Another recommendation was for greater caution before allowing off-duty crew members to occupy flight deck seats. The inquiry's findings as to the main causes of the accident,[72] were that: Underlying causes of the accident were also identified:[72], Recommendations included an urgent call for cockpit voice recorders and for closer co-operation between the Civil Aviation Authority and British airlines. [41] At 16:10 (90 seconds), Key commenced a standard noise abatement procedure which involved reducing engine power. who was scheduled to fly with Key to (360) 293-5098 For the rest of the world, find the dealer nearest you by contacting: Beta Marine North Carolina Ltd. P.O. It is believed that many factors played a part in the crash of Flight 548, such as the crew failing to maintain the appropriate airspeed and flaps being retracted prematurely, however, there are also some underlying problems that may have been the cause of the accident. The aircraft suffered a deep stall shortly after takeoff, eventually coming down just south of the busy A30 road, a short distance from the town of Staines-upon-Thames. up an aircraft. The strike had also disrupted services, causing Flight 548 to be loaded with the maximum weight allowable. [25] The forward fuselage of this aircraft is preserved and on public display at the de Havilland Aircraft Heritage Centre, London Colney. google_ad_height = 60; The flight deck of a BEA Trident. distraction, inadvertently retracted They can withstand up to 3,400 Gs and temperatures of 1,100C. There was also one passenger from each of French West Africa, India, Jamaica, Latin America, Nigeria and Thailand. [39][40] At 16:08:30 BE 548 began its take-off run, which lasted 44 seconds, the aircraft leaving the ground at an indicated airspeed (IAS) of 145 knots (269km/h; 167mph). abatement procedure which involved BEA flight 548 fell out of the sky almost vertically, spearing into the ground tail-first and narrowly missing a set of power lines. In addition to the crew The flight was bound for Brussels Airport with experienced ex-RAF pilot Captain Stanley Key as P1, Second OfficerJeremy Keighley as P2 and Second Officer Simon Ticehurst as P3. This configuration of high-lift devices at a low airspeed would have resulted in a deep stall, but the co-pilot noticed the error, increased airspeed and re-extended the droops, and the flight continued normally. appeared to be healthy and normal. [65] They involved hypotheses about the mental state of Captain Key, conjecture about his physical state (Kreindler highlighted disagreements between US and British cardiologists) and allegations about BEA management. In was just after 4pm when the Trident Some observers felt that the inquiry was unduly biased in favour of the aircraft's manufacturers. and deactivated it. They were also responsible for alerting The minimum droop In this episode Read More Episodes British European Airways, United Kingdom The crash took place against the background of a pilots strike that had caused bad feelings between crew members. [51], A BEA captain, Eric Pritchard, arrived soon after the bodies had been removed; he noted the condition of the wreckage and drew conclusions:[50].