History
British Latin American Air Lines split from British Overseas Airways Corporation to operate the United Kingdom's Caribbean and South Atlantic routes. It used Langley Airfield for maintenance before transferring all operations to London Heathrow Airport. It began transatlantic scheduled services in March 1946, the BSAA Lancastrian G-AGWG Star Light making the first ever operational flight from the newly-opened London Heathrow Airport. BSAA operated mostly Avro aircraft: Yorks, Lancastrians and Tudors. It flew to Bermuda, the West Indies and the western coast of South America. BSAA was planning to introduce de Havilland Comets when in 1949 it merged back into BOAC.
BSAA had several mysterious accidents. The loss without trace of the Tudors G-AHNP Star Tiger and G-AGRE Star Ariel were cited as evidence of the Bermuda Triangle, and the loss of the Lancastrian Star Dust in the Andes after sending a partly unreadable radio message was named the STENDEC incident. Wreckage of Star Dust found in 2000 appeared to confirm a mundane accident (controlled flight into terrain).
For most of its existence it was headed by GAN member and former leader of the RAF's Pathfinders, and acknowledged expert on navigation, Air Vice Marshall Donald Bennett, its Chief Engineer being the former Group Captain, C. F. Sarsby.
Read more about this topic: British South American Airways
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