Vickers Viscount

Operator:

Registration:

SU-AKX

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Schedule:

Cairo – Beirut

MSN:

YOM:

1955

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

Following an uneventful flight from Cairo, the crew started the approach to Beirut Airport in heavy rain falls and strong cross winds. On short final, during the last segment, the airplane was suddenly caught by a downdraft, lost height and struck the runway surface. It bounced and climbed to a height of 30 feet before descending and striking the runway again. Upon impact, the right main gear was sheared off, causing the propellers of both engines number three and four to struck the ground as well. Out of control, the airplane veered off runway and came to rest. While all 53 occupants were evacuated safely, the aircraft was damaged beyond repair.

Probable cause:

Failure of the pilot-in-command to take action: firstly to counteract the effect of a downdraft on final approach and, secondly, to react correctly to a bounce to a height of approximately thirty feet.

Crash of a Vickers 768D Viscount near Agra: 18 killed

Date & Time: Sep 11, 1963 at 0400 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

VT-DIO

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Agra-Kheria (Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay)

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Madras – Nagpur – New Delhi

MSN:

192

YOM:

1957

Location:

Uttar Pradesh

Country:

India

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

On 10 September 1963, Viscount aircraft VT-DIO was on a scheduled domestic flight, operating the Night Air Mail Service on the route Madras - Nagpur - New Delhi. It took off from Madras at 2240 hours Indian standard time and the flight to Nagpur was uneventful. The aircraft took off from Nagpur with another crew at 0237 hours on 11 September. Communications difficulties were encountered commencing at 0258 hours; the last message known to be sent by the aircraft was at 0336 hours; at that time VT-DIO was flying normally at an altitude of 16 500 ft, the sky was clear and the estimated time of arrival to the Delhi Control boundary was given as 0405. There was enough fuel in the aircraft to maintain flight until 0950 hours. At approximately 0400 hours, the aircraft crashed in a field near village Patti, 15 miles from Agra. The impact resulted in immediate explosion and fire, all aboard being killed.

Probable cause:

The cause of the accident could not be established. Although there is little substantial evidence to support the assumption, it is possible that a sudden malfunctioning of the auto-pilot and/or a sudden failure of the electrical power may have created conditions which made it impossible for the crew to retain control of the aircraft, thus causing it to lose height rapidly and crash to the ground.

Final Report:

Crash of a Vickers 708 Viscount in Tramoyes: 16 killed

Date & Time: Aug 12, 1963 at 1419 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

F-BGNV

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Yes

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Lille – Lyon – Nice

MSN:

039

YOM:

1954

Flight number:

IT2611

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

7400

Captain / Total hours on type:

1125.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

5795

Copilot / Total hours on type:

462

Aircraft flight hours:

12732

Circumstances:

Flight IT 2611 was a scheduled domestic flight from Lille to Nice with an intermediate stop at Lyon. It took off from Lille at 1151 hours GMT, on an IFR flight plan. Estimated flying time between Lille and Lyon was 1 hour 21 min., cruising at flight level 150. Until 1300 hours, when it began its descent, the flight had been normal; at 1309:50, it reported to Marseilles Control that it was above Tramoyes at flight level 40, and was cleared to Lyon Approach, which was contacted at approximately 1310Z. The flight was then in position for a direct approach to runway 17. At this point Lyon Control having a Caravelle ready to take off asked the aircraft to hold momentarily over Tramoyes at flight level 30. After having first agreed, the flight reported that it was in a severe storm and requested permission to descend below flight level 25, at 1313 hours. Lyon then cleared the flight for a straight-in approach to runway 17. This was acknowledged by the aircraft, Subsequent calls from Lyon Control were not replied. The flight was seen by witnesses in the heart of a storm flying very low in an easterly direction around 1320 hours. At 1326 the aircraft was not visible on Satolas Control radar. It was subsequently found that the aircraft had hit trees, the roof of a farmhouse and a telephone pole before crashing into a field, 15 km from Lyon/Bron airport, at an altitude of 300 m (100 metres higher than the airport) at approximately 1319 hours. Four occupants, among them a crew member, were seriously injured while 12 other occupants were killed. Few hours later, three of the survivors died from their injuries and a little girl was the only survivor. In the farmhouse, a boy was seriously injured while a second one was killed.
Crew:
Georges Valencia, pilot,
Guy Cleret-Langavant, copilot,
Christiane Souleil, stewardess,
Liliane Perois, stewardess.

Probable cause:

The Board considered:
- that the aircraft would probably have landed safely if it had been able to carry through the approach it had initiated;
- that the accident resulted from the exceptionally bad weather conditions in the area where the aircraft was holding at the request of Lyon Approach.
The Board did not rule out the possibility of a flash of lightning dazzling the crew and causing temporary blindness or appreciably incapacitating both crew members.

Final Report:

Crash of a Vickers 759D Viscount in Oslo: 12 killed

Date & Time: Apr 14, 1963 at 1318 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

TF-ISU

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Copenhagen – Oslo – Bergen – Reykjavik

MSN:

149

YOM:

1956

Location:

Country:

Region:

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Circumstances:

On final approach to Oslo-Fornebu, the airplane stalled and crashed on the top of a hill located on the Nesøya Island, about 6 km west of the airfield. The aircraft was destroyed and all 12 occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

It is believed the accident was caused by the fact that, during the approach to Fornebu Airport, the pilot lost control of the aircraft at such a low height that recovery was not possible. From the evidence available, it has not been possible for the Commission to determine why this happened. There are possibilities, however, that the cause may have been that ice formed on the stabilizer or that the propellers went over to ground fine pitch. The Commission considers that the latter hypothesis is slightly more than the former.

Crash of a Vickers 754 Viscount in Ankara: 52 killed

Date & Time: Feb 1, 1963 at 1513 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

OD-ADE

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Central Anatolia Region (İç Anadolu Bölgesi)

Survivors:

Site:

City

Schedule:

Beirut – Nicosia – Ankara

MSN:

244

YOM:

1957

Flight number:

ME265

Location:

Ankara

Country:

Turkey

Region:

Asia

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total hours on type:

2925.00

Copilot / Total hours on type:

4200

Circumstances:

Middle East Airlines flight 265, a Vickers Viscount registered OD-ADE, was descending for Ankara-Esenboğa Airport, Turkey and had been cleared for an approach to runway 03. Last radio contact was at 13:09 hours GMT when the flight reported being over the Ankara NDB at 8000 feet, descending for 6500 feet. The crew would contact Ankara again over the NDB when inbound. Earlier in the day, at 11:22 GMT, a Douglas C-47 transport plane of the Turkish Air Force (CBK-28) had taken off from Ankara's Etimesgut Air Base for an instrument training flight in the southeast region of the Gölbasi beacon. The duration of the flight was planned for 1 hour 30 minutes . In this type of flight the student pilot is normally seated in the left-hand seat, an orange plexiglass panel is placed in front of him on the left half of the windshield, and he wears dark blue glasses. The instructor is in the right-hand seat and is able to maintain a lookout. The training manoeuvres had been completed, and the aircraft was returning to Etimesgut flying under visual flight rules by the time MEA flight 265 was descending for Esenboğa Airport. The Viscount, cruising on a heading of 283°, collided with the C-47 which was flying on a heading of 243° towards Etimesgut. The lower right-hand-side of the Viscount's nose and the starboard wing struck the C-47 from behind at a 40° angle in the door area on its port side. Propeller no. 3 also struck the C-47's left horizontal stabilizer, cutting it off. The blade ends broke off and remained with the tail unit of the C-47 near the base of the left horizontal stabilizer. The blade of propeller no. 4 cut the underside of the tip of the right horizontal stabilizer. Both aircraft flew together for a very short time then separated. The tail unit of the C-47 having been cut off, the C-47 fell vertically immediately thereafter. Prior to being cut off, the left horizontal stabilizer of the C-47 damaged the starboard side skin covering of the Viscount in the vicinity of the passenger cabin windows. This piece of skin covering broke off, and some of the passengers fell out through this hole. The Viscount flew a very short while following the separation of the two aircraft, then nosed down and fell. Both aircraft crashed into a residential area of Ankara, killing 87 people on the ground. 50 others were seriously injured.

Probable cause:

The Viscount aircraft had an IFR flight plan but was cruising under VFR conditions when it hit, with the lower side of the nose and with its starboard wing, the C-47 aircraft of the Turkish Air Force between the door on the port side of the fuselage and the tail group at an angle of forty degrees from the left rear and at an angle of approximately five to ten degrees upward. It cut off, with its starboard inner (No.3) propeller, the port side horizontal stabilizer of the C-47 aircraft. The pilots of the Viscount aircraft did not see the C-47 aircraft cruising below 7000 feet on their right-hand side forward, and the Viscount, having a higher speed, caught up with the C-47 from the left rear. At the last moment the Viscount pilots saw the C-47 and tried to avoid the collision by pulling up, but they did not succeed. The following findings were reported:
- The Viscount pilot made an estimation error of two minutes on the distance between Gölbasi and the Ankara NDB,
- His radiocommunications did not conform to the standard international conversation procedures,
- The C-47 was returning to Etimesgut Airport under visual flight rules (VFR) following an instrument training flight,
- These training flights are scheduled to be carried out below 7 000 ft with the trainee-pilot behind blind flight panels and the instructor-pilot sitting so as to be able to see outside thoroughly, The flights normally last for 1 hour- and 30 minutes, however, the instructor is authorized to extend this period if he deems it necessary,
- The C-47 was subjected to an impact from the port side rear at an angle of 40° and from the bottom to the top upwards at an angle of approximately 5 to 10°. The Viscount's flaps were set at 32° down, and the gear was down and locked. The aircraft collided over the City of Ankara at an altitude less than 7 000 feet.

Final Report:

Crash of a Vickers 812 Viscount in Kansas City: 8 killed

Date & Time: Jan 29, 1963 at 2244 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

N242V

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Schedule:

Midland – Lubbock – Wichita Falls – Lawton – Oklahoma City – Tulsa – Kansas City

MSN:

356

YOM:

1958

Flight number:

CO290

Location:

Kansas City

Kansas

Country:

United States of America

Region:

North America

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

18611

Captain / Total hours on type:

3409.00

Copilot / Total flying hours:

5761

Copilot / Total hours on type:

2648

Aircraft flight hours:

12860

Circumstances:

Continental Air Lines Flight 290, a Viscount 812, N242V, a regularly flight from Midland, Texas, crashed at the Kansas City Municipal Airport, Kansas City, Missouri, at 2244 c. s. t., January 29, 1963. All the occupants, three crew members and five passengers, received fatal injuries and the aircraft was destroyed by impact and subsequent fire. After making a straight-in approach to land on runway 18, in visual flight conditions, the aircraft continued to fly over the runway in a nose-up attitude without touching down. Near the south end of the runway, from an altitude of approximately 90 feet, the aircraft nosed over sharply, wings level, and dived into the ground. The main wreckage came to rest 680 feet beyond the end of the runway.

Probable cause:

The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was an undetected accretion of ice on the horizontal stabilizer which, in conjunction with a Specific airspeed and aircraft configuration, caused a loss of pitch control.

Final Report:

Crash of a Vickers 807 Viscount in Warsaw: 33 killed

Date & Time: Dec 19, 1962 at 1930 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

SP-LVB

Flight Phase:

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Warsaw-Okęcie-Frederic Chopin

Schedule:

Brussels – Berlin – Warsaw

MSN:

395

YOM:

1958

Location:

Masovian Voivodeship (Mazowieckie)

Country:

Poland

Region:

Europe

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Aircraft flight hours:

9822

Aircraft flight cycles:

5119

Circumstances:

On final approach to Warsaw-Okecie Airport, following an uneventful flight from Berlin-Schönefeld Airport, the crew received the permission to land. 46 seconds later, while at an altitude of 60-70 meters, the four engine aircraft stalled and crashed in a snow covered field located 1,335 meters short of runway 33 threshold. The aircraft was totally destroyed and all 33 occupants were killed.

Probable cause:

The accident was attributed to a loss of speed and stalling of the aircraft. The reason for the loss of speed was not determined.

Final Report:

Crash of a Vickers 745D Viscount in Ellicott City: 17 killed

Date & Time: Nov 23, 1962 at 1224 LT

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

N7430

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Survivors:

Site:

Plain, Valley

Schedule:

Newark – Washington DC

MSN:

128

YOM:

1956

Flight number:

UA297

Location:

Ellicott City

Maryland

Country:

United States of America

Region:

North America

Crew on board:

Crew fatalities:

Pax on board:

Pax fatalities:

Other fatalities:

Total fatalities:

Captain / Total flying hours:

16230

Captain / Total hours on type:

5263.00

Aircraft flight hours:

18809

Circumstances:

United Air Lines Flight 297, a Vickers-Armstrong Viscount Model 745D, N7430, crashed in a wooded area six miles west-southwest of Ellicott City, Maryland, at approximately 1224 e.s.t., on November 23, 1962. All thirteen Passengers and a crew of four were fatally injured. Flight 297 was en route from Newark, New Jersey to Washington, D. C. The flight was operating at an assigned altitude of' 6,000 feet when it apparently penetrated a flock of Whistling Swans. At least two of these a were struck by the aircraft. One swan collided with the right horizontal stabilizer inflicting superficial damage only. The other bird punctured the left horizontal stabilizer, traveled through the structure, and dented the elevator as it egresses. The weakened structure failed in this area. rendered the aircraft uncontrollable, and resulted in, the aircraft striking the ground in a nose-low inverted attitude.

Probable cause:

The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was a loss of control following separation of the left horizontal stabilizer which had been weakened by a collision with a Whistling Swan.

Final Report:

Crash of a Vickers 828 Viscount in Nagoya: 4 killed

Date & Time: Nov 19, 1962

Type of aircraft:

Operator:

Registration:

JA8202

Flight Phase:

Flight

Flight Type:

Training

Survivors:

Site: