
September 1961 to February 1967
British United Airways (BUA)
G-APTD - c/n 426 - a V.833 series Viscount
United Kingdom registered
circa September 1961
Returned from British Overseas Airways (BOAC) operations.
Repainted in full BUA livery.
March 1965
The aircraft was operating a scheduled service to West Africa from Gatwick Airport, Surrey, England routing via Portela Airport, Lisbon, Portugal and Las Palmas Airport, Canary Islands as Flight Number BR321. After a night stop at Las Palmas the aircraft continued on to Bathurst Airport in the Gambia. Gambia Airways which at the time was owned by BUA (60%) and the Gambian Government (40%) provided ground support and were the local handling agents for this service.
During a departure from Bathurst Airport, continuing on to Freetown Airport, Sierra Leone and Accra Airport, Ghana all four Dart engines seized during the initial takeoff run and the takeoff was aborted.
The cause of the multiple engine failures was as a result of the handling pilot not setting the fuel control unit fuel flow values to match the high ambient temperatures. During the acceleration up to takeoff speed (15,000 RPM) this resulted in the turbine gas temperatures exceeding the thermal creep strength of the high pressure turbine blades and their instant destruction with catastrophic secondary damage downstream within the turbine nozzle box area. Lumps of molten metal were found on the runway and in the exhaust / jet pipe area.
The aircraft was pulled back to a suitable area using ropes and local manpower. Replacement engines and extra staff were ordered from the UK and arrived a few days later on board a British United Air Ferries (BUAF) Aviation Traders ATL-98 Carvair along with propeller and engine removal equipment and master instruments to calibrate the replacement engines.
All four Dart engines seized at Bathurst Airport, The Gambia
As there was nothing suitable at the airport to remove the old engines or unload and fit the replacements a crane was hired from the local Public Works Department but this took two days to arrive. The temperature at the time was in the high 30 Celsius with hardly any shade when working on the engines. A few large umbrellas were set up with ample supplies of cold water.
The aircraft flew again on a test flight 16 days after the incident with only minor snags to resolve.
The above information was provided by Brian Robbins who was on secondment from BUA to Gambia Airways at the time as Acting General Manager. The West African service had only been in place for a few weeks when this incident happened and was set up as a goodwill gesture from BUA to the newly independent Gambia. Brian has fond memories of his time in the Gambia and will never forget this incident, which has happened elsewhere. Pre-flight check-lists are supposed to prevent such incidents from happening but there is always the human factor.
Bathurst Airport was renamed Banjul Airport in 1973.
28 January 1967
Arrived at Gatwick Airport, Surrey, England from Jersey Airport, Channel Islands.
It then entered the hangar to be prepared for its lease.
February 1967
Noted at Hurn Airport, Bournemouth, Hampshire, England with the tail 'BUA' and forward cheatline 'BUA' painted out in white.
It still had the main 'British United' titles on the upper fuselage. Did it go to Alia like this?
15 February 1967
Leased to Alia - The Royal Jordanian Airlines.
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