British Airways Flight 9
G-BDXH, the aircraft involved in the accident, photographed at San Francisco Airport in 1980.
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| Accident summary | |
|---|---|
| Date | 24 June 1982 |
| Summary | Quadruple engine flameout due to blockage by volcanic ash |
| Site | near Mount Galunggung West Java, Indonesia |
| Passengers | 248 |
| Crew | 15 |
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries (non-fatal) | 0 |
| Survivors | 263 (all) |
| Aircraft type | Boeing 747-236B |
| Aircraft name | City of Edinburgh |
| Operator | British Airways |
| Registration | G-BDXH |
| Flight origin |
London Heathrow Airport London, England |
| 1st stopover |
Sahar Airport Bombay, India |
| 2nd stopover |
Madras Airport Madras, India |
| 3rd stopover |
Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| 4th stopover | Perth Airport, Perth, Western Australia, Australia |
| Last stopover | Melbourne Airport, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Destination |
Auckland Airport Auckland, New Zealand |
British Airways Flight 9, sometimes referred to by its callsign Speedbird 9 or as the Jakarta incident, was a scheduled British Airways flight from London Heathrow to Auckland, with stops in Bombay, Madras, Kuala Lumpur, Perth, and Melbourne.
On 24 June 1982, the route was flown by the City of Edinburgh, a 747-236B. The aircraft flew into a cloud of volcanic ash thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung (approximately 180 kilometres (110 mi) south-east of Jakarta, Indonesia), resulting in the failure of all four engines. The reason for the failure was not immediately apparent to the crew or air traffic control. The aircraft was diverted to Jakarta in the hope that enough engines could be restarted to allow it to land there. The aircraft glided out of the ash cloud, and all engines were restarted (although one failed again soon after), allowing the aircraft to land safely at the Halim Perdanakusuma Airport in Jakarta.
The crew members of the accident segment had boarded the aircraft in Kuala Lumpur, while many of the passengers had been aboard since the flight began in London.
Shortly after 13:40 UTC (20:40 Jakarta time) above the Indian Ocean, south of Java, the flight crew (consisting of 32-year-old Senior First Officer Roger Greaves and 40-year-old Senior Engineer Officer Barry Townley-Freeman while 41-year-old Captain Eric Moody was in the lavatory) first noted an effect on the windscreen similar to St. Elmo's fire. The phenomenon persisted after Moody returned from the lavatory. Despite the weather radar showing clear skies, the crew switched on engine anti-ice and the passenger seat belt signs as a precaution.
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