View Full Version : Dakota G-AGZB Accident
Hew Jampton
6th May 2002, 12:17
http://www.geocities.com/airmemorial is a website about this accident on the Isle of Wight in 1962.
Arthur Whitlock wrote about his experiences with the captain of this aircraft in his superb book "Behind the cockpit door". Basically a sad portrait of a keen but not entirely up to scratch pilot who was eventually fired by BKS (Whitlocks' employer) & taken on by channel.
I've seen the actual investigation files of this accident at the Public Record Office at Kew. They paint a very interesting picture of operational standards at the time, which was only two years after the introduction of Air Operators Certificates as a result of decidedly ropey standards by certain independent Airlines of the time, culminating in a horrendous crash of a overloaded & poorly maintained Vickers Viking into houses at Southall in 1958
Pom Pax
7th May 2002, 13:34
Was there an earlier almost identical crash at site? BEA?
I have read the link, did Thorney have radar and a ndb by this time? Why does the author of the site harp on about Thorney being closed on a Sunday, Tangmere would have been open.
However I would observe that frequently civil aircraft flew east of The Wight rather than St Catherine's - Petersfield, however when ever this was the subject of a complaint it was always denied.
welkyboy
18th May 2002, 20:50
Other accidents in this area include Aquila Airways Solent G-AKNU returning to Southampton water with a tech problem in the 50's and a Cessna 182 G-ARAA scud runnng, these two I remember, no doubt there have been others, as this particular area rises to 791 ft AMSL within 1 mile of the coast.(see S England half mil chart just north of Ventnor, Isle of Wight)