G-BXAR – BA CityFlyer Avro RJ100: The Whisper Jet of London City

Some aircraft are remembered for crossing oceans.

Others for carrying millions of passengers between continents.

G-BXAR belonged to a very different world.

This compact four-engine Avro RJ100 spent its life flying short regional routes in the British Airways network – connecting major European cities with airports where its unusual design offered a real advantage.

And few airports suited the aircraft better than London City.

Short runway.

Steep approach.

Strict noise requirements.

An airport surrounded by the buildings of one of the world's largest cities.

This was exactly the environment for which the BAe 146 and its later Avro RJ derivatives had become famous.

G-BXAR entered service in 1997.

For almost twelve years, it remained within the British Airways regional family as airline names and corporate structures changed around it.

CityFlyer Express.

British Airways CitiExpress.

BA Connect.

BA CityFlyer.

Then, on 13 February 2009, its career came to an abrupt end at London City Airport.

During an otherwise normal landing, the nose landing gear collapsed.

The aircraft slid along the runway on its nose.

Everyone on board survived.

But G-BXAR would never fly again.

Part of its genuine aircraft skin has since been preserved by Aircrafttag – giving this remarkable British regional jet another chapter.

Born as an Avro RJ100

G-BXAR was built at Woodford in the United Kingdom as an Avro RJ100, part of the BAe 146 / Avro RJ family.

Its manufacturer serial number was E3298.

On 15 March 1997, the aircraft performed its first flight.

Less than a month later, on 10 April 1997, it was delivered to CityFlyer Express.

Its registration was G-BXAR.

The aircraft was configured for up to 110 passengers and powered by four Lycoming LF507-1F turbofan engines.

Four engines on an aircraft of this size might appear unusual today.

For the BAe 146 and Avro RJ family, however, those four small engines were part of a design created around a very specific mission.

The Whisper Jet

The origins of the aircraft family stretched back to the 1970s.

The idea was to create a regional jet capable of operating where conventional jetliners could struggle.

Short runways.

Noise-sensitive airports.

Steep approaches.

Airports close to city centres.

The resulting aircraft looked unlike almost anything else in its class.

A high wing.

A T-tail.

Four small turbofan engines.

And a large airbrake at the rear of the fuselage.

The original BAe 146 became famous for its relatively low external noise levels and earned the nickname Whisper Jet.

The later Avro RJ series developed the concept further.

G-BXAR belonged to the largest version.

The RJ100.

CityFlyer Express

When G-BXAR entered service in 1997, its operator was CityFlyer Express.

The regional airline had developed a close relationship with British Airways and operated services under the British Airways identity.

For passengers, the distinction could easily disappear.

They booked British Airways.

They saw British Airways colours.

But aircraft such as G-BXAR were operated by CityFlyer Express.

The RJ100 was well suited to the airline's network.

Rather than spending its life on enormous intercontinental journeys, G-BXAR became a European regional workhorse.

Shorter sectors.

Frequent take-offs and landings.

Busy airports.

And repeated connections between Britain and continental Europe.

Delftblue Daybreak

G-BXAR also became part of one of the most unusual periods in British Airways design history.

During the late 1990s, British Airways introduced its World Images tail-fin programme.

Instead of every aircraft carrying an identical tail, dozens of different artistic designs appeared across the fleet.

G-BXAR received a design known as Delftblue Daybreak.

The artwork was inspired by the distinctive blue-and-white tradition of Dutch Delftware.

Against the otherwise familiar British Airways fuselage, the tail made G-BXAR immediately recognizable.

The aircraft retained the Delftblue design until 2005.

It was a colourful visual chapter in the life of an aircraft that would ultimately become closely associated with one very particular airport.

London City.

Built for Difficult Airports

London City Airport presents a very different operating environment from airports such as Heathrow or Gatwick.

The airport is located in London's Docklands, surrounded by dense urban development.

Its runway is short.

Noise matters.

And aircraft must be approved for its unusually steep approach.

These characteristics dramatically limit the types of aircraft capable of operating there.

The BAe 146 and Avro RJ family became particularly well suited to this environment.

Its aerodynamic design, powerful wheel brakes, large rear airbrake and four-engine configuration allowed it to operate efficiently from demanding airports.

Its relatively quiet noise footprint was equally important.

For years, the sight of a four-engine Avro RJ descending steeply toward London City became a familiar part of the airport.

And G-BXAR became one of those aircraft.

A British Airways Regional Jet

The names surrounding G-BXAR changed repeatedly during its career.

CityFlyer Express became part of British Airways.

From 2003, the aircraft operated under British Airways CitiExpress.

In February 2006 came another identity.

BA Connect.

Then, in March 2007, G-BXAR joined BA CityFlyer.

The registration never changed.

Neither did the basic role of the aircraft.

G-BXAR continued operating regional services within the British Airways network.

By this point, however, the RJ100 was entering the final years of its career.

British Airways was preparing a new generation of aircraft for London City operations.

G-BXAR would never reach that planned retirement.

13 February 2009

On Friday, 13 February 2009, G-BXAR was operating BA CityFlyer Flight 8456.

The flight originated in Amsterdam.

Its destination was London City Airport.

There were 67 passengers and five crew members aboard.

The flight itself was uneventful.

The crew approached London City and conducted an ILS approach to Runway 27.

Everything initially appeared normal.

The main landing gear touched the runway.

Then the nose was lowered.

At that moment, the nose landing gear failed.

The Nose Gear Collapses

The upper section of the nose landing gear fractured.

Without the gear supporting the front of the aircraft, the nose dropped onto the runway.

The lower fuselage scraped along the surface as G-BXAR continued forward.

The aircraft finally came to a stop on the runway.

Inside, another problem developed.

The cockpit and cabin began filling with dense smoke.

The crew initiated an evacuation.

All 72 people aboard escaped from the aircraft.

Three passengers were treated for minor injuries, with two kept in hospital overnight.

There were no serious injuries and no fatalities.

But the damage to G-BXAR was severe.

Its flying career was over.

What Happened to G-BXAR?

The accident was investigated by the United Kingdom's Air Accidents Investigation Branch.

The investigation found that the nose landing gear had fractured because of a fatigue crack in the upper internal bore of the landing gear main fitting.

The origin of that crack was particularly significant.

According to the AAIB, it had formed as a result of poor surface finish during manufacture combined with the incomplete embodiment of a Messier Dowty service bulletin during the landing gear's previous overhaul.

Maintenance records indicated that the relevant work had been completed.

The investigation found that it had not been fully implemented.

As a result, inspections that could otherwise have been required to detect fatigue cracking were no longer being carried out.

It was a small defect hidden inside a landing gear component.

But on 13 February 2009, after years of operation, it finally caused the structure to fail.

Damaged Beyond Repair

The accident caused extensive damage to the aircraft.

As the nose travelled along the runway, the lower forward fuselage was severely abraded.

Components around the nose landing gear area were damaged or destroyed.

The aircraft was eventually classified as damaged beyond repair.

There would be no return to service.

G-BXAR remained at London City Airport after the accident and was broken up there in June 2009.

The airport where the RJ100 had been so perfectly suited to operate had also become the place where its life ended.

G-BXAR was only twelve years old.

The End of an Era at London City

The accident occurred during a period of transition for BA CityFlyer.

The Avro RJ fleet was approaching retirement.

A new generation of Embraer E-Jets was arriving.

By 2010, BA CityFlyer's RJ100 era was over.

The four-engine regional jets that had once been such a characteristic sight at London City gradually disappeared.

Their successors were more efficient.

They required only two engines.

They offered newer cabins and modern technology.

But the unusual silhouette of the Avro remained difficult to replace in aviation memory.

Four engines beneath a high wing.

A T-tail.

And that enormous split airbrake at the back.

There was nothing else quite like it.

From G-BXAR to Aircrafttag

Part of the genuine aircraft skin of Avro RJ100 G-BXAR has been preserved and transformed by Aircrafttag into collectible pieces of aviation history.

The material once formed part of an aircraft that spent almost twelve years operating regional services in the British Airways family.

CityFlyer Express.

British Airways CitiExpress.

BA Connect.

BA CityFlyer.

It flew into airports across Europe.

It carried the distinctive Delftblue Daybreak tail.

And it became part of an aircraft family particularly closely associated with London City Airport.

The surface can still carry original paint, scratches, marks and variations from its operational life.

They belong to the real aircraft.

Avro RJ100.

MSN E3298.

Registration G-BXAR.

A Different Kind of Aviation History

G-BXAR was never designed to cross the Atlantic.

It was never intended to become the flagship of an international airline.

And it did not need to be.

Its story represents another equally important side of commercial aviation.

The regional aircraft that fly several sectors every day.

The crews connecting smaller cities.

The aircraft designed to reach airports that larger jets cannot easily serve.

And the engineering solutions developed for unusual operational challenges.

G-BXAR embodied that philosophy.

Four engines.

A high wing.

Quiet operation.

Short-field capability.

And a design that found one of its ideal homes at London City.

Its career ended suddenly on the same runway it was so well suited to use.

But everyone aboard its final flight survived.

The complete aircraft no longer exists.

Part of its genuine aircraft skin does.

Preserved by Aircrafttag, a physical piece of G-BXAR and Britain's distinctive Whisper Jet era can continue its journey.