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| Date: | Sunday 20 February 2005 |
| Time: | 05:24 |
| Type: |  Boeing 747-436 |
| Owner/operator: | British Airways |
| Registration: | G-BNLG |
| MSN: | 24049/774 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1990 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 370 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Incident |
| Location: | Los Angeles International Airport (LAX/KLAX) -
 United States of America
|
| Phase: | Take off |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Los Angeles International Airport, CA (LAX/KLAX) |
| London-Heathrow Airport (LHR/EGLL) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
British Airways Flight BA268 was a scheduled flight from Los Angeles to London Heathrow. On takeoff from Runway 24L at about 100ft a loud and continuous Banging coming from the left of the aircraft. A yaw to the left was also noticed. A reduction in the #2 engine’s EPR and an increase in the EGT was also noticed. ATC would contact the Aircraft stating flames were visible coming from the left side of the aircraft. While the aircraft was continuing its climb at around 1500ft when it declared a Pan to ATC who would clear the aircraft to 5000ft. Once the aircraft was in a clear configuration the crew restarted and attempted to increase power on the #2 engine, this was quickly followed by Noise returning. A second attempt at a higher airspeed yielded the same results. One of the 2 F/O’s was sent out into the cabin to look for damage. Upon visual inspection no damage was found. According to passenger accounts flames were visible during the takeoff. The crew decided the flight would continue to Heathrow. The flight would continue over the US at FL270. The crew made the decision to continue over the Atlantic Ocean and were cleared for FL290. While nearing Ireland the crew became weary of the fuel situation. The crew would decide to divert to Manchester and would land safely.
Probable Cause:
The failure of #2 engine blades after colliding with the vains within the engine. This was exaggerated by overfueling leading to an intense fire.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/542302bfe5274a1317000bd7/Boeing_747-436__G-BNLG_06-06.pdf
https://amp.theguardian.com/business/2006/sep/25/theairlineindustry.britishairways
https://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/10/world/europe/us-sends-formal-complaint-to-ba.html
https://www.tampabay.com/archive/2005/03/02/flight-goes-from-l-a-to-england-with-an-engine-out/
https://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/08/world/europe/08iht-air.1929400.html
https://www.jetphotos.com/info/747-24049
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/427193 (Photo on day of Accident)
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 19-Dec-2024 07:41 | Justanormalperson | Added |
| 19-Dec-2024 07:41 | ASN | Updated [Accident report, ] |
| 19-Dec-2024 11:36 | Justanormalperson | Updated [Narrative, ] |
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