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[tony draper]

Looks like a interesting documentry on bbc2 UK tonight.. .Horizon 9pm, "Vanished", the expedition to the Andes to search for the British Airliner Stardust which disapeared in 1947.. .This rings a bell I can recall another documentry on a similar subject, quite a while ago so I don't think its a repeat.. .Might be worth a peek.

[New Bloke]

I remember reading an article about that some months back. As I recall it was a Lancaster converted to civvy use and the last message (in Morse) was very garbled and could be read several ways.. .. .Thanks Mr Draper

[PaperTiger]

Yep, the notorious STENDEC mystery (sic).. .This seems to be the same program as shown in N.America last year as one of the 'Nova' (WGBH) series.. .The digest is still on PBS's website: <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/vanished/" target="_blank">http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/vanished/</a>

[OutsideLookingIn]

A Lancastrian, wasn't it? I remember there was a doc on it shown last year, was it C4 or BBC?

[tony draper]

Yes very interesting, but I had seen it before,. .Some thing I remember being puzzled at the first time around, the commentator stated that when they were found, the wheels, they were in good condition, indeed one of them was still inflated after fifty years, and this proved the undercarridge was in the up position, and if the pilot had been atempting a emergency landing they would have been down.. .I would have though anybody trying to land in a snow field or on a glasier would not want the under carridge down, no doubt one of you gents will put me right here.

[Ivchenko]

Was a Lancastrian - heading West to Santiago at 24k over the Andes, let down on DR not knowing about a 100kt (jetstream?) headwind at that altitiude. Hence CFIT.. .. .I was sort of surprised it didn't happen more than once, given absence of radio aids and ignorance of high altitude winds at the time.. .. .Nobody's got any idea about that odd WT transmission.. .. .[sorry Tony D - you posted as I was scribbling!]. . . . <small>[ 22 March 2002, 00:24: Message edited by: Ivchenko ]</small>

[Red Four]

Saw the programme, and the mystery of the transmission. It occurred to me (not knowing the ins and outs of morse code- was this used?) that 'STENDEC' was almost an anagram of 'Descent' perhaps allowing for losing something in the translation, and the subsequent retelling by excitable ground staff?. But I'm sure someone will tell me why this has already been ruled out as being the case??