BOAC Flight 712

Introduction
BOAC Flight 712 (often referred to as Speedbird 712 or Whisky Echo) was a flight from London to Sydney via Zürich and Singapore. The flight caught fire seconds after takeoff and made an emergency landing at London Heathrow four minutes after taking-off. Five were killed by the fire, and another 38 were injured.

Pilots
Captain Cliff Taylor, First Officer Francis Kirkland, Flight Engineer Thomas Hicks, Check Captain Geoffrey Moss and Acting First Officer John Hutchinson were the flight crew on Flight 712.

Flight
The flight took-off from Runway 28L (later extended and renamed 27L) 16:27 local time. Moments after lifting off the ground, a loud bang shook the plane, and the 707 vibrated continuously. Engine Two was no longer producing thrust, and Flight Engineer Hicks began to perform the engine failure checklist. First Officer Kirkland cancelled the fire bell, and Flight Engineer Hicks reached for, but didn't pull, the engine fire shutdown switch. Check Captain Moss, now looking out his window, exclaimed "Bloody hell! The wing's on fire!". The flight then declared an emergency at 16:29. The air traffic controller on duty, John Davis, saw the take-off and believed that he could see the sun reflecting off the wing. He soon realised the plane was on fire, and told the flight to turn left so they could line up and land on 28L. Davis then pressed the 'crash button', alerting the emergency services of the on-going incident.

By now, some windows near the wing were starting to melt. As the aircraft flew over Thorpe, Surry, the burning engine two separated from the aircraft, and fell onto the village below. No one was injured. The pilots lowered the landing gear and extended the flaps, but the flaps got stuck 3° short of their full position. Passengers prepared for the evacuation.

The crew now realised that the plane wouldn't last long enough to make it to 28L, and ATC cleared the flight to land on the shorter 05R, and told the two flights who were coming into land to make a go-around. The flight lined themselves up without the ILS (05R didn't have ILS), and successfully landed the aircraft. The 707 came to a stop on the runway, and Captain Taylor asked ATC if the flight had permission to evacuate. The crew didn't need an answer, as the passengers had already started fleeing from the aircraft.

Evacuation
The crew started the evacuation before the aircraft had even stopped, and evacuated out of every door except the left overwing exit, as the flames were directly outside that door. The overwing exits on the right side were used until the fire became to intense, and the front left door was only used by one person as it caught fire moments after deploying. Three members of the crew escaped via the emergency rope in the cockpit, whilst Captain Taylor went into the cabin. One of the rear doors had tangled itself, and Taylor climbed down to straighten the slide, leaving flight attendant Jane Harrison to help passengers out. She helped passengers get out of multiple doors, and was seen preparing to jump out of the aircraft, but ran back into the cabin to help the four final passengers in the plane. Harrison, nor the four other passengers, made it out.

Cause
After an investigation into the accident, it was found that metal fatigue in the compressor of engine 2 combined with other failures started the fire. The flight crew's failure to shut off fuel to engine 2 was also blamed for the accident, and investigators claimed that this was the reason why the fire spread.

Awards
Barbara Jane Harrison, the only crew member who died on the flight, was awarded the George Cross, which is one of the highest awards that can be bestowed in the United Kingdom. John Davis, the air traffic controller who helped the flight, was awarded an MBE (Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) for his efforts.

May the five lives that were lost in this accident be remembered forever.