BKS Air Transport Flight C.6845

On 3 July 1968, BKS Air Transport Flight C.6845, an Airspeed Ambassador registration G-AMAD of BKS Air Transport crashed at Heathrow Airport, damaging two parked Trident airliners as it cartwheeled into the incomplete Heathrow Terminal 1, then under construction. Six of the eight people on board the Ambassador were killed, along with the eight racehorses being transported on it. The crash was blamed on the failure of a flap-operating rod due to metal fatigue, resulting in asymmetrical lift.

Accident

The Ambassador, construction number 5211, had previously been British European Airways' Sir Francis Drake. It had recently been converted to a "horsebox" transport and was on a flight from Deauville, France, to Heathrow Airport. Flight C.6845 was transporting eight racehorses belonging to businessman William Hill together with five grooms. As the aircraft was landing on Heathrow's runway 28R the left wing dropped, and the wing tip and left landing gear touched the grass adjacent to the runway. The crew tried to increase power to go-around and climb away, but the bank angle increased. The aircraft hit two parked empty British European Airways Hawker Siddeley Tridents, knocking the tail fin off one (G-ARPI) and slicing off the entire tail section of the other (G-ARPT). The Ambassador cartwheeled following the impact and slid upside down coming up against the ground floor of the terminal building where there was an explosion.

Six people on board the Ambassador died, including the flight crew and three of five grooms, along with all eight horses. The other two grooms were seriously injured as were two people on the ground. A further 27 people on the ground received slight injuries.

Of the two Trident aircraft, G-ARPT was damaged beyond economic repair and G-ARPI was subsequently repaired. G-ARPI was involved in an accident in 1972 resulting in the deaths of 118 people and becoming the deadliest non-terrorist aviation accident in the UK. A Viscount (G-APKF) received slight damage. The Viscount was also repaired but later too involved in a fatal hull-loss accident in Cambodia as XW-TDN in 1975.

All other Ambassadors were grounded pending the result of an inquiry. The starboard rod from the aircraft was tested and found satisfactory but rods from some other Ambassadors showed signs of cracking and when tested failed in a similar manner to G-AMAD's port rod. The rods on aircraft were strengthened and shown to be capable of 37,000 hours flight time.