Date & Time: Mar 14, 1957 at 1346 LT
Type of aircraft:
Vickers Viscount
Operator:
Registration:
G-ALWE
Survivors:
No
Schedule:
Amsterdam – Manchester
MSN:
4
YOM:
1952
Flight number:
BE411
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
5
Pax on board:
15
Pax fatalities:
15
Other fatalities:
2
Total fatalities:
22
Captain / Total flying hours:
6951
Captain / Total hours on type:
1051
Copilot / Total flying hours:
7314
Copilot / Total hours on type:
132
Aircraft flight hours:
6902
Aircraft flight cycles:
4553
Circumstances:
The aircraft was reaching the end of a scheduled passenger flight from Schiphol, Amsterdam, with a crew of 5 and 15 passengers aboard. Until the aircraft was roughly a mile from the threshold of the runway it was apparently making a perfectly normal approach, then it made a banked turn to starboard and continued to descend until the starboard wing tip struck the ground. With the starboard wing furrowing the earth and breaking up, the aircraft, obviously completely out of control, went on until it struck some houses, demolishing two of them (in one of which a woman and her infant son were killed). The aircraft came to rest in the ruins of the houses and immediately caught fire and set fire to the houses. All the crew members and passengers were killed in the accident. The position of the final crash was about 900 yards short of the runway and 200 yards to the right of its extended centre line.
Probable cause:
The cause of the accident was the fracture, due to fatigue, of the 9/16 inch bolt holding the bottom of the No. 2 starboard flap unit.
Final Report:
G-ALWE.pdf13.89 MB