British Civil Aviation in 1989

8 January
A British Midland Airways Boeing 737-400 with 117 passengers and 8 crew crashes onto the M1 motorway killing 44 people. One of the aircraft's engines was seen to be on fire before the accident.

12 April
A British Airways Concorde loses part of its tail surface when leaving Sydney en route to London, but the pilot manages to return to Sydney and land safely.

21 November
A British Airways Boeing 747 narrowly misses the Penta Hotel near Heathrow when flying in very poor visibility.