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| Date: | Tuesday 30 August 1994 |
| Time: | c. 14:55 LT |
| Type: |  Boeing 747-236B |
| Owner/operator: | British Airways |
| Registration: | G-BDXH |
| MSN: | 21635/365 |
| Year of manufacture: | 1979 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 189 |
| Other fatalities: | 0 |
| Aircraft damage: | Substantial |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | over The Ténéré Desert -
 Niger
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | London-Gatwick Airport (LGW/EGKK) |
| Lagos-Murtala Mohammed Airport (LOS/DNMM) | |
| Investigating agency: | AAIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
The aircraft, which left London Gatwick Airport at 1226 hrs, was in the cruise, at FL290 and M0.84,
on a scheduled flight to Lagos, Nigeria. Vibration was reported from the area around the centre galley while over Niger; it was described as a 'rumble' and appeared to come from beneath the cabin floor. It was initially thought that it might be a problem with the air conditioning system and the crew's diagnostic processes started from this assumption. Whilst this was in progress the aircraft climbed to FL310. A passenger noticed that a part of a left wing panel had separated and reported the fact to a member of the cabin staff, who relayed it to the commander. The vibration had increased in intensity and the flight engineer went into the cabin. Through a window, he saw that a section of upper wing panel, about 4 feet by 2 feet, was missing and the hole was enlarging as smaller pieces of panel became detached; it was also evident that some damage to the flap had occurred.
The commander decided to return to Gatwick and the aircraft was slowed and descended to minimise
further damage. No handling problems were experienced and the vibration had largely abated by the
time the speed had been reduced to M0.6. Being aware that some damage had been done to the flap,
the commander left his options open to divert to London Heathrow Airport which was more suitable
for a flapless arrival. After 27,000 kg of fuel had been jettisoned, Flap 1 was selected as the aircraft
approached the coast, followed by Flap 5. There were no problems with either the flap deployment or the subsequent handling characteristics and so the commander decided to continue with the Gatwick arrival for a 25° flap landing. The approach was uneventful, and the aircraft landed safely at 1918 hrs.
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5422f422ed915d13740004bb/Boeing_747-236B__G-BDXH_02-95.pdf
https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/5990191 (Photo)
History of this aircraft
Other occurrences involving this aircraft
| 24 June 1982 | G-BDXH | British Airways | 0 | 240 km SE of Jakarta |  |
sub |
| 28 February 1993 | G-BDXH | British Airways | 0 | Kingston-Norman Manley International Airport (KIN/MKJP) |  |
min |
| 21 May 1996 | G-BDXH | British Airways | 0 | Selsey Bill, Sussex, 20 nm SW of London Gatwick Airport |  |
min |
| Lightningstrike | ||||||
| 9 August 1996 | G-BDXH | British Airways | 0 | London-Gatwick Airport (LGW/EGKK) | |
min |
| Rudder issue | ||||||
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 28-Jun-2025 13:32 | Justanormalperson | Added |
| 28-Jun-2025 13:32 | Justanormalperson | Updated [Accident report, ] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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