ASN Wikibase Occurrence # 28
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| Date: | Saturday 23 July 1955 |
| Time: | 09:50 LT |
| Type: |  de Havilland DH.104 Dove 1B |
| Owner/operator: | Cambrian Air Services (CAS) |
| Registration: | G-AKSK |
| MSN: | 04116 |
| Fatalities: | Fatalities: 1 / Occupants: 7 |
| Aircraft damage: | Destroyed |
| Location: | Solden Enclosure, New Forest, 1.5 miles W of Fritham, Hants -
 United Kingdom
|
| Phase: | Approach |
| Nature: | Passenger - Scheduled |
| Departure airport: | Cardiff (Rhoose) Airport, Cardiff, Wales |
| Eastleigh Airport, Southampton, Hampshire | |
| Confidence Rating: |  Information is only available from news, social media or unofficial sources |
De Havilland DH.104 Dove Series 1B: First registered (C or R 12172/1, later R2233/1) 12.2.48 as G-AKSK to Olley Air Service Ltd., London SW.1. Home "port" listed as Croydon Airport, Croydon, Surrey.
Registration cancelled 16.2.53 upon re-registration to the British Transport Commission, 55 Broadway, London SW.1. This may have been purely an administrative action, as G-AKSK was re-registered three days later (19.2.53) to Cambrian Air Services Ltd., Cardiff, Glamorgan.
Written off (damaged beyond repair) 23.7.55 when crashed at Solden Enclosure, New Forest, 1.5 miles W of Fritham, Hampshire. Before leaving Cardiff (Rhoose) Airport the pilot filed a Visual Flight Rules flight plan giving an elapsed time of 35 minutes for the flight to Eastleigh Airport, Southampton at a cruising altitude of 5,500 feet and then on to Paris. The aircraft took off at 09:25LT carrying the pilot and 6 passengers. At approximately 09:50 LT he called London, asked for clearance to Southampton Zone and was told to call Southampton Zone. He then acknowledged this request. Shortly after 09:50LT the engines became unsynchronized and the aircraft vibrated. The port propeller stopped rotating and the aircraft lost height.
On reaching 200 feet the port engine was restarted and the aircraft flew very low over a line of high tension cables. It continued to fly at 200 feet at low speed with increased vibration over undulating country and after climbing slightly to clear a ridge it descended into a densely wooded area. When near the tree tops it banked to the left and the port wing tip struck a tree. The aircraft then traveled 400 yards further, struck the tops of several trees and crashed.
Probable cause: The accident was the result of the pilot mistakenly shutting down the port engine instead of the starboard engine in which a serious mechanical fault had developed. This led to a rapid loss of height and although the pilot re- started the port engine the starboard engine was not shut down. The starboard engine had sustained considerable impact damage. When dismantled it was found that the crankshaft had broken at no.3 crankpin. This failure had occurred before the crash as a result of a fatigue crack which developed at a plugged hole in the rear web of the no.3 crankpin. Heavy scoring on the faces of the crankcase web and cap of n°1 main bearing showed that no. 1 & 2 cylinders continued working after the crankshaft had failed. The crankshaft had run for a total of 1,205 hours since manufacture including 619 hours since the last overhaul when a modification designed to prevent failures of this nature was embodied.
Crashed when pilot shut down wrong engine after refusal of the left engine due to broken crankshaft. The six passengers survived, pilot R. J. 'Bob' Carson was killed.
Registration G-AKSK cancelled 27.2.56 as "permanently withdrawn from use"
Sources:
1. Western Mail - Wednesday 31 August 1955
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cambrian_Airways
3. AIB Accident Report: https://www.baaa-acro.com/sites/default/files/import/uploads/2017/06/G-AKSK.pdf
4. http://sussexhistoryforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=14766.0
5. https://cwsprduksumbraco.blob.core.windows.net/g-info/HistoricalLedger/G-AKSK.pdf
6. http://www.hampshireairfields.co.uk/hancrash.html
7. G-AKSK in 1950: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dwhitworth/5522234388
8. http://aerobernie.bplaced.net/Cambrian%20Airways.html
9. G-AKSK in 1954: https://picclick.co.uk/Cambrian-Airways-De-Havilland-Dove-G-AKSK-Croydon-photo-254465686249.html#&gid=1&pid=1
Revision history:
| Date/time | Contributor | Updates |
|---|---|---|
| 13-Jan-2008 19:59 | W.Fischdick | Added |
| 02-Jul-2008 12:05 | harro | Updated |
| 17-Mar-2010 13:12 | TB | Updated [Aircraft type, Other fatalities, Location, Phase, Nature, Narrative] |
| 18-Apr-2012 03:40 | TB | Updated [Operator, Phase, Nature, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 02-May-2012 06:03 | TB | Updated [Source, Narrative] |
| 02-May-2012 06:05 | TB | Updated [Source] |
| 01-Mar-2020 23:44 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Location, Departure airport, Destination airport, Source, Narrative] |
| 01-Mar-2020 23:45 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Time] |
| 01-Mar-2020 23:49 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Source] |
| 01-Mar-2020 23:50 | Dr. John Smith | Updated [Nature] |
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