airline safety

British Airways safety record

No passenger or crew member has died in an accident on a British Airways flight since 1976 — half a century. On airlines like British Airways, the chance of a passenger dying in an accident is about 1 in 80 million per flight.

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No one on board has died in an accident since 1976
Chance of dying in an accident, per flight1 in 80 million

For airlines based in the United Kingdom and the other countries in the same safety group, 2018–2022 (MIT study).

Put another way: if you took a flight every single day, you would, on average, fly for about 219,000 years before a fatal accident happened to you.

the record

Half a century without a passenger or crew death in an accident

British Airways was formed in 1974 from BOAC and BEA. Its last accident with deaths on board was in 1976, when a BA Trident collided in mid-air with another airliner near Zagreb; the collision was attributed to an error by Zagreb air traffic control. The last death linked to a BA aircraft came in 2001, when a ground refueller was killed in a fire at a Denver gate; US investigators found the refuelling equipment failed after the hydrant truck was positioned wrongly.

Two BA subsidiaries had fatal accidents under their own names. In 1983 a British Airways Helicopters S-61N flying from Penzance to the Isles of Scilly struck the sea in poor visibility, and 20 of the 26 on board died. In 1985 a Boeing 737 of British Airtours, BA's wholly owned charter airline, caught fire on its take-off roll at Manchester, and 55 people died, most of them from smoke. Both are shown on the line below as subsidiaries' flights.

In 1974 hijackers seized a BA VC10 at Dubai and shot one passenger before the ordeal ended in Tunis. That was a crime against the airline, and it is shown apart from its accidents.

since 1974

Every fatal accident, on one line

Solid dots are its own flights; hollow ones were flown by a partner or subsidiary under its name; grey rings are hijackings and attacks. Deaths that investigators don't class as accidents (such as trespassers) aren't shown.

19801990200020102020
Its own flights Partner, subsidiary or predecessor airline flights Hijackings and attacks
  1. Sep 2001 BA2019 · Boeing 777-200ER · DenverA ground refueller was killed in a fire during refuelling at the gate; US investigators found the refuelling adapter failed after the hydrant truck was mispositioned.
  2. Aug 1985 British Airtours 28M · Boeing 737-200 · ManchesterAn engine failed on the take-off roll and fire spread into the cabin; most of the 55 who died were overcome by smoke (AAIB report 8/88). British Airtours was BA's wholly owned charter airline.
  3. Jul 1983 British Airways Helicopters 5918 · Sikorsky S-61N · off the Isles of ScillyA scheduled helicopter flight from Penzance to St Mary's struck the sea in poor visibility; 20 of the 26 on board died. British Airways Helicopters was then BA's own helicopter subsidiary.
  4. Sep 1976 BA476 · Hawker Siddeley Trident 3B · near ZagrebCollided in mid-air with an Inex-Adria DC-9; the collision was attributed to an error by Zagreb air traffic control.
  5. Nov 1974 BA870 · Vickers VC10 · TunisHijacked at Dubai and flown to Tripoli and Tunis; the hijackers shot one passenger during the ordeal, which ended in Tunis.
your flight

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at a glance

British Airways in numbers

Founded
1974
Country
United Kingdom
Alliance
oneworld
Main hubs
London Heathrow · London Gatwick
Passengers a year
46.3 M 2025
Fleet
298 as of Dec 2025
IATA safety audit (IOSA)
Registered
the fleet

What British Airways flies

Tap a plane for its own safety record.

Airbus A380 See its safety record Boeing 777 See its safety record Airbus A350 See its safety record Boeing 787 Dreamliner See its safety record Airbus A320 family See its safety record Embraer E-Jets See its safety record
on the day

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  • ✓Where you are in the flight, and how long until the bumpy stretch is behind you
An iPhone Lock Screen showing the FlyBud Live Activity: Barcelona to Istanbul, gate B23, boarding, with the same flight in the Dynamic Island at the top of the screen.

British Airways safety questions

How safe is British Airways?

No passenger or crew member has died in an accident on a British Airways flight since 1976 — half a century. On airlines like British Airways, the chance of a passenger dying in an accident is about 1 in 80 million per flight. Every fact on this page is sourced — the list is at the bottom.

What is British Airways's safety rating?

FlyBud doesn't invent a score. What matters is the record, which you can check: no passenger or crew member has died in an accident on a British Airways flight since 1976. It is registered with IATA's operational safety audit (IOSA), which registered airlines must renew every two years.

Has British Airways ever crashed?

No British Airways passenger flight has crashed with loss of life since 1976, when a BA Trident collided in mid-air near Zagreb. In 2008 BA flight 38, a 777, landed short at Heathrow after ice in the fuel system cut both engines' thrust on approach; no one died.

sources

Where these facts come from

Every fact on this page is from official accident reports, the airline's own filings or the published accident record.

Flying British Airways soon?

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