The captain of 'PI' or 'Stains' crash had just had a blazing row in ops. He bust a blood vessel shortly after take-off, causing the loss of the Tride
Well yes and no. The primary cause of the crash was that the Trident stalled after the leading edge devices were retracted prematurely by one of the cockpit crew - most likely the second officer occupying the copilot's seat.
The captain had been earlier involved in a fracas with members of the pilots union before the flight and was upset when he boarded the aircrcraft.
At 1500 ft after take off, the thrust was reduced for noise-abatement and shortly afterwards instead of trailing edge flap retraction, the leading edge devices were selected in and the Trident stalled because the retraction of the LED caused the stalling speed to increase by about 30 knots. Unlike modern jets the LED and trailing edge flaps in the Trident are operated by separate controls in the cockpit.
The autopsy on the captain found a severe cae of atherosclerosis - a narrowing of the arteries resulting from a build up of fatty deposits in the heart. The symptoms of the internal haemorrhage found in the autopsy could range from a slight indigestion-like pain in the chest to collapse and unconsciousness.
The story of this accident was published in Air Disaster, Volume 1 by the Australian author Macarthur Job.
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