BKS Air Transport Flight C.6845
G-AMAD, the Airspeed Ambassador involved, seen in 1966 | |
| Accident | |
|---|---|
| Date | 3 July 1968 |
| Summary | Mechanical failure caused by metal fatigue |
| Site | Heathrow Airport, England 51°28′24″N 0°27′00″W / 51.4734°N 0.4501°W |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Airspeed Ambassador |
| Operator | BKS Air Transport |
| Registration | G-AMAD |
| Occupants | 8 |
| Passengers | 5 |
| Crew | 3 |
| Fatalities | 6 |
| Survivors | 2 |
On 3 July 1968, BKS Air Transport Flight C.6845, an Airspeed Ambassador registration G-AMAD of BKS Air Transport crashed at Heathrow Airport, damaging two parked Trident airliners as it cartwheeled into the incomplete Heathrow Terminal 1, then under construction. Six of the eight people on board the Ambassador were killed, along with the eight racehorses being transported on it. The crash was blamed on the failure of a flap-operating rod due to metal fatigue, resulting in asymmetrical lift.