[2] Its loss marked the second in a series of three fatal accidents involving the Comet in less than twelve months, all caused by structural failures; it followed the crash of BOAC Flight 783 near Calcutta, India, in May 1953, and was followed by the loss of South African Airways Flight 201 in April 1954, which crashed in circumstances similar to BOAC 781 after departing from Ciampino Airport. G-ALYP, the BOAC de Havilland Comet 1, the aircraft involved in the accident. One of those who saw the disaster was Shizuaoka Serizawa, a weather observer near Mt. by | Nov 4, 2020 | Uncategorized. The short video of BOAC 911 taking off past the debris of the Canadian Pacific 402 crash is eerie, given what happened later that day. 124 (89 US). G-APFE, the aircraft involved, pictured in 1962, Aviation accidents and incidents in Japan, Pakistan International Airlines Flight 17, Airliner accidents and incidents caused by in-flight structural failure, Accidents and incidents involving the Boeing 707, British Overseas Airways Corporation accidents and incidents, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, In-flight break-up caused by clear air turbulence. The accident was the result of an error of judgement on the part of the captain who having made three unsuccessful attempts to line-up and land on runway 11 on his fourth attempt allowed his desire to keep the runway lights in view to affect his judgement, in that during a visual approach to the runway he failed to make adequate reference to his flight instruments. Sir Arnold Hall, a Cambridge University scholar and scientist and then-head of the RAE, was appointed as the head accident investigator.[3]. Louis Joseph Decarolis Rochester The passengers commenced evacuation from the two starboard overwing exits and shortly afterwards, when the escape chutes had been inflated, from the rear starboard galley door and then the forward starboard galley door. Would they give out details of people who are potentially still alive? A disturbance of the airstream broadly analogous to that of a river flowing over a rocky bed, the ripples and breakers on the surface of the water corresponding to the standing waves and turbulence found in the airstream above mountainous terrain. Murray Leon Goldstein Lillian Weiss For the Amazon is the new home of James Bond. The aircraft was carrying two filmmakers and one pilot who were in charge to make a movie of the Heathrow Airport. Once when you are born The forward fuselage crashed into the forest approx. The violent forces exerted by the turbulent air could have caused structural failure of one of the engines, leading to a subsequent fire. One part of the family would have travelled from UK to/from Kenya and to/from Rome in this era. Jack Weiss Minnesota: Ralph Vincent Kerwin Minneapolis Philip Rosenberg, 52 To find out what caused the first failure, BOAC donated G-ALYU ("Yoke Uncle") for testing. It is one of those stories that make your blood run cold and even with the odds of being killed on a single airline flight at 1 in 29.4 million, fear is a constant companion of many air travellers. At about the time the engine fell away the undercarriage was lowered and full flap selected. The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user. At 9.37am American Airlines flight 77 crashed into the side of the Pentagon in Washington, DC. Beverly Duke Carter Mabel Ann Fleming James Bond cars at Platinum Jubilee Pageant, Finis coronat opus A differentiated look on No Time To Die [MAJOR SPOILERS], The art of bold ignobility Review for No Time To Die [Spoiler-free], No Time To Die The Royal World Premiere, Bond 26 will not start filming before 2024, Academy Award Reel honors 60 years of James Bond, Billie Eilish wins Oscar for Best Original Song, James Bond style game show to be produced for Amazon Prime. G. C.A. Or God had a lucky star over Bond. March 5, 1966. Last edited on 24 November 2022, at 03:40, Learn how and when to remove this template message, List of accidents and incidents involving commercial aircraft, List of notable decompression accidents and incidents, "On This Day 10 January 1954: Comet jet crashes with 35 on board", "Lamentable, Untimely Passing of Dorothy Baker", Civil Aircraft Accident Report of the Court of Inquiry into the Accidents to Comet GALYP on 10th January, 1954 and Comet GALYY on 8th April, 1954, "British Suspend Comets' Flights For Study of Crash Fatal To 35", "ObjectWiki: Fuselage of de Havilland Comet Airliner G-ALYP", "Report of the Public Inquiry into the causes and circumstances of the accident which occurred on the 10th January, 1954, to the Comet aircraft G-ALYP", Lessons Learned From Transport Airplane Accidents, Photo of reconstructed wreckage of G-ALYP, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=BOAC_Flight_781&oldid=1123507369, In-flight metal fatigue failure leading to explosive decompression and mid-air break-up, Shreds of cabin carpet were found trapped in the remains of the Comet's tail section, The imprint of a coin was found on a fuselage panel from the rear of the aircraft, Smears and scoring on the rear fuselage were tested and found to be consistent to the paint applied to the passenger seats of the Comet, This page was last edited on 24 November 2022, at 03:40. [3] The weather there had since improved behind a cold front with a steep pressure gradient bringing cool dry air from the Asian mainland on a strong west-northwest flow, with crystal-clear sky conditions. Unlike drill riveting, the imperfect nature of the hole created by punch riveting caused manufacturing defect cracks, which may have caused fatigue cracks to start around the rivet. Or any other source ? The aircraft was prepared for the next leg to Hong Kong and a flight plan was filed for a flight in accordance with the instrument flight rules via Oshima on airway JG6 to Hong Kong at FL310. It also stated "it is not unreasonable to assume that, on the day of the accident, powerful mountain waves existed in the lee of Mt Fuji, as in the case of mountain waves formed by extended ridges, and that the breakdown of the waves resulted in small-scale turbulence, the intensity of which might have become severe or extreme in a short period of time.". There is no glide slope guidance to this runway but the approach was well judged and touchdown was achieved approximately 400 yards beyond the threshold. Utah: William George Ligeros Salt Lake City BOAC's chairman commented on television, "We obviously wouldn't be flying the Comet with passengers if we weren't satisfied conditions were suitable." From the accident there survived seven of the crew and one passenger. Shortly afterwards, witnesses reported seeing the aircraft trailing white vapour. The approach to Runway 05 R was made from a difficult position, the aircraft being close to the runway and having reached a height of about 3 000 ft and a speed of 225 kt. BOAC Flight 911 (callsign 'Speedbird 911') was a round-the-world flight operated by the British Overseas Airways Corporation that crashed near Mount Fuji in . The talk-down was completed at 0325 hours when the aircraft was 400 yards from the threshold of Runway 31. The passengers commenced evacuation from the two starboard overwing exits and shortly afterwards, when the escape chutes had been inflated, from the rear starboard galley door and then the forward starboard galley door. The aircraft began taxiing at 13:50 and took off into the northwest wind at 13:58. The fire services prevented the fuel in the starboard tanks from catching fire but the rear fuselage and port wing were burned out. The responsibility for the accident must rest with the captain. While completing the approach checklist, the crew was unable to lower the landing gear, even with the emergency systems. Although the US bound flight had to stop to refuel in Newfoundland, the London flight made the journey non-stop in six hours and 11 minutes. Lawrence Francis Boisseau. The weather there had since improved behind a cold front with a steep pressure gradient bringing cool dry air from the Asian mainland on a strong west-northwest flow, with crystal-clear sky conditions. https://simple.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=BOAC_Flight_911&oldid=8356134. Ever since the US tech giant swallowed MGM, fans have been wondering what the future holds for To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Saturday 5 March 1966. British Overseas Airways Corporation BOAC, Boeing 707-436. In order to simulate the crash, the investigators deliberately ruptured the model fuselage by increasing the air pressure inside until it exploded. The crash was photographed by Japan Self-Defense Forces personnel at the nearby Fuji Training Base, and 8-millimeter film taken by one of the passengers also survived the crash. This was a noticeable distinguishing feature of all later models of the Comet.[12]. American Airlines flight 11 was the first to hit, striking the North Tower of the World Trade Centre in New York City at 8.46am local time. The problem was exacerbated by the punch rivet construction technique employed. It was determined that the failure of the support member for the starboard main gear uplock caused the gear to fall in flight, damaging hydraulic system lines. Wanda Lavon Ligeros In addition to the normal crew complement, a check pilot was on the aircraft for the purpose of carrying out a route check on the pilot-in-command. The engineer officer was Francis Charles Macdonald, age 27, and the radio officer was Luke Patrick McMahon, age 32. Except for the front portion of the fuselage which lay on its port side, severe damage resulted from fire which broke out and spread rapidly, due probably to the partial detachment of the port wing and rupture of the fuel tanks. The Comet's pressure cabin had been designed to a safety factor comfortably in excess of that required by British Civil Airworthiness Requirements (BCAR)the requirement was 1.33 times P with an ultimate load of 2 times P (where P is the cabin's "Proof" pressure), but the safety factor used in the Comet was 2.5 times Phence the accident led to revised estimates for the safe loading strength requirements of airliner pressure cabins. They were forced to stop ignoring him when the sun rose behind them instead of through the port windows, http://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction gland.html, Aviation Photography & Videos (including vlogs), Flying Foodies' Forum (was Music & Musicians). Another fact was that the supports around the windows were riveted, not glued, as the original specifications for the aircraft had called for. In the restricted visibility the runway lights gave him insufficient guidance as to attitude, height and angle of approach and unknowingly he permitted the aircraft to descend below its correct approach path. For help, advice and discussion about stuff not related to aviation. American Victims Named Philadelphia Inquirer, 3-6-1966, p6. Nicholas Andrew Bogdan. [5][7]:p.11, Heathrow Airport initially listed Flight 781 as being delayed, but it was removed from the arrivals board at around 1:30pm. A short time later, the ventral fin and all four engine pylons failed due to a leftward over-stress, shortly followed by the remainder of the empennage. Play nice: no religion, no politics and no axe grinding please. The mid-aft fuselage together with the wing, making a slow flat spin to the right, crashed into a forest at the foot of Mount Fuji. Airline Lists PassengersMt. 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