On This Day: Five killed at Heathrow after passenger jet bursts into flames during takeoff

APRIL 8, 1968: Five people on board a passenger jet were killed when an engine fell off and the aircraft burst into flames during takeoff at Heathrow Airport on this day in 1968.

Among the dead was stewardess Barbara Jane Harrison, who remains the only woman to be awarded the George Cross in peacetime after she helped save 122 lives.

The 22-year-old perished in the flames while staying by the side of an elderly disabled woman after shepherding other passengers safely off the Sydney-bound BOAC jet.

The inferno began after a crewmember inadvertently failed to shut off the fuel to the engine amid suspected failure within seconds of the Boeing 707 taking off.

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Check Captain Geoffrey Moss, who was observing main pilot Captain Charles Taylor, noticed the portside blaze and yelled: “Bloody Hell! The wing's on fire!”

Two minutes after leaving Heathrow, the engine fell off and plunged into a children’s gravel pit – but luckily none of the youngsters playing there were killed or injured.

A mayday alert was signalled and BOAC Flight 712 turned back and – four minutes after takeoff - landed on an alternate runway.

Seconds after touching down, the wing exploded – leaving passengers with only a short time to leave the aircraft before it was completely engulfed in flames.

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Harrison and another steward, Bryan Taylor, manned both rear doors, which were used for the evacuation along with both forward doors and a starboard wing exits.

But when one of the inflated escape chutes became twisted, Taylor had to climb down and straighten it before it could be used.

The steward could not then return to the burning aircraft, leaving Harrison alone in helping passengers out of the rear of the aircraft.

When huge flames eventually stopped further escapes from this section, the former nanny sent people to another exit.

Harrison, who was praised for her calm courage, was last seen alive preparing to jump herself, but then she turned back and disappeared into the burning fuselage.

She had noticed an elderly woman who was unable to move from her seat in one of the final rows and went to her aid – but ended up dying beside her.

It was this action that posthumously earned her the George Cross, the highest civilian award for gallantry in Britain.

She is one of only four women to have received the honour – with the other three having being awarded for bravery during World War II.

The Queen also awarded chief steward Neville Davis-Gordon the British Empire Medal for Gallantry.

In total, five people – including four passengers – died and 38 were injured.

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Among those hurt was Katriel Katz, the former Israeli ambassador to the Soviet Union, who was the only passenger to escape through the forward portside door.

The panicking diplomat almost dragged two stewards out with him as he plunged 12ft onto the tarmac and seriously injured himself.

Another survivor was the pop singer Mark Wynter, who was travelling to Australia for his wedding to Janeece Corlass.

A British Pathé newsreel filmed the charred wreckage of the Flight 712 following what is still the deadliest disaster at Britain’s biggest airport.

An official inquiry into the accident, which determined that metal fatigue was to blame, made three safety recommendations.

Among them was ensuring that emergency ground staff had the ability to instantly douse any crashed aircraft in foam to prevent fires spreading.

This helped save the lives of all 152 people aboard British Airways Flight 38 when crashed at Heathrow following a flight from Beijing in 2008.