Photos: UK government accident investigation files
A gruesome jetliner inferno at Manchester Airport led to global safety reforms, including removal of seats next to emergency wing exits, fire retardant cabin materials and immediate evacuation of passengers and crew.Fifty-five of 131 people crammed into the Boeing 737 bound for Corfu died after an aborted takeoff on Aug. 22, 1985.
Moving about the cabin was difficult at best.
"I was just staggered by the number of people on the aircraft," survivor John Beardmore told the Manchester Evening News in 2024.
The first sign of danger was a thump that rattled British Airtours Flight 28M.
"I think we all thought it was a tire bursting," Beardmore said. "But within seconds someone on the left side of the cabin shouted the engine was on fire. I could see through a window black fumes coming out of the engine."
"The plane turned right and as it did I heard people screaming at the back because the wind was blowing the flames from the engine directly on to the cabin," he said.
"I was near the back, a black cloud of dense fumes and smoke started to roll down the cabin, Beardmore said. "When it hit you you just choked, one or two breaths and you knew you'd collapse."
The seats, carpets and interior walls were highly flammable.
Recalling the blaze in a 2015 interview, retired airport firefighter Roger Sheppard told the Manchester Evening News: “We heard a big bang on the runway. We looked over and saw the aircraft trailing smoke and flames.
“We started putting foam on it and knocked out the fire on the engine almost immediately," Sheppard said. “But then we realized the tail of the aircraft was slowly sinking down and we realized the fire had spread inside.”
Flames peeled the fuselage. The battle for access for an interior fire attack brutalized the airport firefighters.
“I managed to get a lady out over the wing, and one stewardess who had collapsed in a doorway trying to help others," he said. “It was hard because you couldn’t go in as you’d cause an obstruction to people trying to get out.”
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August 1985 marked the deadliest month for the world's airlines, with the Manchester fire and three other accidents claiming a total of 720 lives, according to the BBC.
In Japan, 520 of 524 people aboard Japan Air Lines Flight 123 died when the Boeing 747 roared out of control into mountainous terrain.
In the U.S., 137 people died when Delta Flight 191 crashed approaching Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport in high winds.
Bar Harbor Airlines Fight 1808 crashed in Maine killing eight people, including schoolgirl Samantha Smith, who won fame as a goodwill ambassador to the Soviet Union.
Photos: UK government accident investigation files
