British World Airlines Flight 4272
| British World Airlines Flight 4272 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) The affected machine at Manchester Airport in September 1989 |
|
| Accident summary | |
| Accident type | Engine icing and electrical failure in flight |
| place | 7.5 kilometers southwest of Uttoxeter , United Kingdom
|
| date | February 25, 1994 |
| Fatalities | 1 |
| Survivors | 1 |
| Injured | 1 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type |
Vickers 813 Viscount
|
| operator |
British World Airlines
|
| Mark |
G-OHOT
|
| Departure airport |
Edinburgh Turnhouse Airport , United Kingdom
|
| Destination airport |
Coventry Airport , UK
|
| Passengers | 0 |
| crew | 2 |
| Lists of aviation accidents | |
On the British World Airlines Flight 4272 (flight number IATA : VF4272 , ICAO : BWL4272 ) from Edinburgh to Coventry crashed on 25 February 1994, a cargo aircraft of type Vickers Viscount 813 of the British World Airlines in flight from. The pilot was killed in the accident and the first officer was seriously injured. The crash was caused by icing over several engines and a subsequent failure of the electrical system.
machine
The accident Vickers Viscount 813 with the serial number 349 had been ordered for South African Airways . The four-engine medium-range aircraft was equipped with four turboprop engines of the type Rolls-Royce Dart 525 equipped and propellers of the type Rotol R / 179 / 4-20-4 / 33rd After its final assembly, the machine took off on its maiden flight on November 26, 1958 in Hurn , Bournemouth , Hampshire , England . The machine received the aircraft registration ZS-CDW and the name Rooibok . The delivery flight to South Africa began on December 8, 1958. On December 11, 1958, the machine arrived at Jan Smuts International Airport , Johannesburg , South Africa, and on December 18, 1958, the machine began service with South African Airways. In 1962, the machine received the new South African Airways livery with an orange tail unit, which was first introduced in 1960 with the Boeing 707 . On September 30, 1971, the machine was phased out from South African Airways, at that time it had a total operating performance of 25,528 operating hours.
On January 1, 1972, the machine was resold to British Midland Airways , which re -approved it on January 4, 1972 with the aircraft registration G-AZLT . On January 10, 1972, the machine rolled out of the hangar in "neutralized" paintwork. The color scheme of the South African Airways was still preserved, but the logos and lettering were painted over and the machine was already provided with the new British aircraft registration. On February 26, 1972, the plane flew from Jan Smuts International Airport for delivery to Great Britain. She flew the route together with the Vickers Viscount 813 with the serial number 348, which was also sold by South African Airways to British Midland Airways and had received the new aircraft registration G-AZLS . The machines arrived on February 28, 1972 at East Midlands Airport , Castle Donington , Leicestershire , England and were then technically overhauled and given new, complete British Midland Airways paintwork. The aircraft made its first flight with British Midway Airways on April 10, 1972, flying from East Midlands Airport, Leicestershire, England via Birmingham International Airport , West Midlands , England, Brussels Airport , Zaventem , Belgium to Rhein- Main , Frankfurt am Main , West Germany .
Between February 2, 1975 and August 31, 1975, the machine was leased to Cyprus Airways , where it was operated with the lessor's livery. Only the logo on the tail unit and the lettering were painted over with those of Cyprus Airways. The machine kept its British aircraft registration number during this period.
As a lease return, the machine was initially operated with the former painting of Cyprus Airways for British Midland Airways. From October 29, the machine flew the routes from Speke Airport , Liverpool , England to Aldergrove Airport , Belfast , Northern Ireland and from Speke Airport, Liverpool, England to Ronaldsway Airport on the Isle of Man . In this function, the machine relieved British Airways .
On October 6, 1980, the machine was damaged during a landing at Leeds Bradford International Airport , Yeadon , Yorkshire , England. The Viscount was landed in heavy rain and aquaplaning . The captain steered the machine to one side of the runway to prevent overshooting it. The main landing gear on the port side broke , which also damaged the wing , the buoyancy devices and the propeller on this side . The engine also suffered damage from the shock load .
On February 13, 1981, the machine was loaded and transferred on the road to East Midlands Airport, Castle Donington, Leicestershire, England for damage assessment. The Viscount was finally repaired, for the repair the Viscount 814 with the serial number 340 ( G-BAPD ) , which was decommissioned in September 1978, served as a spare parts dispenser , the wings of this machine were removed. After completion of the work, the machine was re-registered on March 30, 1981 with the new aircraft registration G-BMAT , as British Midland Airways was of the opinion that the machine was a mixed type after the repair and should therefore be given a new identity. The first flight after the repair work was carried out on April 27, 1981, on April 29, 1981 the first commercial operation with the repaired machine followed.
On May 7, 1986, the machine was sold to British Aerospace , which then leased the Viscount back to British Midland Airways. On December 5, 1986, the machine made its last commercial flight in service with British Midland Airways, which ran from Aldergrove Airport, Belfast, Northern Ireland to East Midlands Airport, Leicestershire, England. On December 10, 1986, the machine returned to British Aerospace as a lease return. The machine was transferred from East Midlands Airport, Leicestershire, England to Baginton Airport , Coventry , Warwickshire , England and stored there.
In October 1987 the company acquired Sean T. Hully Sales Ltd. the machine at auction in Luton , Bedfordshire , England by British Aerospace. On October 16, 1987, the machine was transferred from Baginton Airport, Coventry, Warwickshire, England to Westcountry Aircraft Servicing Ltd. transferred for inspection at Exeter International Airport , Devon , England. There, the engines and other parts were first removed from the machine and installed in the Viscount G-BAPG (serial number 344). In February 1988 the machine was taken to the hangar of Westcountry Aircraft Servicing Ltd. for a general overhaul . rolled. After its completion, it was approved on February 10, 1989 with the new aircraft registration G-OHOT . The machine now had a new livery with the lettering Hot Air . From March 8, 1989, the machine was leased to Baltic Airlines , and it was now equipped with replacement engines from Viscount G-BFZL (serial number 435).
After the machine returned from Baltic Airlines as a lease return, it was bought by Sean T. Hully Sales Ltd. sold to British Air Ferries and given the new owner's livery before the sale. The machine used it for a few months until it was used for the last time on October 27, 1990 on the route from Collinstown Airport , Dublin , Ireland to Southend Airport , Rochford , Essex , England and then put into storage. On February 4, 1992, the machine was put back into service, but this time in a new configuration as a cargo aircraft . On May 15, 1992, the machine was again taken out of service and put into storage after a positioning flight from Aldergrove Airport, Belfast, Northern Ireland to Southend Airport, Rochford, Essex. After British Air Ferries renamed British World Airlines , the machine was transferred to the new company's fleet on April 1, 1993. On December 23, 1993, the machine was put back into service, at which time it was still wearing the British Air Ferries livery.
By the time of the accident, the Viscount had completed a total operating performance of 50,995 operating hours.
Crew and flight plan
With the machine, a cargo flight from should that day Edinburgh Airport to Coventry Airport are performed. There was a two-person crew on board, consisting of a flight captain and a first officer.
The flight captain Bo Winters-Myers was 32 years old, a citizen of Australia and had completed his flight training with the Australian Air Force . He received his commercial pilot's license in July 1981. He had type ratings for the aircraft types Vickers 700 and 800. In February 1989 he emigrated to the United Kingdom, where he initially flew for Baltic Airlines, which later became part of British Air Ferries. The captain had 5,121 hours of flight experience, 1,121 hours of which in the cockpit of the Vickers Viscount 800.
The 39-year-old first mate held type ratings for the Vickers Viscount 800, Shorts 330 and Piper PA-34 aircraft . He obtained his commercial pilot's license in 1986. In 1987 he was hired by British Air Ferries as first officer in the cockpit of the Shorts 330. A year later he switched to the Vickers Viscount 800. He left the company in February 1989 to take a flight course on the Boeing 737 in the United States , but returned to British Air Ferries as first officer in August 1989. The first officer had 3,334 hours of flight experience, of which he had completed 2,181 hours with the Vickers Viscount 800.
the accident
The machine was on the flight from Edinburgh to Coventry and flew over England in the evening hour under icing conditions. Suddenly engine no. 2 failed and the propeller went into the sail position. Shortly afterwards engine no. 3 also failed, whereby the propeller did not go into the sail position here. The machine was descending; the pilots were given clearance to immediately lower the machine from 15,000 feet (approx. 4,570 meters) to 7,000 feet (approx. 2,130 meters) and then to 5,000 feet (approx. 1,520 meters). Failing to restart the engines, the pilots decided to return to Birmingham Airport . Shortly afterwards they managed to restart engine number 2. Then, however, engine no. 4 failed, with the propeller not moving into the sail position here either. Five minutes before the planned landing at Birmingham Airport, the on-board radio system failed due to a lack of electrical power. A short time later, the machine struck tree tops on a downward slope in Drointon Wood near Uttoxeter , Staffordshire , England, crashed and broke apart. The Australian captain Bo Winters-Myers was killed and the 39-year-old first officer seriously injured.
Accident investigation
A failure of several engines due to a flight in extreme icing conditions was found to be the central accident factor. Furthermore, emergency procedures were incompletely carried out by the crew as they did not adhere to the emergency checklists. This severely limited the pilots' ability to restart the engines successfully. The actions of the crew when attempting to restart the engines would not have complied with the operator's instructions. The air resistance of two propellers that were not in the sail position and the weight of the heavily iced fuselage would have led to a loss of altitude and control of the machine before it could reach the chosen reversing airport. A deficient crew resource management would also have considerably limited the crew's potential for emergency plans, for decision-making and for the division of work processes between the two pilots. As a result, the crew would have had no contingent plan on how to avoid the predicted severe icing conditions. Furthermore, the pilots did not know the approximate position of a closer airport suitable for turning around. The pilots could have found out if they had used the air traffic control services more effectively. The failure of the thrusters was a result of flame blows as a result of ice being sucked in.
Web links
- Report on the accident to Vickers Viscount 813, G-OHOT near Uttoxeter, Staffordshire on February 25, 1994 , Air Accidents Investigation Branch , February 23, 1995.
- Accident report Viscount 800 G-OHOT , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on January 22, 2016.
- Operational history of the machine on vickersviscount.net