BOAC Flight 712

Flight 712, scheduled to depart from Heathrow's Terminal 3 at 16:15 BST (15:15 GMT), took off from Runway 28L at 16:27 BST (15:27 GMT). It had 127 people aboard, including a crew augmented by the addition of an acting flight officer, John Hutchinson, and a check captain for routine performance review of the pilot in command, Captain Cliff Taylor. As well as the passengers, the aircraft was carrying baggage, mail and a radioactive isotope from the Isotope Production Unit at Harwell destined for the University Hospital in Jerusalem. Seconds after takeoff from Heathrow's then- runway 28L (extended, years later, and now re-designated as 27L), there was an unexpected bang and the aircraft started vibrating. The throttle controlling number two engine was shutting down. While Taylor ordered an engine failure drill, Flight Engineer Thomas Hicks carried out the engine failure drill, but both he and Check Captain Geoffrey Moss reached for the switch to cancel the undercarriage warning horn. At the same time, First Officer Francis Kirkland inadvertently cancelled the fire bell. Hicks reached for, but did not pull, the engine fire shut-off handle. Cabin crew member Jennifer Suares repeated the emergency landing drill for passengers. He also instructed two other aircraft to perform a go-around, as runway 05R crossed runway 28R, which they were due to land on and Davis did not know whether Flight 712 would be able to stop before reaching that runway. The crew accepted Davis's offer of runway 05R, even though it was much shorter and not equipped with ILS. The aircraft touched down about beyond the threshold and stopped in . ==Passengers==

The aircraft was carrying 116 passengers and eleven crew. Five people died in the accident: stewardess Barbara Jane Harrison and four passengers. All five were determined to have died of "asphyxia due to inhalation of fire fumes". Survivors included the pop singer Mark Wynter, who was travelling to Australia to be married, and Katriel Katz, Israeli Ambassador to the Soviet Union. Katz, a large man, was the only passenger to escape by jumping through the forward port door; Hutchinson and Unwin tried to direct him to the slide on the starboard side and were almost carried through the port door by Katz, who was seriously injured in the jump. ==Aircraft involved==

The aircraft involved was a Boeing 707-465 registered G-ARWE with a total of 20,870 flight hours The aircraft was insured for £2,200,000 with Lloyd's of London. ==Investigation==

In the subsequent investigation, metal fatigue was ultimately blamed for the failure of the number five compressor wheel in the number two Rolls-Royce 508 Conway turbofan engine, ==Awards==

Queen Elizabeth II awarded Barbara Jane Harrison a posthumous George Cross (GC), the only GC ever presented to a woman in peacetime. Neville Davis-Gordon was awarded the British Empire Medal for Gallantry (BEM). John Davis was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE). The citation for Barbara Jane Harrison's GC reads:- The citation for Neville Davis-Gordon's BEM reads:- In addition, Air Traffic Control Officer John Davis, who was responsible for Flight 712 and had first spotted the port engine fire from the ground, was appointed MBE. Captain Cliff Taylor and Acting First Officer John Hutchinson had managed to safely land their aircraft which, having lost an engine, was on fire carrying about of fuel, in the most testing of circumstances and almost certainly saved 121 lives. Taylor was recommended for an award by BOAC, but following the publication of the official inquiry report in August 1969, the decision was taken at ministerial level not to recognise any member of the flight crew. Both Taylor and Hutchinson received, along with First Officer Francis Kirkland and Check Captain Geoffrey Moss, but not Flight Engineer Thomas Hicks, commendations from BOAC, and Captain Taylor was awarded the British Airline Pilots Association Gold Medal. ==See also==