1977 British Airtours Boeing 707 crash
Accident | |
---|---|
Date | 17 March 1977 |
Summary | Loss of control during a training takeoff with simulated engine failure |
Site | Glasgow Prestwick Airport, Scotland, United Kingdom 55°30′58″N 4°36′47″W / 55.516°N 4.613°W |
Aircraft | |
Aircraft type | Boeing 707-436 |
Operator | British Airtours |
Registration | G-APFK |
Flight origin | Glasgow Prestwick Airport, Scotland, United Kingdom |
Destination | Glasgow Prestwick Airport, Scotland, United Kingdom |
Crew | 4 |
Fatalities | 0 |
Injuries | 1 |
Survivors | 4 |
On 17 March 1977 a British Airtours Boeing 707 being used for pilot training crashed and caught fire during its take-off roll at Glasgow Prestwick Airport. All four crew members on board survived.
Aircraft
The aircraft was a
Flight
On board were: a 29-year-old first officer trainee; a 48-year-old flight commander; a captain trainee who was acting as flight engineer; and a supervisory first officer seated behind the commander. After the standard pushback and engine starting procedures, the commander relayed the crosswind information from the control tower to the trainee first officer, who was in control for the take-off. The wind forecast was 18 knots, increasing to 35 knots.[4] No flight number was assigned to the training session.
Accident
After receiving take-off clearance from the tower, the crew taxied the aircraft to runway 31 for departure. The trainee first officer commenced the take-off run by applying full power to the engines. As the crew rotated the aircraft from VR speed (125 knots (232 km/h; 144 mph)), the flight commander pulled back engine
Investigation
The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) began an investigation the day after the accident. According to the flight data and cockpit recorders, an engine failure would be simulated as an exercise for the two trainees to quickly demonstrate procedures for restarting or shutting down the failed engine. The AAIB determined the pilots did not deal with the failure as quickly as recommended. Usually, a pilot must deal with failed engine in 1 1/2 seconds, but the trainee first officer took 2–3 seconds.
Probable cause
After investigating the crash for one year and four months, the AAIB published its final report in September 1978, stating the probable cause of the accident: "A loss of control which resulted from a delay in taking full corrective action during a simulated outboard engine failure exercise during take-off."[4]
Aftermath
G-APFK was damaged beyond repair in the accident and fire. It was written off in November 1978 and scrapped in 1979.
References
- ^ "Search the Peter Keating Collection of aviation photographs : A Flying History". aflyinghistory.com. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
- ^ Friend, Barry. "Boeing 707-436, G-APFK / 17712, British Airtours (KT / BKT)". Retrieved 29 December 2017.
- ^ "Registration Details For G-APFK (BEA Airtours) 707-436 - PlaneLogger". www.planelogger.com. Retrieved 9 February 2018.
- ^ a b Ranter, Harro. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 707-436 G-APFK Glasgow-Prestwick Airport (PIK)". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
- ^ "Boeing 707-436 G-APFK, Prestwick Airport, Ayrshire | Air Crash Sites-Scotland". aircrashsites-scotland.co.uk. Archived from the original on 16 November 2016. Retrieved 29 December 2017.