Prestwick

The crew departed Prestwick Airport on a training flight to East Midlands Airport. Shortly after takeoff, while in initial climb, the crew simulated an engine failure. The aircraft nosed up and adopted a high angle of attack with the gear still down. Ten seconds after liftoff, the copilot was still attempting to determine which engine failed and the pilot/instructor reminded him that the gear were still down. When the stall warning sounded, the pilot took over control within 2 seconds and increased engine power but the aircraft rolled to the right and crashed inverted. Both occupants were killed.

March 17, 1977 was the fourth day of a Boeing 707-436 conversion base training programme at Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK). On the day of the accident the trainee first officer was in the right hand pilot's seat and was flying the first detail. The commander was in the left hand pilot's seat, and the captain under training was acting as flight engineer, being supervised by the fourth crew member, a supervisory first officer who was seated behind the commander. After completing all the necessary checks and the engine starting procedure the commander gave the trainee first officer a comprehensive briefing on cross wind takeoff techniques with reference to the local weather forecast, which gave a surface wind of 190° /18 knots gusting to 35 knots. In particular he emphasised the need for into-wind aileron, demonstrating the amount required, and for opposite rudder. At 08:42 the aircraft was cleared to taxi to runway 13. While taxiing, the 'taxiing checklist' was completed. At the light aircraft weights used for training, standardized takeoff airspeeds were used as follows: V1 - 125 knots, VR - 135 knots and V2 - 145 knots. Based on the prevailing conditions and actual aircraft takeoff weight of 94,580 kg, the true takeoff airspeeds were: V1 - 125 knots, VR - 125 knots and V2 - 142 knots; the VMCG and the VMCA were 125 knots and 119 knots respectively. After receiving ATC clearance, the aircraft entered the active runway from the fast turnoff for runway 31. From this position the takeoff run available was approximately 2,388 metres; the takeoff run required was 1,433 metres. On entering the runway the commander handed over control to the trainee first officer and the aircraft commenced its takeoff run, from a rolling start, shortly after 08:48. The Tower passed a surface wind of 220° /15 knots and the trainee applied about 15° to 20° of into-wind aileron (ie right wing down) and some left rudder. Full power was then applied and the V1 and VR airspeeds were called by the flight engineer. As the aircraft was being rotated to a pitch attitude of 4 1/2° the commander simulated a No. 1 engine failure by retarding the appropriate thrust lever, and calling out "number one engine's failed." After the aircraft became airborne it climbed away in a normal manner to a height of approximately 20 to 30 feet when suddenly the left wing dropped about 20° and the No. 1 engine nacelle struck the left edge of the runway. The aircraft then began to yaw and roll to the right and to sink to the ground. The yaw/roll continued until No. 4 nacelle struck the runway and the aircraft then tracked sideways down the runway, with the engines and other parts of the structure breaking away and the landing gear collapsing. It came to a stop almost at the intersection of runway 03/21. The distance from the start of the takeoff roll to this point was approximately 2,230 metres. A fire erupted. The external fire was rapidly dealt with but the internal fire was not extinguished for some 50 minutes.

On a delivery flight from Prestwick to RAF Boscombe Down, both engines failed. The pilot elected to restart the engine but without success and eventually decided to attempt an emergency landing in a field located in Kinlet, Shropshire. While descending, the airplane struck trees and crashed. The pilot was uninjured and the airplane was damaged beyond repair.

The accident occurred at 2208 hours during an unscheduled flight from London to Prestwick where the aircraft mas to pick up passengers for BOAC under a charter arrangement and fly them to London. The aircraft took off at 2042 hours GMT from London Airport, cruised on the Airways at 18 500 ft and then commenced the descent to Prestwick with an initial clearance to 8 500 ft. Within a few minutes the clearance was amended to cross the Prestwick radio beacon at 4 000 ft. The descent appeared to the pilots to be normal until the aircraft struck the ground close to the site of the beacon very shortly after the captain had reported passing 11 000 ft in the holding pattern. The aircraft slid along the ground for 400 yards, and fire broke out in the starboard wing, Of the five crew aboard the aircraft, three were seriously injured. The airplane was totally destroyed by fire.

The crew was completing a flight from the US to France to deliver the aircraft to the French Air Force (Armée de l'Air) via Keflavik and Prestwick. During a night approach, the crew encountered low visibility due to poor weather conditions. While flying at an altitude of 800 feet, the aircraft hit the ground, became briefly airborne and crashed in a huge explosion some 20 km east of Prestwick Airport, near the village of Sorn. The wreckage was found five hours later and both crew members have been killed.
Crew:
Edgar Joseph Flanagan, pilot,
Wayne Archer Taylor, navigator.

The crew was completing a flight from Montreal to Karachi, the aircraft being delivered to the Pakistan government. While approaching the Scottish coast, both engines failed. The captain attempted to ditch the aircraft off Kyleake. On touchdown, the seaplane lost its floats, drifted away and eventually sank. Five crew members were rescued while the navigator was killed.

The flight from London to Prestwick was uneventful. Throughout the flight the captain kept in touch with the weather conditions and Prestwick Approach Control received the aircraft about 0248 hours. Preceding the aircraft by approximately four minutes in arrival at Prestwick was a Constellation, and these two aircraft were fed into the stack at Prestwick; the Constellation at 4 000 feet and the Stratocruiser at 5 000 feet. The runway to be used was Runway 31 which required the approach to be made from the southeast. The Instrument Landing System (hereinafter called ILS) without the Glide Path and the Ground Control Approach system (hereinafter called GCA) were available on Runway 31. G. C.A. took over the Stratocruiser about 0314 hours and at 0323 hours the talk-down controller 'took over the aircraft. Meantime Meteorological Reports had been passing from ground to air. The talk-down was completed at 0325 hours when the aircraft was 400 yards from the threshold of Runway 31. The approach up to this point had been high but uneventful. A few seconds later the aircraft struck the ground 127 feet short of the threshold of Runway 31, sustaining some damage. It then ran on to the runway and proceeded for some 90 feet where it was again airborne for another 400 feet. It then contacted the runway and sustained considerable damage, and came to rest with the passenger compartment in an inverted position on the south side of the runway about 550 yards from the threshold. Except for the front portion of the fuselage which lay on its port side, severe damage resulted from fire which broke out and spread rapidly, due probably to the partial detachment of the port wing and rupture of the fuel tanks. From the accident there survived seven of the crew and one passenger.

While cruising at an altitude of 12,000 feet off the Isle of Man, the crew informed ground about vibrations and icing conditions. The pilot obtained the permission to reduce his altitude to 8,000 feet when few minutes later, he sent a brief message saying he was losing control of the aircraft that crashed into the Irish Sea about 6 miles south of Barrow-in-Furness. SAR operations were conducted but eventually suspended after few days as no trace of the aircraft nor the seven crew members was found. At the time of the accident, weather conditions were poor with wind and snow falls. The sea was rough and SAR operations were difficult to conduct.
Crew:
F/Lt R. N. Williams, pilot,
A. K. Passmore, copilot,
Mr. Kirkland, navigator,
Mr. Kennell, navigator,
Mr. Clamp, signaller,
Mr. Noble, flight engineer,
Mr. Johnston, gunner.

During the engine start-up, a fire erupted. The pilot, sole on board, was able to evacuate the cabin before the aircraft was destroyed by fire.

The descent to Prestwick Airport was completed by night. On final approach to runway 32, the captain encountered strong winds and decided to start a go around and to follow a holding pattern. He later obtained the permission to start an approach to runway 26. On final, the four engine aircraft christened 'Nijmegen' went into few patches of fog when the pilot said on the frequency: 'we hit something, try to get height'. Shortly later, the aircraft crashed in flames in a field located 5 km short of the runway threshold. A passenger was seriously injured while 39 other occupants were killed. The only survivor died from his injuries few hours later.