Laker Airways - Incidents and Accidents

Incidents and Accidents

There are three recorded non-fatal incidents involving Laker Airways aircraft.

• The first incident occurred on 17 August 1969. It involved a BAC One-Eleven 320L (registration: G-AVBX) operating a charter flight from Klagenfurt, Austria, to Berlin Tegel, Germany, under contract to West Berlin package holiday company Flug-Union Berlin. The aircraft made an emergency landing at Hanover Airport because of an electrical fire in an aerial tuning unit in the forward cabin area behind the flight deck. The fire started when the aircraft was 30 nautical miles (56 km) from Hanover, filling the cabin with fumes. This reduced visibility on the flight deck to 18 inches (46 cm). Forward vision was nil. Using the emergency oxygen system, the captain began his emergency descent from FL250 under radar guidance from Hanover air traffic control (ATC), while the co-pilot depressurised the aircraft and attempted to open a side window to clear the smoke. The cabin crew were deprived of both their public address system and intercom with the flight deck during the descent. Due to lack of time before landing, emergency procedures were abandoned. Following the successful emergency landing, the aircraft came to a rapid halt clear of the runway. By the time the last of the 89 occupants (five crew and 84 passengers) had evacuated the aircraft, the fire had burned through the pressure hull and was being fed by oxygen. There were no injuries. The fire was extinguished on the ground. Following the incident, the aircraft manufacturer issued several service bulletins (SBs) listing action to be taken as mandated by the UK's Airworthiness Requirements Board (ARB). These SBs were circulated to all One-Eleven operators. The ARB also issued a more general warning to all One-Eleven operators regarding the need to ensure that oxygen leaks do not create fire hazards, and that oxygen lines are routed away from potential fire sources. As a result of this incident, the ARB also began to pay close attention to the fire resistance of aircraft fittings and furnishings due to their potential to form major hazards in oxygen-fed inflight fires. The flight deck crew subsequently received the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air, while the cabin crew were commended for their action during the emergency. The citation for the Queen's Award stated that "the crew displayed a high standard of airmanship in circumstances which could have had very serious consequences".

• The second incident occurred on 21 March 1981. It involved a McDonnell-Douglas DC-10-30 operating a scheduled service from Barbados to London Gatwick on behalf of Caribbean Airways. The aircraft suffered tyreburst on takeoff from Barbados, as a result of hitting an uneven patch on the runway. This caused most overhead lockers to open. Rather than returning to Barbados, the flight deck crew decided to continue to London Gatwick. Due to the flight's early arrival over the UK, ATC instructed the flight deck crew to hold for 25 minutes, following which the aircraft landed safely at Gatwick. There were no injuries among the 340 passengers. According to an airline spokesman, the hot rubber from the burst tyres had caused wiring short-circuits. These in turn had affected some flightdeck instruments.

• The third incident occurred on 7 May 1981. It involved an Airbus A300B4 operating a charter flight from Lanzarote to London Gatwick. Following the failure of the aircraft's port engine soon after takeoff from Lanzarote, the flightdeck crew decided to divert to Las Palmas for a single-engine landing. The aircraft landed safely. There were no injuries among the 305 occupants (ten crew and 295 passengers).

• There was a fourth incident on April 14, 1977. It involved a McDonnell-Douglas DC-10-10 operating from Manchester to Los Angeles via Niagra. The aircraft suffered tireburst takeoff from Manchester. Flight was subsequently performed the following day by a replacement DC-10-10.