Fire Over Heathrow: the Tragedy of Flight 712
Fire Over Heathrow: the Tragedy of Flight 712
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Fire Over Heathrow: the Tragedy of Flight 712 by Susan Ottaway
One and a half minutes after take-off on the clear and sunny afternoon of 8 April 1968, the Number 2 engine of BOAC Boeing 707 G-ARWE broke away from its mounting pylon and fell, tumbling in flames. Captain Cliff Taylor managed an extremely smooth touchdown about 400 yards beyond the Heathrow runway threshold and the aircraft came to a stop 1,400 yards further along the runway. The cabin crew had the doors open and passengers began escaping from the starboard over-wing exit and then via chutes at the forward and rear galley doors. Several explosions occurred and the port wing fell off, the resulting blast hurling flaming debris over the side of the aircraft. The rear escape chute was damaged by the fire and burst but, of the 126 people aboard, most of the 121 survivors had escaped before the arrival of the main fire and rescue services. Thirty-eight people received treatment for injuries and five, including stewardess Barbara Jane Harrison, were overcome by heat and fumes and died aboard G-ARWE. For her bravery in trying to rescue the remaining passengers on that day Jane Harrison was awarded the George Cross.
Ottaway, Susan: - Susan Ottaway has had a lifelong enthusiasm for aeroplanes, books and twentieth century history. She worked for four different airlines over a period of twenty years, mainly in the UK but also in Germany and Australia, and wrote her first book, a biography of Wing Commander Guy Gibson VC, before leaving the world of aviation. She has since written seven more books including the acclaimed Fly with the Stars, a history of British South American Airways', with her brother and co-author Ian Ottaway, and the bestselling Sisters, Secrets and Sacrifice, the story of Jacqueline and Eileen Nearne, who were agents with the Special Operations Executive during the Second World War. She lives in Hampshire with Nick and their dog and three cats.
| SKU | Unavailable |
| ISBN 13 | 9781844157396 |
| ISBN 10 | 1844157393 |
| Title | Fire Over Heathrow: the Tragedy of Flight 712 |
| Author | Susan Ottaway |
| Condition | Unavailable |
| Binding Type | Hardback |
| Publisher | Pen & Sword Books Ltd |
| Year published | 2008-07-20 |
| Number of pages | 180 |
| Cover note | Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary. |
| Note | Unavailable |