Incident Lockheed L-1011-385-1-15 TriStar 100 C-GTSB, Saturday 12 September 1998
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Date:Saturday 12 September 1998
Time:c. 11:17 LT
Type:Silhouette image of generic L101 model; specific model in this crash may look slightly different    
Lockheed L-1011-385-1-15 TriStar 100
Owner/operator:Air Transat
Registration: C-GTSB
MSN: 193T-1122
Fatalities:Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 312
Other fatalities:0
Aircraft damage: None
Location:near London-Stansted Airport (STN/EGSS) -   United Kingdom
Phase: Approach
Nature:Passenger - Scheduled
Departure airport:Glasgow International Airport (GLA/EGPF)
Destination airport:London-Gatwick Airport (LGW/EGKK)
Investigating agency: AAIB
Confidence Rating: Accident investigation report completed and information captured
Narrative:
Following a flight from Toronto, C-GTSB landed at Glasgow Airport at 0826 hrs. A fresh crew
took over for the next flight to London Gatwick Airport and uplifted 10,400 litres of fuel to give a
total on board of 30,800 lb, Using the callsign TSC 267, the commander taxiied off stand at 0952
hrs and took off at 1007 hrs.

On arrival in the Gatwick area at 1100 hrs, TSC 267 was instructed to take up the 'Willo' hold at
Flight Level (FL) 110 and was initially informed that the delay would be around 15 minutes. Then,
at 1104 hrs, the crew asked for confirmation of the delay and informed the controller that they
would have to divert if it was too long. The controller acknowledged their request and asked them
to standby while he checked. At 1106 hrs, he informed TSC 267 that their expected approach time
was 1134 hrs. The crew replied that they could not accept that delay and that they would have to
divert to Stansted. This message was acknowledged by the controller and, while he was co-
ordinating the diversion, he instructed TSC 267 to maintain the aircraft's present heading of 270°.
Shortly afterwards, TSC 267 was turned right onto 360° and then transferred to London Control
(Biggin Sector) at 1109 hrs.

On check-in with London Control, TSC 267 was turned right onto 055° and the crew advised the
controller that they would like to land at Stansted "as fast as possible". The controller confirmed
that he was giving them vectors to Stansted and then transferred TSC 267 to London Control
(Northwest Departures) at 1112 hrs. On the new frequency, the crew established radio contact and
asked the controller to confirm that there would be no delay going into Stansted. The controller
informed TSC that there was no delay and that they were "currently number two for Stansted".
Then, at 1117 hrs the crew asked for descent. When they were instructed to maintain altitude for a
short time, the crew informed the controller that they were now requesting priority on landing as
they were getting low on fuel. The controller asked TSC 267 if they wished to declare a Mayday
for fuel shortage. In response, the crew asked for information on the estimated time before they
would be landing. When they were informed that they had 40 track miles to touchdown, the crew
requested a shorter track as they estimated their distance from Stansted to be 24 miles. The
controller then advised TSC 267 that the surface wind at Stansted was 270°/06 kt and asked if they
like to land on Runway 05 (landing runway at the time was Runway 23). When the crew replied in
the affirmative, the aircraft was turned left onto 350°. Thereafter, TSC 267 was given a stepped
descent and radar vectors for the ILS at Stansted and transferred though Essex Radar to Stansted
Tower. Examination of the radio recording indicates that the aircraft landed at Stansted at 1128 hrs;
the last surface wind report prior to landing was 250°/08 kt.

Accident investigation:
cover
  
Investigating agency: AAIB
Report number: 
Status: Investigation completed
Duration: 9 months
Download report: Final report

Sources:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/542302ad40f0b61346000c2d/dft_avsafety_pdf_501427.pdf

https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/7992811 (Photo)

Location

Revision history:

Date/timeContributorUpdates
29-Sep-2025 00:15 Justanormalperson Added
29-Sep-2025 00:16 Justanormalperson Updated [Accident report, ]

Corrections or additions? ... Edit this accident description

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