Vanguard/Viscount(?) Crash Info

[teeteringhead]

When all else fails, try AH & N!

Have recently been going through some of my late mother's stuff, and was reminded of a vague-ish connection with an air crash, probably late 50s or early 60s. The son of a friend of mother's was the co-pilot/first officer, and was killed, as were all on board. Adding together bits and pieces from Mum's letters and my (very early) memories, I come up with the following "facts", none of which are 100%...

1. Mum's friend's son's name was Peter Gutteridge/Gutridge/Gutrich (and was the first person I ever remember seeing in airline uniform).

2. He was FO on a freighter, likely to have been Vanguard or Viscount - Mum refers to "Vickers" - could have been Viking I suppose, or she could have been wrong!

3. UK based, but the crash was in Europe, possibly Germany.

4. Only the crew were on board, and all were killed.

5. Some suggestion that the aircraft (in error or in desperation?) had tried to land on an "Autobahn" (that's the German possibility).

6. Date most probably somewhere between say 1957 and 1965 (very much guessing).

I've tried all the "usual suspects" on the net, crash data sites etc, even looking in the death certificate indexes but to no avail. Mother did have her eccentricities (God rest 'er), but I think there's a lot of truth somewhere in the above statements. Something certainly happened! And I'm curious to find out more...

Over to you AH & N!!

[MReyn24050]

When all else fails, try AH & N!
3. UK based, but the crash was in Europe, possibly Germany.
4. Only the crew were on board, and all were killed.
5. Some suggestion that the aircraft (in error or in desperation?) had tried to land on an "Autobahn" (that's the German possibility).

Not sure if this was the one you are referring to, I could find no details regarding a similar accident to a Vanguard or Viking.
On the 09 AUG 1968 at 13:04 a Vickers 739A Viscount G-AFTN belonging to British Eagle International Airlines
On a Scheduled Pax Flight London-Heathrow/Innsbruck-Kranebitten Airport Crashed onto the Nürnberg-München highway near Langenbrück and broke up on impact killing all on board 4 Crew and 44 Passengers.
The flight had departed London at 11:37 for Innsbruck and had just passed the Mike NDB near Munich at FL210 when it lost control.
Reported probable cause "The accident is attributable to the fact that the aircraft's electrical power supply failed in cruising flight - possibly without the generator warning lights illuminating or illuminating distinctly - which meant that during the subsequent descent, which had to be carried out by instruments because of the weather, the vital instruments for indicating the flight attitude showed increasingly incorrect readings and failed completely after the gyros had stopped rotating.
Under these conditions it was unavoidable for the aircraft to get into uncontrolled flight attitudes, in which it was subjected to severe loading. These loads exceeded the ultimate load and led to structural failure.
Following the fracture of the wings and elevator and when the crew came into visual contact with the ground, it was no longer possible to exert any decisive control over the flight path.
It has not been possible to determine with certainty the cause of failure of the electrical system. It may be assumed, however, that a fault occurred in the DC generator control circuit. Faults had occurred repeatedly in the electrical supply system without their true cause being discovered." (HMSO CAP 354)

[teeteringhead]

Wow - 22 minutes!

It's outside the timescale I thought of (which is why I didn't find this one myself) and not a freighter, but the other details seem scarily close. (British Eagle also fires up a brain cell or two). With this new date and info I can pursue the name in death records etc again.

Many thanks - any further contributions still welcomed!!

[emp18]

One incident which fits (some of) the evidence was the crash of Don Everall Viking G-AMNK near Heraklion, Crete on 24 August 1960.

http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19600824-2&lang=en

[arem]

It may also have been the Invicta DC-4 freighter that crashed - I think - near Frankfurt. If my memory serves me still, I think the F/O on that was called Gutteridge

[MReyn24050]

It may also have been the Invicta DC-4 freighter that crashed - I think - near Frankfurt. If my memory serves me still, I think the F/O on that was called Gutteridge


21 JAN 1967 Douglas C-54A-15-DC Operator: Air Ferry
Registration: G-ASOG Freight Role
Crew: Fatalities: 2
Location: near Frankfurt-Main (Germany)
Manchester/Frankfurt
The C-54 struck trees some 2700m short of the runway while on a night-time ILS approach.

PROBABLE CAUSE: "The accident is probably attributable to the fact that the crew did not set the altimeters in the final approach according to the instructions in the operations manual. This error was aggravated by the fact that the final approach check list did not coincide with the altimeter setting procedure. In consequence the crew unintentionally flew below critical height and the aircraft collided with trees when the altimeters were showing approx. 200ft above the critical height."
Sources:
Flight International 21.11.1968 (P.817/8); ICAO Accident Digest Circular 107-AN/81 (222-229)

[teeteringhead]

Many thanks to all. I now have a shortlist of three, which I can pursue further through the overseas death registers. In order of preference:

1. DC-4 (sorry Mum!) G-ASOG (http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19670121-0&lang=en) Air Ferry 21 Jan 67 Frankfurt.

2. Viscount G-ATFN (http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19680809-0&lang=en) British Eagle 8 Aug 68 Langebruck.

3. Viking G-AMNK (http://aviation-safety.net/database/record.php?id=19600824-2&lang=en) Don Everall Aviation 24 Aug 60 Heraklion.

I'll report back ........

[edited to correct two-fingered typist's typo! Thanks Golf Charlie Charlie..

[Golf Charlie Charlie]

Note that the British Eagle Viscount was G-ATFN.

[bean]

The accident in question is definitely the Air Ferry accident at Frankfurt.
An excellent history of Air Ferry (which at the time was owned by Air Holdings who also owned British United Airways) was written & published by a gentleman named Malcoln Finnis & entitled Twilight Of The Pistons. The book mentions Mr Gutteridges name in con nection with this accident.
The actual accident investigation files may be inspected at the National Archives at Kew. Sadly I can't provide a catalogue reference but much interesting information can be found within.
Sadly Air Ferry ( quite a small airline) ost another DC4 on a passenger service to Perpignan a few months later killing all on board & within hours of this a British Midland Argonaut crashed at Stockport. This sparked a major review of British independent airline safety:)

[teeteringhead]

It was indeed the DC-4 at Frankfurt. I've just checked the "Deaths Overseas" index on line to find a Peter A Gutteridge, aged 26, registered as a death in 1967. As a clincher, and an interesting insight into bureaucracy, the "Location" in the index is listed as "Civil Air".

I suppose he'd have been a retired senior captain by now - che sera sera - RIP Peter and many thanks to all who have contributed in just less than 12 hours. Well done AH & N.....