'Miracle' a needless tragedy

Marion Duncan's memories of the 'Miracle of Heathrow' (Northland Age January 7) were of particular interest to retired British Airways pilot Derek Ellis.

Now living in Kerikeri, he represented the British Airline Pilots' Association on the board on inquiry that investigated the incident. And he agreed with Mrs Duncan, and countless others, who credited New Zealand pilot Cliff Taylor with displaying real skill in getting Flight 712 back on the ground after an engine burst into flames moments after takeoff, but believed the decision not to grant him a Royal honour was the right one.

The George Medal was awarded posthumously to stewardess Jane Harrison, who died while helping the last few passengers out of the plane, however. She and four passengers died.

Mr Ellis said the 'route captain' who been in the cockpit to conduct a routine assessment of Captain Taylor had interfered, with fatal consequences.

One of the Boeing 707's engines burst into flames moments after takeoff, detaching itself from the wing so quickly that it landed in a reservoir at the end of the runway. Captain Taylor had turned the plane, intending to use the same runway to land again, but the route captain, convinced that the wing was about to fall off, persuaded him to take the quicker option of using a diagonal runway. That had required real skill, but did get the plane on the ground quickly - at the cost of five lives.

Once the engine had fallen from the wing, he said, the only flames were coming from a broken fuel line, the wind pushing the flames towards the rear of the aircraft, "like a blowtorch." They were no danger while the plane was in the air, but once it landed they spread to the fuselage - and the 707 came to a halt on the far side of Heathrow from the waiting fire appliances.

By the time Mrs Duncan fled the plane the oxygen bottles stored beneath the passenger compartment began to explode, the floor collapsing and the stewardess and four passengers falling into the fire.

All that was needed, Mr Ellis added, was for the crew to pull the handle that would have cut the fuel supply to the broken line, and so starved the flames. The plane itself had not been on fire until it came to a halt on the ground.

The flight engineer had "got it in the neck" for not taking that action, he said, adding that no one should have died.

"If the proper procedure had been followed Captain Taylor would have completed a three-engine landing, as all pilots were trained to do, and everyone would have survived," he added.

"It was a remarkable piece of flying buy a hell of a disaster that should not have happened."