Originally Posted by
Alan Baker
G-APFP was involved in a nose gear up landing at Heathrow on March 31st 1967. The following days Daily Mirror had a big front page picture under the headline "IN BY A NOSE!".
According to the accompanying report the pilot was Peter Mains-Smith, who with a crew of four had been doing circuits and bumps at Stansted and spent ninety minutes trying to get the nose wheel down before diverting to Heathrow. Strangely the incident seems to have escaped the notice of the Aviation Safety Network database. I'm guessing that it wasn't an April fools day hoax story!
No, not a hoax, and it certainly didn't escape the attention of the AAIB (Report EW/C/162 refers).
Reportedly the aircraft had just come off maintenance ...