The aircraft flew into a cloud of volcanic ash thrown up by the eruption of Mount Galunggung around 110 miles (180 km) south-east of Jakarta, Indonesia, resulting in the failure of all four engines.

Partly because the event occurred at night, obscuring the cloud, the reason for the failure was not immediately apparent to the crew or air traffic control.

The crew members of the accident segment had boarded the aircraft in Kuala Lumpur, while many of the passengers had been aboard since the flight began in London.

The flight crew members had boarded the aircraft at Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Kuala Lumpur and were due to pilot the 747-200 for the Malaysia-to-Perth leg.

[4] Shortly after 13:40 UTC (20:40 Jakarta time) above the Indian Ocean, south of Java, the crew first noticed an unusual effect on the windscreen similar to St. Elmo's fire, while Moody was heading to the lavatory.

[1] Despite the weather radar showing clear skies, the crew switched on engine anti-ice and the passenger seat belt signs as a precaution.

Passengers who had a view of the aircraft's engines through the window noted that they were unusually bright blue, with light shining forward through the fan blades and producing a stroboscopic effect.

The flight crew immediately performed the engine shutdown drill, quickly cutting off fuel supply and arming the fire extinguishers.

[5] At 13:44 UTC (20:44 Jakarta time), Greaves broadcast a Mayday to the local air traffic control authority, stating that all four engines had failed.

The crew decided that if the aircraft was unable to maintain altitude by the time they reached 12,000 feet (3,700 m), they would turn back out to sea and attempt to ditch into the Indian Ocean.

After landing, the flight crew found taxiing impossible, due to glare from apron floodlights, which made the already sandblasted windscreen opaque.

[12] While staying in Jakarta, the passengers and crew of British Airways Flight 009 got the chance to have a tour of the city and visited Taman Mini Indonesia Indah.

[13] The crew received various awards, including the Queen's Commendation for Valuable Service in the Air for Moody,[14] and medals from the British Airline Pilots' Association.

She later noted: "The 28th December 2006 marks the start of our 14th year of honeymoon, and on the 24th June 2007, many passengers and crew will no doubt gather to celebrate the 25th anniversary of our mid-air adventure.

[citation needed] British Airways returned to Bangkok in October 2024 after a 4 year hiatus; however, the route operated seasonally from London Gatwick instead.

[16] Episode 11 of BBC comedy television panel show QI XL (“Underthings”) broadcast a brief interview with Captain Moody, who was sitting in the audience when a question was asked about the incident.