Douglas-Ronaldsway

The accident occurred as the aircraft was preparing to land at Fairoaks Airport at the end of a private flight from Ronaldsway Airport on the Isle of Man. On board were the aircraft commander and a passenger who occupied the front right seat. As the aircraft neared Fairoaks, the pilot listened to the Farnborough ATIS broadcast, which reported a visibility of 4,000 m in mist. He and the passenger discussed the visibility, and agreed that they would proceed to Fairoaks while retaining the option to divert to Farnborough Airport (9 nm to the south-west) if a landing was not possible. The visibility at Fairoaks was recorded as 4,500 m, with ‘few’ clouds at 4,000 ft and a surface wind of 3 kt from 240°. Runway 24 was in use with a left-hand circuit. The circuit height, based on the Fairoaks QNH was 1,100 ft (the elevation of Fairoaks Airport is 80 ft amsl). Runway 24 is a hard runway, 813 m long and 27 m wide. The pilot identified the airfield visually, although there was low lying mist in the area. In order to maintain visual contact with the landing area he joined the circuit and flew a downwind leg that was closer to the runway than usual. He recalled carrying out the pre-landing checks while downwind, including lowering the landing gear and extending the flaps to the takeoff position2 . Based on a final approach with flaps at the landing setting, the pilot planned for an initial approach speed of 90 kt, reducing to a final approach speed of 80 kt. The pilot recalled the aircraft being slightly low as it turned from the downwind leg onto its final approach track. He believed he had selected flaps to the landing position, and recalled seeing the airspeed just below 90 kt, which prompted him to increase power slightly. The aircraft flew through the extended runway centreline and the pilot increased the bank angle to regain it. The pilot’s next recollection was of being in a right bank and seeing only sky ahead. He pushed forward on the control column and attempted to correct the bank with aileron. The aircraft then rolled quickly in the opposite direction and he again applied a correction. He became aware of being in an approximately wings-level attitude and seeing the ground approaching rapidly. He responded by pulling back hard on the control column, but was unable to prevent the aircraft striking the ground. He did not recall hearing a stall warning, or any other audio warning, before the loss of control occurred. The aircraft struck flat ground and slid for about 85 m before coming to rest against a treeline, about 500 m from Runway 24 and approximately on the extended centreline. The propeller was destroyed in the accident sequence and the landing gear legs detached, causing damage to the wings which included a ruptured fuel tank. In the latter stages of the slide the aircraft yawed right, coming to rest heading approximately in the direction from which it had come. The pilot and passenger remained conscious but had both suffered injury. The passenger saw flames from the region of the engine and warned the pilot that they needed to evacuate. He went to the rear of the cabin, opened the main door and left the aircraft. The pilot initially attempted to open his side door, but his right arm was injured and he was unable to open the door with only his left. He therefore followed the passenger out of the rear door.

Upon arriving at the destination airport, the controller cleared the flight for localizer 32 approach and informed the pilot that radar service was terminated and a frequency change was approved, report canceling IFR this frequency. The pilot acknowledged the clearance. A review of radar data revealed that the airplane was on course and lined up with the runway when the airplane collided with trees and the ground one mile south of runway 32. A review of information on file with Southeastern Air Charter, Inc., the operator of the accident airplane, found that the pilot's most recent Airman Competency/Proficiency Check was conducted in a Cessna 210. There were no records to indicate the pilot had undergone a flight-check in the Beech 200, as outlined in the Corporations FAA Approved Operational Specifications. Examination of the airframe and engines found no pre-existing discrepancies that would have precluded the airplane from operating properly prior to impact. Surface Weather Observations reported near the time of the accident. was visibility 1 to 1¼ miles; ceiling 200 feet overcast. A review of the approach plate found the minimum descent altitude for the approach to be 325 AGL and visibility 1 mile.

The aircraft, operated by an Air Operator's Certificate holder, was engaged on an air ambulance operation from Ronaldsway in the Isle of Man to Liverpool. Having flown under VFR on a direct track to the Seaforth dock area of Liverpool the pilot flew by visual reference along the northern coast of the Mersey Estuary to carry out a visual approach to Runway 09 at Liverpool. During the turn on to the final approach, when approximately 0.8 nm from the threshold and 0.38 nm south of the extended centreline, the aircraft flew into the sea and disappeared. All five occupants were killed.

A Britten-Norman BN-2B-27 Islander sustained substantial damage in a forced landing on a Merseyside beach. The airplane was to carry mail on an early morning service from Manchester Airport (MAN) to Ronaldsway Airport, Isle of Man. The commander arrived at the aircraft at about 03:45 hrs in the morning. As it was dark, the internal checks were done in normal cockpit lighting and, having completed the usual preflight administration, he was ready to start engines at about 04:50 hrs. The aircraft took off at 05:09 hrs, on a Special Visual Flight Rules Clearance, turned right onto a northwesterly heading, and climbed to an initial cruising altitude of 1000 feet. Just prior to crossing the coast, as conditions were conducive to the formation of carburettor icing, the commander selected HOT air on both engines for 30 seconds. At this stage the aircraft was cruising at an altitude of 2000 feet at between 120 and 130 knots with both engines set at 24 inches manifold pressure and 2300 revolutions per minute. When the aircraft was about 2 nautical miles out to sea, the port engine appeared to surge and then stopped. Shortly afterwards, the starboard engine did the same thing. At 05:28 hrs the commander informed Liverpool Approach that he had a problem and was going to attempt a forced landing at Woodvale Airfield. Having turned back towards the shore, the commander selected the TIP/MAIN switch to TIP and reduced the indicated airspeed to about 65 kt in the descent. The aircraft did not reach Woodvale and a forced landing was carried out on the beach. It was while the commander was making the aircraft safe that he noticed that the main fuel cock selectors were positioned such that both engines had been feeding from the right fuel tank. Both fuel cocks were then selected to OFF and, when the shutdown had been completed, the commander vacated the aircraft uninjured. The aircraft had landed on flat sand, but had struck a soft patch; this had resulted in the collapse of the nose and right main undercarriage, and damage to the nose and the wing centre section. Recovery attempts by local services had severely damaged the tailplane and had probably caused the sideway failure of the left undercarriage. The aircraft was totally submerged during the subsequent high tide. Examination of the aircraft, before it was recovered from the beach, showed no evidence of any pre-impact failure in the engine or flying controls. The fuel state was approximately 289 litres with the right main tank empty.

The aircraft was engaged upon a contracted freight (mail) flight, from Liverpool to the Isle of Man, U.K, and was planned to depart Liverpool at 07:29 hrs. Prior to departure the fuel gauges indicated between 80 and 85 Imperial Gallons (IG). As the required fuel for the planned flight was 82 IG, the aircraft was not refuelled. After an uneventful flight, made a radar approach to runway 09 at the Ronaldsway-Isle of Man Airport. Having failed to see the runway by decision height, 460 feet, the commander carried out a go-around procedure and returned to the VOR approach beacon before departing on course to the selected diversion. Considering the wind, the pilot made a return to Liverpool (86 nm) instead of the planned diversion airfield of to Valley RAF Station (51 nm). When abeam the Wallasey VOR, 15 nm from Liverpool airport, the aircraft was positioned, by radar, downwind for an approach to runway 27. As the aircraft turned onto the final approach path, the right engine lost power but. The pilot did not feather the propeller, in the belief that the engine was still producing some power. As the rate of descent increased, he applied full throttle to all three engines but, despite this and the selection of the speed necessary to achieve the optimum climb rate, the aircraft continued to descend at a rate which made a landing considerably short of the runway inevitable. The commander made a truncated MAYDAY call and firmly placed the aircraft in a convenient open field below and slightly to the north of the normal approach path. The accident site was a low lying field of winter crop that was subject to tidal flooding. Approximately halfway across the field there was a 2.4 metre wide by 2.4 metre deep drainage ditch, which ran at 45 degrees to the direction of travel of the aircraft. The initial touchdown was some 76 metres to the east of the ditch, on a heading of 270 degrees magnetic. Just after initial touchdown, the right main landing gear failed rearwards and the aircraft continued on its nose and left landing gear, until a collision with an embankment bordering the ditch caused the remaining landing gears to collapse. The aircraft finally came to rest with its fuselage in the drainage ditch, supported by the wings which were resting on the embankments either side.

While flying in marginal weather conditions (low ceiling, snow and icing conditions), both engines lost power. The pilot elected to divert to the nearest airport but the airplane lost height and eventually collided with terrain. The wreckage was found a day later. A passenger was seriously injured while six other occupants were killed.

Viscount G-AMOL departed Ronaldsway at 16:49 for a flight to Liverpool. The flight was made at flight level 70 and at 17:08 hours the aircraft was identified by Liverpool radar over Wallasey and positioned for a PPI continuous descent radar approach to runway 26. Half a mile from touchdown the radar approach was completed and the aircraft was then seen (on radar) to be just discernibly to the right of the centreline. No radio messages were received from the aircraft after the start of the talk-down. At 550 metres from the threshold, it was estimated to be at a height between 30 and 60 metres and about 40 metres to the right of the centre line. At this point witnesses saw the aircraft bank and turn to the right. The fuselage was level and the aircraft was banked almost vertically for part of the turn. When heading in approximately the opposite direction to the runway it rolled on to its back and crashed into the roof of a factory about 365 metres to the right of the extended centre line of the runway and about 550 metres from the threshold. After penetrating the roof, the aircraft had struck a heavy steel girder which had caused it to tip "tail-over-nose". It had then come to rest the right way up on the floor of the workshop with the tail resting on the steel roof trusses. An intense fire broke out which consumed almost the whole structure of the fuselage. Both crew members and two employees of the factory were killed.

On touchdown at Douglas-Ronaldsway Airport, Isle of Man, one of the main landing gear collapsed. The airplane sank on runway and came to rest. There were no injuries but the aircraft was written off.

En route from the Isle of Man to RAF Abbotsinch, the twin engine aircraft encountered heavy turbulences, went out of control and crashed on the slope of a mountain. The pilot F/Lt Barney Barclay was injured and the aircraft was destroyed.

The aircraft, operated by Manx Airlines Ltd, took off at 0915LT from Ronaldsway Airport, Isle of Man, on a flight to Ringway Airport, Manchester. It carried 39 passengers and a crew of 3. At approximately 0945LT the aircraft crashed near the summit of Winter Hill, killing 35 of the 42 persons aboard. All five crew members survived but were seriously injured. The aircraft was destroyed upon impact.