Liverpool-John Lennon (ex Speke)

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.

The crew was performing a positioning flight from Liverpool-Speke Airport to Glasgow-Renfrew Airport to embark passengers for Lourdes, France. On approach, the airplane was too low and struck the Greenside Hill located near Largs. The airplane was destroyed upon impact and both captain and the stewardess were seriously injured while the copilot was killed.
Crew:
Geoffrey Moss, pilot,
Noel C. A. Stanley, copilot, †
Hilda Phillips, stewardess.

The crew was performing a delivery flight from Croydon to Reykjavik with intermediate stops in Liverpool and Prestwick. While approaching Liverpool from the east, the pilot encountered poor weather conditions and lost his orientation. While flying in poor visibility, the twin engine aircraft hit the slope of a mountain located in Crow Stone Edge, southwest of Sheffield, in the Peak District National Park. The aircraft disintegrated on impact and all three occupants were killed.
Crew:
Pall Magnusson, pilot,
Alexander Watson, wireless operator.
Passenger:
Johann Rist.

On approach to Douglas-Ronaldsway Airport, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and was unable to land. In thick fog, the pilot made several attempts to land, without success. As the weather conditions were better in Liverpool, he decided to divert. While descending to Speke Airport, both engines stopped simultaneously. The pilot elected to make an emergency landing but the aircraft crashed into the Mersey, about 3 miles north of the airport. A passenger was rescued while eight other occupants were killed. The aircraft sank and was lost.
Crew:
John Higgins, pilot,
Noel Clucas, radio operator.

On final approach to Liverpool-Speke Airport, the aircraft hit two candelabrum, stalled and crashed short of the runway threshold. All four crew members were slightly injured while the aircraft was written off. The crew was performing a cargo flight with a load of milk.

The aircraft was flying the last of six round trips from Speke, Liverpool, to Nutts Corner, Northern Ireland, it was scheduled to make during the 27th/28th September. The aircraft had been carrying nearly 1150 gallons of milk on each flight from Northern Ireland back to Liverpool to help make up a shortage being experienced at the time in some areas of the UK. The aircraft left Nutts Corner at 09:30 and had been in contact with Nutts Corner by radio until passing into the Northern Flight Information Region where contact was made with the Northern area controller. This was followed by further contact at 09:59 which ended abruptly mid-sentence with "I am over or abeam I O", both the northern area controller, Ronaldsway and Speke attempted to contact the aircraft with no response. A search for the aircraft was begun immediately and at about 12:30 the commandant of Ronaldway airport located the wreckage of the aircraft. It had struck the very summit of Cronk ny Arrey Laa slid off the summit and landed about 200 yards down hill on the eastern side of the hill where the aircraft broke up killing the crew.
Crew:
John Frederick George Savage, pilot,
Richard Lansdowne Miller, navigator,
Oswald Harold Guppy Hiscock, radio operator,
Albert Harry Noon, flight engineer.
Source:
http://www.peakdistrictaircrashes.co.uk/pages/isleofman/iomg-ajnz.htm

While flying over the Irish Sea, enroute from Belfast to Liverpool, the pilot was forced to ditch the aircraft off Southport. He was quickly rescued while the aircraft sank and was lost.

While at Lille 6,380 kg (96 bales) of fabric was loaded onto the aircraft, this was described in contemporary newspaper reports as being woolen piece goods. Once this was complete their flight plan was submitted to the Lille controller, it was a direct flight back to Speke, and they received a weather briefing for the planned route. This indicated that there would be dense cloud layers from 1000 feet upwards on the entire route with some rain. The wind as far as the London area was forecast to be from the Southwest at 35 to 40 knots and from the Northwest beyond there at a similar speed. The estimated flight time was 1 hour 30 minutes. The aircraft departed Lille at 14:38 GMT and made contact with the regional control at Uxbridge at 15:06, they reported that they had flown over the French coast in the Dunkerque area at 14:46. At around 15:15 they were over the east coast of England between Ipswich and Colchester, they were already someway off course due to the strong wind and this was confirmed with a position fix at 15:35 which put the aircraft over the fens in the Ely area. Had they not had the strong cross wind their intended track at this point would have taken them over Bedford. Upon confirming how far off course they were the pilot adopted a more westerly course and asked Uxbridge if he should contact the Manchester area control at Ringway, they replied yes. By around 16:00 to 16:05 was more or less back on the right course in the Stafford area. The crew never made contact with Ringway, their call-sign was heard at 15:59 but another aircraft was communicating with Ringway at the time. Once this transmission was completed the Ringway controller attempted to contact G-AIHU twice but failed to get a response, the crew had in fact made contact directly with the approach controller at Speke around the time of the second attempt by Ringway. This was to request a QTE (true bearing) from Speke, this was passed as 1340. At 16:10 the Speke controller asked the crew what their ETA was and they replied 16:20, three minutes later he gave the crew permission to enter the controlled airspace around Speke and circle the airfield. They were instructed to report when they had descended to 2,000 ft and reply by R/T (Radio Telephony) to the Aerodrome Controller, up to this point they had been communicating by morse (Wireless Telegraphy). No communication was received from them by R/T and after dealing with other aircraft the approach controller managed to re-establish contact at 16:28 by W/T. The crew reported in plain language "unable to raise 6440 - landing instructions?", they also requested a QDM (magnetic course to steer) at 16:32, this and the landing instructions were transmitted, the QDM was 0900 which put the aircraft to the west of Speke. The landing instructions were "QHG QHE2 QGP1 QFM 1000 ft" which translated as "you are cleared to enter the traffic circuit, inform me when you are on the down wind leg, your turn for landing is No.1, maintain (or fly at) an altitude of 1000 ft". The approach controller contacted the aircraft again at 16:35 to ask for their position and ETA, the receipt of this was acknowledged but no reply was ever received. Shortly after this the aircraft struck the trees on the top of Cwm Mountain at a recorded height of 998 feet above sea level and broke up. The wreckage was spread along a magnetic bearing of 0850 for some 400 yards. The aircraft had been flying with the flaps and undercarriage in the up position. All four crew members were killed. The AIB investigation revealed that the aircraft had over flown the airfield at Hooton Park near Ellesmere Port in a North Westerly direction at an estimated altitude of 400 to 450 feet at 16:15 and was next witnessed crossing the Welsh coast heading South West near Prestatyn at 16:30. At around the time the crew received the QDM of 090o the aircraft was heard by an Army officer in low cloud to the west of St Asaph heading East.
Crew:
John Hale Parsonage, pilot,
John Driver, copilot,
Allan Brook, navigator,
John E. Evans, radio operator.
Source:
http://www.peakdistrictaircrashes.co.uk/pages/wales/walesg-aihu.htm

On approach to Douglas, the crew encountered poor visibility with mist. The captain decided to divert to RAF Jurby when the aircraft hit a hill, overturned and came to rest upside down. The aircraft was damaged beyond repair and all seven occupants were injured.

The crew, consisting of one pilot and one engineer, were engaged in a post maintenance control flight. Shortly after takeoff from Speke Airport, while climbing, the aircraft stalled and crashed in a field. Both occupants were injured and the aircraft was destroyed.