Date & Time:
Aug 19, 1959 at 1710 LT
Type of aircraft:
Douglas C-47 Skytrain (DC-3)
Operator:
Registration:
G-AMZD
Flight Phase:
Flight
Flight Type:
Charter/Taxi (Non Scheduled Revenue Flight)
Survivors:
No
Site:
Mountains
Schedule:
Barcelona – London-Gatwick
MSN:
16112/32860
YOM:
1945
Country:
Spain
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
3
Crew fatalities:
3
Pax on board:
29
Pax fatalities:
29
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
32
Circumstances:
Nineteen minutes after it departed Barcelona Airport, while cruising at an altitude of 5,600 feet, the airplane entered clouds and struck the slope of Mt Montseny (1,712 meters high) located about 60 km northeast of Barcelona-El Prat Airport. The airplane was destroyed and all 32 occupants were killed, among them 28 British students and one teacher. At the time of the accident, the airplane deviated about 16 km from the prescribed departure route out from Barcelona, probably following a navigation error on part of the crew. The mountain was shrouded in clouds and the visibility was nil when the airplane impacted terrain.
Probable cause:
From an examination of the evidence it can be concluded that the accident was caused through 'Infringement of the regulations and instructions in force for flight over national territory or of the international standards which are in force in Spain'. As it does not appear from the evidence that Spanish Air Traffic personnel failed in any way in the performance of their duties, or that there was any defect in air navigation aids, the Air Minister has resolved to close the case without allocating responsibility.
