BOAC Flight 712

BOAC Flight 712

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.