All of flight BA38's 136 passengers, 13 cabin and three flight crew were evacuated after the Boeing 777, which had flown in from Beijing, China, landed just yards from a busy perimeter road on the southern runway.
The undercarriage of the plane was wrecked and extensive damage was caused to both wings. Eighteen people were injured and treated at Hillingdon Hospital in Uxbridge and other hospitals.
Six ambulances, two fast response cars and a hazardous response team were scrambled while around six fire engines attended the scene and the stricken jet was surrounded by a sea of firefighting foam.