ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 82738
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| Date: | Tuesday 14 June 1966 |
| Time: | 10:06 LT |
| Type: |  Cessna 337A Super SkyMaster |
| Owner/operator: | H.Fairweather & Co Ltd |
| Registration: | G-ATJO |
| MSN: | 337-0281 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 1 |
| Other fatalities: | 2 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Stallingborough, near Grimsby, Lincolnshire -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | En route |
| Nature: | Passenger |
| Departure airport: | Teesside (EGNV), Middleton St. George, County Durham |
| Leavesden, Watford, Hertfordshire | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
Following a mid-air collision between Cessna 337 G-ATJO and RAF Vickers Varsity WF333, the Varsity attempted a forced landing at Ulceby, Lincolnshire but struck a tree and was written off. Several of the Varsity occupants parachuted to safely but one crew member, who stayed with the aircraft, was killed when the aircraft struck a tree. The pilot of the Cessna was also killed when it crashed at Stallingborough, near Grimsby, Lincolnshire
Per contemporary report in "Flight" Magazine 18 May 1967: "Collision Crash Report: A RAF Vickers Varsity, on a navigation training flight from Lindholme, and a Cessna 337A Skymaster, on a flight from Tees-side Airport to Leavesden, collided at about 6,500ft in VMC over Stallingborough, near Grimsby, Lincs., last June. The Skymaster crashed, killing the pilot, and the Varsity made an emergency landing with the rudder jammed to port. Two crew members had baled out, one of whom fell from his harness and was killed; the other landed safely.
In his report the Inspector of Accidents stated that it was not clear whether the Cessna—flying at
the time in uncontrolled airspace in the Preston FIR—was in Visual Meteorological Conditions. Because of quadrantal rule it was in the process of changing flight level (from FL75 to 60) due to a change in track (from 141° to 201°). The Varsity was under Midland Radar surveillance. On the flight to Lindholme the Varsity's captain reported 6/8ths cumulus with tops 5,000ft and 7/8ths
strato-cumulus with base 8,000ft. Visibility is believed to have been good shortly before the collision.
Ottringham VOR was used by the Cessna as a turning point; the stand-by transmitter was in use
from 09:35 on the day of the accident (which happened at 10:06), and the main transmitter was switched on again at 10:00 hrs, the changeover transmission lapse time being between 65 and 85 seconds. This may have caused the Cessna pilot to become pre-occupied with checking his VOR
receivers in addition to descending from FL75 after passing Ottringham VOR. He might also have
been engaged in adjusting power, setting up new bearings on the omni-bearing selectors, filling in
the flight log and preparing to inform Preston ATCC of his passage over Ottringham VOR.
The Varsity's pilots were engaged in approach checks just prior to the collision. Their aircraft was
under surveillance by the Midland Radar Unit and they had been warned of other traffic in the area
— later identified as the Cessna — but the latter's track was lost due to its response fading from the radar screen. Both Captain and co-pilot had looked for the aircraft on receipt of this warning and reported that they were unable to locate the other aircraft.
The accident, stated the Inspector, emphasised the importance of maintaining an adequate lookout at all times and ensuring that vigilance was not relaxed when cockpit drills were carried out or when other distractions from routine flight occurred.
With regard to the disappearance of the Cessna from the radar scope, tests with an identical aircraft showed the equipment to have adequate cover; on the day of the accident, it was concluded, the lower performance may have been due to one or more factors. These are listed in
the report as: anomalous propagation of radar waves due to atmospheric conditions; small changes
in sensitivity and power output of the radar; slight variations in the relative positions of the
aircraft and radar antennae caused by differences, due to wind effect, between trial tracks and
actual track flown"
Registration cancelled as "aircraft destroyed" 14/6/1966
Sources:
1. https://www.pprune.org/aviation-history-nostalgia/232844-varsity.htm
2. http://www.caa.co.uk/docs/HistoricalMaterial/G-ATJO.pdf
3. https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1967/1967
4. http://www.ukserials.com/losses-1966.htm
Images:
CRANFIELD AERODROME
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 20-Nov-2010 03:58 | VHKDK | Added |
| 08-Jul-2012 13:07 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Aircraft type, Total fatalities, Total occupants, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 08-Jul-2012 13:13 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time, Narrative] |
| 09-Sep-2013 02:25 | Dr.John Smith | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 04-Feb-2014 19:38 | briangnichols | Updated [Photo, ] |
| 12-Jul-2014 01:46 | angels one five | Updated [Other fatalities, Location] |
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