1966 Felthorpe Trident crash

Last updated

Felthorpe Trident crash
Trident 62a.jpg
A Trident identical to the accident aircraft, here photographed during a display flight
Accident
Date3 June 1966
Summary Deep stall due to Pilot error
Site Felthorpe, Norfolk, United Kingdom
52°42′09″N1°11′36″E / 52.702516°N 1.193228°E / 52.702516; 1.193228
Aircraft
Aircraft type Hawker Siddeley Trident 1C
Operator Hawker Siddeley
Registration G-ARPY
Flight origin Hatfield Aerodrome
Destination Hatfield Aerodrome
Passengers0
Crew4
Fatalities4
Survivors0

On 3 June 1966, a newly built Hawker Siddeley Trident jetliner crashed during a pre-delivery test flight near the village of Felthorpe, Norfolk, England, killing all four crew. The aeroplane had entered a deep stall from which the crew were unable to recover. It was the first loss of a Trident aircraft. [1]

Contents

Aircraft

The aircraft involved was a tri-jet Hawker Siddeley Trident 1C, registration G-ARPY, [2] serial number 2126; that was about to be delivered to British European Airways. [3]

Accident flight

Deep stall illustrated Deep stall.svg
Deep stall illustrated

The aircraft was making its first flight, [4] which was a routine test flight to enable the aircraft's Certificate of Airworthiness to be issued. [5] There were four crew on board. The aircraft took off from Hatfield Aerodrome at 16:52. [3] Tests established that the stick shaker operated at 102 knots (189 km/h), and that stall recovery system operated at 93 knots (172 km/h). The crew then disconnected the stall warning systems in order to ascertain the actual margin left after the warning had been given before the aircraft stalled. On this particular flight, the aircraft was being operated with its centre of gravity towards its aft limit. [5]

Shortly after 18:30, the pilot reported that the aircraft was in a "superstall". [5] At the time, the aircraft was observed to be configured for landing. [3] It was at an altitude of 10,000 feet (3,000 m). The nose was seen to pitch up by 30 to 40° before the aircraft turned to port, followed by the starboard wing dropping. Although full power was applied, the aircraft entered into a flat spin, and crashed at Felthorpe, killing all on board. It was not fitted with an anti-spin parachute. [5] The site of the accident was in a field adjacent to Felthorpe Airfield. [6]

Crew

The crew were pilots Peter Barlow and George Errington, and technicians E. Brackstone-Brown and G.W. Patterson. [5]

Investigation

The Accidents Investigation Branch opened an inquiry into the accident. The investigation found that accident was the result of the pilot delaying recovery manoeuvres for too long, thereby allowing the aircraft to enter a deep stall from which it was impossible to recover. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stall (fluid dynamics)</span> Abrupt reduction in lift due to flow separation

In fluid dynamics, a stall is a reduction in the lift coefficient generated by a foil as angle of attack increases. This occurs when the critical angle of attack of the foil is exceeded. The critical angle of attack is typically about 15°, but it may vary significantly depending on the fluid, foil, and Reynolds number.

Thai Airways Company or Thai Airways was the domestic flag carrier of Thailand. Its main base was the domestic terminal at Don Mueang International Airport. Its head office was located in Pom Prap Sattru Phai, Bangkok. In 1988 Thai Airways merged to become Thai Airways International.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spin (aerodynamics)</span> Aviation term for a corkscrew downward path

In flight dynamics a spin is a special category of stall resulting in autorotation about the aircraft's longitudinal axis and a shallow, rotating, downward path approximately centred on a vertical axis. Spins can be entered intentionally or unintentionally, from any flight attitude if the aircraft has sufficient yaw while at the stall point. In a normal spin, the wing on the inside of the turn stalls while the outside wing remains flying. It is possible for both wings to stall, but the angle of attack of each wing, and consequently its lift and drag, are different.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British European Airways Flight 548</span> Passenger aircraft crash in 1972 due to pilot error

British European Airways Flight 548 was a scheduled passenger flight from London Heathrow to Brussels that crashed near Staines, Surrey, England, soon after take-off on 18 June 1972, killing all 118 people on board. The accident became known as the Staines air disaster. As of 2023, it remains the deadliest air accident in the United Kingdom and was the deadliest air accident involving a Hawker Siddeley Trident. One passenger initially survived the impact but died of his injuries soon after.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawker Siddeley HS 748</span> Airliner family by Hawker Siddeley, later British Aerospace

The Hawker Siddeley HS 748 is a medium-sized turboprop airliner originally designed and initially produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Avro. It was the last aircraft to be developed by Avro prior to its absorption into Hawker Siddeley.

A stick pusher is a device installed in some fixed-wing aircraft to prevent the aircraft from entering an aerodynamic stall. Some large fixed-wing aircraft display poor post-stall handling characteristics or are vulnerable to deep stall. To prevent such an aircraft approaching the stall the aircraft designer may install a hydraulic or electro-mechanical device that pushes forward on the elevator control system whenever the aircraft's angle of attack reaches the pre-determined value, and then ceases to push when the angle of attack falls sufficiently. A system for this purpose is known as a stick pusher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thai Airways Flight 365</span> 1987 aviation accident

Thai Airways Flight 365 was a Thai Airways Company Boeing 737-2P5 with the registration number HS-TBC. On 31 August 1987, the plane crashed during a scheduled flight from Hat Yai International Airport to Phuket International Airport, killing all 83 people on board: 74 passengers and 9 crew. It was the deadliest aviation accident in Thailand at the time, before being surpassed four years later by the crash of Lauda Air Flight 004. Concerned by another aircraft in their vicinity, the crew reduced their approach speed while attempting to land, and failed to recover from an aerodynamic stall. In addition to pilot error, the air traffic controller was blamed for failing to keep Flight 365 and the other aircraft adequately separated.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ADC Airlines Flight 053</span> 2006 aviation accident

ADC Airlines Flight 053 (ADK053) was a scheduled passenger flight operated by ADC Airlines from Nigeria's capital of Abuja to Sokoto. On 29 October 2006, the Boeing 737-2B7 crashed onto a corn field shortly after take-off from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, killing 96 out of 105 people on board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hawker Siddeley Trident</span> British Trijet T-tail airliner

The Hawker Siddeley HS-121 Trident is a British airliner produced by Hawker Siddeley. In 1957, de Havilland proposed its DH.121 trijet design to a British European Airways (BEA) request. By 1960, de Havilland had been acquired by Hawker Siddeley. The Trident's maiden flight happened on 9 January 1962, and it was introduced on 1 April 1964, two months after its main competitor, the Boeing 727. By the end of the programme in 1978, 117 Tridents had been produced. The Trident was withdrawn from service in 1995.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Channel Airways</span>

Channel Airways was a private airline formed in the United Kingdom in 1946 as East Anglian Flying Services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">XL Airways Germany Flight 888T</span> 2008 aviation accident in the Mediterranean Sea

XL Airways Germany Flight 888T (GXL888T) was an acceptance flight for an Airbus A320 on 27 November 2008. The aircraft crashed into the Mediterranean Sea, 7 km off Canet-en-Roussillon on the French coast, close to the Spanish border, killing all seven people on board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">BKS Air Transport Flight C.6845</span>

On 3 July 1968, BKS Air Transport Flight C.6845, an Airspeed Ambassador registration G-AMAD of BKS Air Transport crashed at Heathrow Airport, damaging two parked Trident airliners as it cartwheeled into the incomplete Heathrow Terminal 1, then under construction. Six of the eight people on board the Ambassador were killed, along with the eight racehorses being transported on it. The crash was blamed on the failure of a flap-operating rod due to metal fatigue, resulting in asymmetrical lift.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thai Airways Flight 231</span> 1980 aviation accident

Thai Airways Flight 231 was a scheduled passenger flight that crashed on 27 April 1980. The Hawker Siddeley HS 748 operating the flight, registration HS-THB, stalled and crashed after entering a thunderstorm on approach to Bangkok. The accident killed 44 out of 53 passengers and crew on board.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1963 BAC One-Eleven test crash</span> 1963 aviation accident near Chicklade, Wiltshire, England

The 1963 BAC One-Eleven test crash was a fatal accident of a British Aircraft Corporation prototype aircraft on 22 October 1963, near Chicklade in Wiltshire, England while it was undertaking a test flight. All seven crew members on board the BAC One-Eleven were killed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CAAC Flight 3303</span> 1982 aviation accident

CAAC Flight 3303 or China Southern Airlines Flight 3303 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from the former Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport to Guilin Qifengling Airport, China. It was serviced by a Hawker Siddeley Trident, registration B-266, that crashed into a mountain on 26 April 1982, killing all 112 people aboard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CAAC Airlines</span> Former Chinese airline

CAAC Airlines, formerly the People's Aviation Company of China (中國人民航空公司), was the airline division of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and the monopoly civil airline in the People's Republic of China. It was founded on 17 July 1952, and merged into CAAC on 9 June 1953. In 1988, the monopoly was broken up and CAAC Airlines was split into six regional airlines, which later consolidated into China's Big Three airlines: Beijing-based Air China, Guangzhou-based China Southern Airlines, and Shanghai-based China Eastern Airlines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aeroflot Flight 2022</span> Tupolev Tu-124 crash in 1973

Aeroflot Flight 2022 was a scheduled Soviet domestic passenger flight between Vilnius Airport in Lithuanian SSR and Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union that crashed on 16 December 1973, killing all 51 people on board. The five hundred mile flight suffered a loss of control as a result of a malfunction of its elevator, causing it to crash as it made its final descent into Moscow. At the time of the crash it was the worst accident in aviation history involving a Tupolev Tu-124, since it entered service with Aeroflot in 1962.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Airborne Express Flight 827</span> 1996 airplane crash

Airborne Express Flight 827 was a functional evaluation flight (FEF) of an Airborne Express Douglas DC-8-63F that had undergone a major modification. On December 22, 1996, during the test flight, the aircraft stalled and crashed, killing all six people on board. Accident investigators determined the cause of the accident was improper crew control inputs.

References

  1. "Hawker Siddeley Trident Accidents". Shockcone. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
  2. "G-INFO Database". Civil Aviation Authority.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "G-ARPY Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
  4. "DH121 Trident". de Havilland. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2010.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 Middleton 1985, p. 237.
  6. "History". Felthorpe Flying Group. Archived from the original on 11 September 2010. Retrieved 18 August 2010.

Sources