Date & Time:
Jun 11, 1948 at 0905 LT
Type of aircraft:
Avro 19
Operator:
Registration:
G-AGNI
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)
Survivors:
Yes
Site:
Lake, Sea, Ocean, River
Schedule:
Blackpool – Walney Island – Douglas
MSN:
1214
YOM:
1945
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
2
Crew fatalities:
0
Pax on board:
7
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
0
Circumstances:
The crew was performing a charter flight from Blackpool to Douglas with an intermediate stop in RAF Walney Island, Cumbria. On approach to the Isle of Man, the crew encountered poor weather conditions and continued to the west to Ireland without locating the Douglas-Ronaldsway Airport. Few minutes later, the pilot realized that the fuel reserve was insufficient and decided to ditch the aircraft into the Irish Sea, off Port Erin. The aircraft came to rest few miles off shore and floated for a while, allowing the occupants to take refuge on the wings, awaiting for help. The crew of a boat rescued all nine occupants shortly later and the aircraft sank and was lost.
Probable cause:
The crew was unable to locate the island during the initial approach due to faulty navigation, but the fact that one of the QDM's given by ATC in Ronaldsway was incorrect (though corrected a minute later) was probably a contributory cause of the accident.
