Deliveries to BOAC began on 30 September 1958 with two 48-seat aircraft, which were used to initiate the first scheduled transatlantic services. However, no mail was flown to or from Frankfurt on the outward flight. BOAC Flight 781 was a de Havilland Comet passenger jet, operated by British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC), that crashed on 10 January 1954 after suffering an explosive decompression at altitude. On the 20th, Mr. James Herbert Lett, Accident Inspector in the British Ministry of Civil Aviation, told the Calcutta Court enquiring into the BOAC Comet crash on … “One day the pilot made a dreadful mistake and flew off course, running out of fuel. There was a third accident, blamed on turbulence and not the plane, that occurred when the Comet was attempting a takeoff from Calcutta. MUST HEAR!!!

Indeed, there was a fatal accident to a BOAC Comet 1 taking off from Calcutta into bad weather where this problem was cited as the possible cause. It made its debut in 1952. The route was London, Frankfurt, Beirut, Karachi, Delhi, Calcutta, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Tokyo. One of many operators who ordered the Comet1, Aeromaritime of France along with Air France and BOAC were the only airlines to take delivery before production was halted.

Launched into service with BOAC in 1952, the Comet was the world’s first jet airliner. Its introduction into BOAC service in May 1952 was greeted as the dawning of a new age in passenger travel. ... 1954. One year later, however, a Comet broke apart after taking off from Calcutta airport. Michele said her mum joined BOAC after the war as “one of the first air hostesses and flew the Africa route”. Despite these accidents, the public’s unwavering confidence in the Comet remained until January 10, 1954. [AirClips] - Duration: 6:35. The crew survived but one passenger died. Air-Clips.com 3,016,287 views

The Comet was the world's first passenger jet, a much faster aircraft powered by a jet engine. Then, two months later, a year to the day after the inaugural flight, a BOAC Comet with 43 passengers and crew disintegrated at 10,000 feet after leaving Calcutta in a heavy thunderstorm. Parts of the aircraft were found spread over an area of eight square miles, near Jugalgari, a village some 25 miles north-west of Calcutta, suggesting disintegration before impact with the ground. The De Havilland Comet was the World’s first pressurised commercial jet airliner and it was the source of enormous national pride. 2 May 1953: BOAC Flight 783 de Havilland Comet bound for Delhi crashed after takeoff from Calcutta Airport with the loss of 43 lives.

The return flight left Tokyo on … On Sunday 10 January 1954, British Overseas Airways Corporation Flight 781, a de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1, registered G-ALYP, took off from Ciampino Airport in Rome, Italy, en route to Heathrow Airport in London, England, on the final leg of its flight from Singapore. Boeing 707 Takeoff: Four JT3D turbofan engines giving their best & loudest!

"The plane, a comet, crashed in Libya and broke upon impact. Two more crashes followed before engineers traced the problem: … G-APDH Comet-4 Jet aircraft left London on 1st April and arrived at Tokyo on April 3rd.