ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 180520
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| Date: | Saturday 14 October 1972 |
| Time: | 16:50 UTC |
| Type: |  Fournier RF-4D |
| Owner/operator: | Private |
| Registration: | G-AXJS |
| MSN: | 4148 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Category: | Accident |
| Location: | North Sea, ¼ mile northeast of Skateraw, Kincardine, Scotland -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Private |
| Departure airport: | Dundee Airport (EGPN) |
| Aberdeen Airport, Dyce (ABZ/EGPD) | |
| Investigating agency: | AIB |
| Confidence Rating: |  Accident investigation report completed and information captured |
Written off (destroyed) 14/10/1972 when crashed into the North Sea, ¼ mile northeast of Skateraw, Kincardine, Scotland. The pilot - Mr. William Alexander Burns - who was also the registered owner of G-AXJS, was killed. According to the following extract from the official AAIB report into the accident:
"The aircraft was on a flight between Dundee Airport and Aberdeen (Dyce) Airport, using the coastal route, when the weather conditions deteriorated. Whilst flying at about 200 feet above the sea, the aircraft entered a bank of sea fog, and crashed into the sea about 20 seconds later
The AAIB report concludes that the accident was probably as a result of the pilot (and aircraft) losing height whilst flying on instruments in fog. The aircraft was not equipped with an artificial horizon. The accident was not survivable.
All that remained of the aircraft was floating wreckage, which was later recovered for examination. The engine cockpit, centre section and the inboard section of the starboard wing were not recovered. Analysis of the recovered wreckage indicated that the aircraft struck the sea with its port wing. This caused the failure of the main spar in the region of the third wing rib out from the root. The aircraft then cart-wheeled and the starboard wing broke off downwards in relation to the fuselage. Lastly, the fuselage and tail assembly struck the water inverted.
The body of the pilot was recovered from the sea on 22/11/1972; it was noted to have sustained multiple injuries, but there were no clues were discovered on the pilots body that had any bearing on the cause of the accident. However, It was also found in the pilots medical records that the pilot had underwent six months' treatment in 1970-1971 for Meniere's disease, a condition of the inner ear that causes attacks of disorientation and sickness, and can recur as a result of stress or minor infection after long periods of remission.
Such an attack would not have to be serious to reduce chances of safe instrument flying under the low-level, limited-panel condition experienced in this case. It was noted, however, that since the treatment the pilot's subsequent medical forms all contained denials of any medical treatment over the previous two years or since his previous medical".
The aircraft was destroyed in the crash, and the registration G-AXJS was likewise cancelled by the CAA on 11/7/1973 as aircraft "destroyed"
Accident investigation:
 |
|
Sources:
1. AAIB: https://assets.digital.cabinet-office.gov.uk/media/5422f5cfed915d13710005a9/6-1973_G-AXJS.pdf
2. CAA: https://www.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-AXJS.pdf
3. https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1973/1973%20-%201857.html
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 19-Oct-2015 15:21 | Dr.John Smith | Added |
| 19-Oct-2015 15:22 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
| 19-Oct-2015 15:22 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Departure airport, Narrative] |
| 19-Oct-2015 15:23 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Narrative] |
Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description
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