British Airways 747’s Wing Slices Into Johannesburg Building
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A British Airways jumbo jet carrying 202 passengers and crew sliced into an office building at Johannesburg’s main airport after following the wrong taxiway prior to takeoff for London, injuring four people on the ground.
The Boeing Co. 747-400, with a wingspan of 211 feet (64 meters), had been instructed to use taxiway B but followed the narrower taxiway M, causing a wing to strike the offices, where the injuries were caused by debris from the building, South Africa’s Civil Aviation Authority said. Photos taken by passengers showed the wing embedded into the second floor of the building, having ripped through the side for several meters.