Stockport plane crash
| Stockport plane crash | |
|---|---|
 The plane involved in the accident at Manchester Airport on August 29, 1965 |
|
| Accident summary | |
| Accident type | Lack of fuel |
| place | Stockport , Greater Manchester , England |
| date | 4th June 1967 |
| Fatalities | 72 |
| Survivors | 12 |
| Injured | 12 |
| Aircraft | |
| Aircraft type | Canadair C-4 Argonaut |
| operator | British Midland Airways |
| Mark | G-ALHG |
| Passengers | 79 |
| crew | 5 |
| Lists of aviation accidents | |
The Stockport Air Disaster was the crash of a Canadair C-4 Argonaut by British Midland Airways close to the center of Stockport in English Borough Greater Manchester , 8 km northeast of Manchester Airport on June 4, 1967. In this case 72 of the 84 people were killed on board, the remaining twelve seriously injured. This makes the crash the fourth worst aircraft accident in British aviation history.
the accident
The plane chartered by Arrowsmith Holidays Ltd took off at 5 a.m. at Palma de Mallorca Airport and was scheduled to fly to Manchester Airport. Most of the passengers on the plane were returning from the Balearic Islands .
After reaching the undirected radio beacon at Congleton, the air traffic controller at the destination airport gave the cockpit crew clearance for an approach using the instrument landing system . Shortly thereafter, the right engine 4 turned out 15 seconds later the adjacent engine 3. Therefore, the pilot announced, durchzustarten . During the second attempt to approach the runway, the machine got out of control due to low speed and altitude and crashed at 10:09 a.m. local time on an open area between several buildings near the city center of Stockport. Despite the high population density of the area, there were no dead or injured on the ground. People who happened to be at the scene of the accident, as well as police officers, managed to save twelve people from the burning wreck. All other passengers who survived the impact, however, were then killed in the flames.
examination
Experts from the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AIB) determined the lack of fuel - triggered by a technical defect - as the cause of the accident. The aircraft was equipped with eight fuel tanks arranged in pairs, each of which was connected to one another by switching valves. Normally, each pair was responsible for supplying fuel to an engine, but there was also the function of diverting fuel to other tanks using switch valves. The investigation showed that a defect in two valves caused the fuel to flow into the two front tank pairs during the descent. Since there was now no more fuel in the other two pairs, their engines failed. When the valves are operated, an acoustic signal usually sounds; However, this was either overheard by the crew or it did not sound at all.
The AIB also investigated the nature of the injuries in the perished passengers. Autopsies showed that the passengers in the front rows of seats suffered high-speed trauma as a result of the abrupt standstill after high speed and were fatally injured as a result. Passengers further back suffered mainly injuries to their legs as the rows of seats collided like at a concertina . This made it impossible for most of these passengers to free themselves and thus escape the fire.
The media reported that the pilots had successfully steered the aircraft onto undeveloped terrain before the impact. However, it is doubtful whether the machine could still be controlled in any way after the engine failed. It is more likely that it was sheer luck that nobody was harmed on the ground. The surviving pilot was unable to provide any information about the crash due to a lack of memory, and the rest of the cockpit crew was killed. The AIB acquitted the commander of all guilt.
memorial
In 1998, a memorial stone was unveiled by survivors at the crash site. It is written on it:
IN MEMORY
OF THE
SEVENTY TWO PASSENGERS
AND CREW
WHO LOST THEIR LIVES
IN THE
STOCKPORT AIR DISASTER
4th JUNE 1967
In 2002, with the support of then Prime Minister Tony Blair, an action was started to erect another memorial in the same place for the rescuers of the survivors who had risked their lives in their work. This memorial was finally inaugurated in October 2002. Due to redesign of the site at the crash site, it is planned to briefly remove the two memorials during the construction phase. The new building project includes 375 apartments, workshops, shops, office space and a large public square.
literature
- Air Disaster, Volume 4: The Propeller Era , by Macarthur Job, Aerospace Publications Pty. Ltd. (Australia), 2001 ISBN 1-875671-48-X , pp. 154-169.
- The Day the Sky Fell Down: The Story of the Stockport Air Disaster , by Stephen R. Morrin, 1998, ISBN 0-9534503-0-9 .
Web links
- Report on the accident. In: Stockport Express. 2007, accessed October 9, 2009 . - 40th anniversary articles about the accident
- Stockport Air Disaster. In: BBC Inside Out. BBC , October 28, 2002, accessed April 21, 2008 : “ A new generation are learning how these long-forgotten heroes played a courageous role in Cheshire 's darkest day. "
- List of names of passengers and crew . Retrieved October 9, 2009.
Individual evidence
- ^ Brian Lashley: 40 years after the Stockport air disaster . Manchester Evening News . June 1, 2007. Retrieved October 8, 2009.
- ↑ Aircraft accident data and report in the Aviation Safety Network (English)
- ^ Stockport air crash . BBC . October 28, 2002. Retrieved October 13, 2009.
- ↑ Paul Maher: The blackest day in the town's recent history. In: Stockport Express. June 6, 2007, accessed October 8, 2009 .
- ↑ Town to honor air disaster hero . In: Manchester Evening News. May 31, 2002, accessed October 13, 2009 .
- ↑ PM backs air disaster campaign . Stockport Express . April 3, 2006. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
- ↑ Why we fought for memorials ... and why the PM backed us . Stockport Express . June 6, 2007. Retrieved October 9, 2009.
- ^ Paul Maher: Fury at council plans for crash site. In: Stockport Express. May 10, 2007, accessed October 9, 2009 .
- ↑ What does future hold for crash site? In: Stockport Express. June 6, 2007, accessed October 9, 2009 .