In a few seconds of terror, flight BA38 skims rooftops, clears the airport perimeter fence by inches and bellyflops on to the grass hurling lumps of broken metal into the air.
The pictures were taken by flight dispatcher David Spalton, who was taking photos of aircraft landing from a perimeter road.
He has handed them to investigators in the hope they will provide clues as to what caused the Boeing 777 to lose power two miles from touchdown at 600ft last Thursday.
He said yesterday: "It was a frightening experience. I'm not what you would describe as a plane spotter but I work in the industry so I have an interest.
"You could tell instantly that this aircraft was in trouble. It was obviously way too low. It was about 250ft lower than the other ones that had been coming in.
"The nose was up too far as well. It just didn't look right and there wasn't much noise.
"I thought to myself, 'that plane will not make the runway'."
As the jet hit the damp ground, he witnessed the undercarriage being torn apart and saw bits of metal flying off. An engine cover was ripped off on impact and thrown 60ft into the air.
Seconds later, the plane reached a halt at the edge of the runway. Mr Spalton continued to photograph as the emergency chutes came down and fire engines arrived.
Thanks to the heroics of First Officer John Coward, all 152 passengers and crew were evacuated with just 18 suffering minor injuries. A detailed investigation report is due within 30 days.
"When it hit the ground I was convinced there would be serious injuries," said Mr Spalton.
"It was remarkable nobody was in a worse state."
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