London - Salzburg

On October 2, 1971 at 11:10 AM, London - Salzburg experienced a crash involving Vickers Vanguard, operated by British European Airways - BEA, with the event recorded near Aarsele West Flanders.

The flight was categorized as scheduled revenue flight and the reported phase was flight at a plain, valley crash site.

63 people were known to be on board, 63 fatalities were recorded, 0 survivors were identified or estimated. This corresponds to an estimated fatality rate of 100.0%.

Crew on board: 8, crew fatalities: 8, passengers on board: 55, passenger fatalities: 55, other fatalities: 0.

The listed crash cause is technical failure. En route from London-Heathrow to Salzburg at an altitude 19,000 feet, the rear pressure bulkhead ruptured. An explosive decompression of the fuselage occurred, causing serious interior damage and severe distortion of upper tailplane skin attachments. The tail surfaces subsequently detached, causing the airplane to enter a steep dive. The Vanguard spiraled down out of control and crashed in a field next to a highway. During the investigation corrosion was found in the lower part of the rear pressure bulkhead underneath plating that was bonded to the structure. The bond was completely delaminated in this area and the bulkhead material literally eaten away. Fluid contamination, perhaps from the lavatory, was thought to have been the root cause for the corrosion.

Aircraft reference details include registration G-APEC, MSN 706, year of manufacture 1959.

Geospatial coordinates for this crash are approximately 50.9845°, 3.4185°.