British Airtours Flight 28M suffers an engine fire during takeoff at Manchester Airport. The pilots abort but due to inefficient evacuation procedures 55 people are killed, mostly from smoke inhalation.
British Airtours Flight 28M (also known as Flight 328) was an international passenger flight which caught fire before takeoff at Manchester Airport, England on 22 August 1985 with the loss of 55 lives. It was en route to Corfu International Airport in Greece.
The aircraft, a Boeing 737-236 registered G-BGJL, previously named "Goldfinch", but at the time of the accident named "River Orrin", was flown by British Airtours, a wholly owned subsidiary of British Airways. It had 131 passengers and six crew on the manifest. During the takeoff roll a loud thump was heard and takeoff aborted. An engine failure had generated a fire and the captain ordered evacuation.: 102 The engine failure was later traced to an incorrectly repaired combustor causing the turbine disc to shatter and puncture the wing fuel tanks. There were 82 survivors; most of the deaths were due to smoke inhalation, not burns.An aviation analyst said the accident was "a defining moment in the history of civil aviation" because it brought about industry-wide changes to the seating layout near emergency exits, fire-resistant seat covers, floor lighting, fire-resistant wall and ceiling panels, more fire extinguishers and clearer evacuation rules.