officer's windscreen. The first officer was stunned by the strike and later found it difficult to use his left arm. The captain continued the approach and the aircraft landed without incident. The first officer sustained a burn wound to his chest. None of the other 157 aircraft occupants were injured. Shortly after returning to duty, the first officer developed a medical condition that may be related to the strike.
   This event did not cause a passenger death and is not a fatal event as defined by AirSafe.com, but is included because of the unusual circumstances of the incident.