It was an unusually clear and cloudless day in Tokyo on the afternoon of March 5, 1966. British Overseas Airways flight 911 was scheduled to leave Tokyo at 1:30pm for Hong Kong with Captain Bernard Dobson on the flight deck. In addition to the cabin crew, there were 124 people aboard the Boeing 707 that day.
911 Falls in a Flat Spin
Due to the clear weather, Dobson asked for an amendment to the scheduled flight plan, climbing visually via Mt. Fuji to allow his passengers a rare up-close view of the Japanese landmark. 911 left Tokyo at 1:58pm and began climbing southwest towards Mt. Fuji, reaching 17,000ft. Passing over Gotemba, the aircraft turned northwest and began a slow descent towards the 12,400ft mountain. Shortly afterwards, witnesses reported seeing the aircraft trailing white vapour. The aircraft was then seen to be shedding pieces and then a large puff of vapour came from the aircraft's tail. It pitched up and entered a flat spin, the tail assembly and engines seen to be missing and the starboard outer wing had failed. The forward fuselage then broke off and the aircraft continued in a flat spin until impacting the base of Mt. Fuji. All aboard 911 were killed.
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