1958 London Vickers Viking accident
Encyclopedia
The London Vickers Viking accident occurred on 2 September 1958 when an Independent Air Travel Vickers VC.1 Viking
(registration
G-AIJE), loaded with two Bristol Proteus
turboprop
engines as cargo, and with three crew members aboard, attempted a flight from London Heathrow Airport
to Tel Aviv
via Nice
, Brindisi
and Athens
.
(GMT) but 15 minutes after take off the flight crew reported engine problems and requested a return to Blackbushe Airport
. Air traffic control cleared the crew to descend to 3000 feet, but could not maintain this altitude, and continued descending. A Mayday
call was made from the aircraft at 0632 GMT, shortly before crashing into a row of houses on Kelvin Gardens, Southall
. The aircraft burst into flames on impact killing all three crew and four people, a mother and three children, on the ground. Witnesses reported that they saw one of the crew waving outside of the aircraft just before the aircraft crashed.
investigating the accident found a number of serious flaws in the running of Independent Air Travel and the maintenance of the aircraft. Maintenance had been carried out on one of the aircraft propellers at Heathrow on the night before the accident by personnel who were not qualified to carry out the work. The aircraft was overloaded, and the pilot had not had adequate rest, having effectively been on duty for 31 hours 30 minutes compared with the 16 hours required by the regulations. (This took advantage of a loophole in regulations that allowed crew to carry out flights during "rest" hours if no passengers or cargo was carried.) Check flights, which should have tested the pilots ability to handle the aircraft at high weights and with one engine out were "perfunctory" and did not adequately prove the pilots ability to handle the aircraft with one engine failed.
The report stated that "It is quite clear...that the policy of this company was to keep its aircraft in the air at all costs and without any real regard for the requirements of maintenance." and that "it is not difficult for employers who are not unduly concerned to observe the regulations, to drive their employees and . . . to induce them to disregard the regulations designed to ensure safety in the air."
Vickers VC.1 Viking
The Vickers VC.1 Viking was a British twin-engine short-range airliner derived from the Vickers Wellington bomber and built by Vickers Armstrongs Limited at Brooklands near Weybridge in Surrey. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the Viking was an important airliner with British airlines...
(registration
Aircraft registration
An aircraft registration is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies a civil aircraft, in similar fashion to a licence plate on an automobile...
G-AIJE), loaded with two Bristol Proteus
Bristol Proteus
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Gunston, Bill. World Encyclopedia of Aero Engines. Cambridge, England. Patrick Stephens Limited, 1989. ISBN 1-85260-163-9* Hooker, Sir Stanley. Not Much Of An Engineer. Airlife Publishing, 1985. ISBN 1853102857....
turboprop
Turboprop
A turboprop engine is a type of turbine engine which drives an aircraft propeller using a reduction gear.The gas turbine is designed specifically for this application, with almost all of its output being used to drive the propeller...
engines as cargo, and with three crew members aboard, attempted a flight from London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
to Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
via Nice
Nice
Nice is the fifth most populous city in France, after Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse, with a population of 348,721 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Nice extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of more than 955,000 on an area of...
, Brindisi
Brindisi
Brindisi is a city in the Apulia region of Italy, the capital of the province of Brindisi, off the coast of the Adriatic Sea.Historically, the city has played an important role in commerce and culture, due to its position on the Italian Peninsula and its natural port on the Adriatic Sea. The city...
and Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
.
Accident
The aircraft took off from Heathrow at 05:54 Greenwich Mean TimeGreenwich Mean Time
Greenwich Mean Time is a term originally referring to mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, London. It is arguably the same as Coordinated Universal Time and when this is viewed as a time zone the name Greenwich Mean Time is especially used by bodies connected with the United...
(GMT) but 15 minutes after take off the flight crew reported engine problems and requested a return to Blackbushe Airport
Blackbushe Airport
Blackbushe Airport , in the civil parish of Yateley in the north-east corner of the English county of Hampshire, comprises an airfield, much reduced in size since its heyday, a British Car Auctions site, a kart track owned by Camberley Kart Club, and a small business park...
. Air traffic control cleared the crew to descend to 3000 feet, but could not maintain this altitude, and continued descending. A Mayday
Mayday (distress signal)
Mayday is an emergency procedure word used internationally as a distress signal in voice procedure radio communications. It derives from the French venez m'aider, meaning "come help me"....
call was made from the aircraft at 0632 GMT, shortly before crashing into a row of houses on Kelvin Gardens, Southall
Southall
Southall is a large suburban district of west London, England, and part of the London Borough of Ealing. It is situated west of Charing Cross. Neighbouring places include Yeading, Hayes, Hanwell, Heston, Hounslow, Greenford and Northolt...
. The aircraft burst into flames on impact killing all three crew and four people, a mother and three children, on the ground. Witnesses reported that they saw one of the crew waving outside of the aircraft just before the aircraft crashed.
Cause
The probable cause of the accident was that "The aircraft was allowed to lose height and flying speed with the result that the pilot was no longer able to exercise asymmetric control." While the reasons for the loss of power and the subsequent loss of height and speed were not known, the Public inquiryPublic inquiry
A Tribunal of Inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body in Common Law countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland or Canada. Such a public inquiry differs from a Royal Commission in that a public inquiry accepts evidence and conducts its hearings in a more...
investigating the accident found a number of serious flaws in the running of Independent Air Travel and the maintenance of the aircraft. Maintenance had been carried out on one of the aircraft propellers at Heathrow on the night before the accident by personnel who were not qualified to carry out the work. The aircraft was overloaded, and the pilot had not had adequate rest, having effectively been on duty for 31 hours 30 minutes compared with the 16 hours required by the regulations. (This took advantage of a loophole in regulations that allowed crew to carry out flights during "rest" hours if no passengers or cargo was carried.) Check flights, which should have tested the pilots ability to handle the aircraft at high weights and with one engine out were "perfunctory" and did not adequately prove the pilots ability to handle the aircraft with one engine failed.
The report stated that "It is quite clear...that the policy of this company was to keep its aircraft in the air at all costs and without any real regard for the requirements of maintenance." and that "it is not difficult for employers who are not unduly concerned to observe the regulations, to drive their employees and . . . to induce them to disregard the regulations designed to ensure safety in the air."