On August 22, 1985, Flight 28M, a Boeing 737-236 flying the colours of British Airtours, took off from Manchester International Airport in Manchester in England, on an international passenger flight to Kerkira Airport on the Greek island of Kerkira. The aircraft, known by the company as River Orrin, had 131 passengers and 6 crew on the manifest.

During the takeoff phase, the captain heard a brief, loud thumping noise coming from under the plane. Thinking a tyre had burst, he abandoned takeoff and activated the thrust reversers. As the Boeing 737 stopped, the crew discovered that the No. 1 engine was on fire. The subsequent investigation into the incident revealed that the No. 9 combustor on the port engine somehow ejected from the engine, causing a fracture of the fuel tank access panel, causing the fire.

The fire found its way into the cabin, creating toxic smoke and causing the deaths of 53 passengers and two crew, 48 of them from smoke inhalation. Sixty-three passengers and crew escaped.

Impact on air safety

The incident raised serious air safety concerns over the standard aircraft emergency evacuation time of ninety seconds, since passengers were unable to escape despite the last passenger emerging after more than five minutes. It also resulted in widespread calls for the introduction of smoke hoods to enable passengers to survive long enough to reach the exits, although this idea was rejected as impractical by the United Kingdom Civil Aviation Authority. A subsequent idea of installing cabin misting systems (similar to a sprinkler system) was also rejected as being too expensive.

See also

• List of accidents and incidents on commercial airliners