A British Airways passenger plane has crash-landed short of a runway at Heathrow Airport, ripping off part of its undercarriage. All 136 passengers and 16 crew escaped from the British Airways flight BA038 from Beijing. Thirteen people have been taken to hospital with minor injuries.The aircraft came down some 200 metres short of the southern runway apparently after losing all engine power and avionics, forcing the crew to glide the last part of the landing.
It does not bear thinking about should a third runway be built in the crook of the M4 motorway as planned. An aircraft dropping short of the runway is liable to hit the motorway causing massive loss of life and blocking one of the major routes in and out of London for days if not weeks while recovery takes place.
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