British Airways plane crashes

The following are significant events involving the airline or its subsidiares since 1970. The numbered events are those involving at least one passenger death where the aircraft flight had a direct or indirect role, and where at least one of the dead passengers was not a stowaway, hijacker, or saboteur.

1. 22 November 1974; British Airways VC-10; Flight 870; Dubai, UAE: The aircraft was on an international flight from London, England to Singapore, and had stopped in Dubai. While there, four hijackers commandeered the aircraft. The aircraft was taken to Tripoli, Libya for refueling, and then to Tunis, Tunisia the following day. The hijackers surrendered after three days, but not before killing one of the hostages. The one hostage that was shot to death was the only fatality among the passengers, crew members, and a number of ground crew personnel who were taken hostage in Dubai.

2. 10 September 1976; British Airways Trident 3B; Flight 476; 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.
   
   24 June 1982; British Airways 747-200; Flight 9; near Jakarta, Indonesia: The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from London, England to Auckland, New Zealand. The crew inadvertently flew into a volcanic ash cloud from Mount Galunggung in west Java, Indonesia. The ash severely damaged all four engines, leading to the aircraft flying briefly without power. The crew was able to restart the engines after gliding out of the dust cloud. Although one engine subsequently failed a second time, the crew was able to make an uneventful emergency landing in Jakarta. None of the 15 crew members or 248 passengers were injured.
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   747 plane crashes

3. 22 August 1985; British Airtours 737-200; Flight 28M; 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.
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   737 plane crashes
   
   10 October 2000; British Airways 757-200; 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.
   757 plane crashes
   
   17 January 2008; British Airways 777-200ER; flight 38; 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.
   
   Visit the British Airways flight 38 page for additional information, including findings from the crash investigation.
   777 plane crashes
   
   8 September 2015; British Airways 777-200; G-VIIO; flight 2276; Las Vegas, NV: The aircraft was on a scheduled international flight from Las Vegas, NV to London, England when the left engine apparently failed and caught fire prior to takeoff. There was evidence of an uncontained fairlure of the left engine and pylon, including multiple breaches of the engine case in the area around the high pressure compressor. All of the occupants were able to exit the aircraft, but a fire in the area of the left engine damaged the left engine and pylon, left fuselage structure, and inboard left wing. There were no fatalities among the 13 crew members and 158 passengers.
   777 plane crashes
   Interview about a 2011 FAA directive that may be related to the engine failure