Date & Time:
Jan 23, 1958
Type of aircraft:
Vickers Varsity
Operator:
Registration:
WL633
Flight Phase:
Landing (descent or approach)
Flight Type:
Military
Survivors:
Yes
Schedule:
Thorney Island – Manston
YOM:
1953
Country:
United Kingdom
Region:
Europe
Crew on board:
5
Crew fatalities:
3
Pax on board:
0
Pax fatalities:
0
Other fatalities:
0
Total fatalities:
3
Circumstances:
Following an uneventful flight from RAF Thorney Island, the crew completed a normal approach to Manston Airport. After touchdown, the airplane deviated from the centerline of the runway to the left. The pilot-in-command elected to correct the deviation but after a run of about 250 meters, the airplane hit a snow wall, ground looped for about 130° and came to rest in flames 30 meters farther with its left wing sheared off. Two cadets were uninjured while three other crew members were killed.
Probable cause:
The exact cause of the loss of control upon landing was not determined with certainty.
