1958 Independent Air Travel Vickers Viking crash

On 2 September 1958, an Independent Air Travel Vickers VC.1 Viking (registration G-AIJE), with three crew members aboard and loaded with two Bristol Proteus turboprop engines, crashed after taking off from London Heathrow Airport, en route to Athens via Tel Aviv, Nice and Brindisi.

1958 London Vickers Viking accident

A Vickers Viking, similar to the aircraft involved in the accident
Accident
Date	2 September 1958 (1958-09-02)
Summary	Pilot error following engine failure
Site	Southall 51.5196°N 0.3718°W / 51.5196; -0.3718
Total fatalities	11
Total survivors	0
Aircraft
Aircraft type	Vickers VC.1 Viking
Operator	Independent Air Travel
Registration	G-AIJE
Flight origin	London Heathrow Airport
Stopover	Nice
1st stopover	Brindisi
Last stopover	Athens
Destination	Tel Aviv
Occupants	7
Crew	3
Fatalities	7
Survivors	0
Ground casualties
Ground fatalities	4

Accident

The aircraft took off from Heathrow at 05:54 GMT but minutes into the flight the flight crew reported engine problems and requested a return to Blackbushe Airport. The crew was cleared by Air Traffic Control to descend to 3000 feet, but they were unable to maintain this altitude and continued descending. A Mayday call was made from the aircraft at 06:32 GMT, shortly before it crashed into a row of houses on Kelvin Gardens, Southall, Middlesex. The aircraft burst into flames on impact, killing all three crew members as well as four people on the ground, a mother and three children. Witnesses reported that they saw one of the crew waving from inside the aircraft just before it crashed.

Cause

According to the Public inquiry which investigated the accident, the probable cause of the accident was that "the aircraft was allowed to lose height and flying speed with the result that the pilot was no longer able to exercise asymmetric control." While the reasons for the loss of power and the subsequent loss of height and speed were not known, the public inquiry found a number of serious flaws in the operation of Independent Air Travel and the maintenance of the aircraft. Maintenance had been carried out on one of the aircraft propellers at Heathrow on the night before the accident by personnel who were not qualified to carry out the work. The aircraft was overloaded and the pilot had not had adequate rest, having effectively been on duty for 31 hours 30 minutes compared with the 16 hours required by the regulations (This took advantage of a loophole in regulations that allowed crew to carry out flights during "rest" hours if no passengers or cargo was carried.). Check flights, which should have tested the pilot's ability to handle the aircraft at high weights and with one engine out were found to be "perfunctory" and did not adequately prove the pilot's ability to handle the aircraft with one engine failed.

The report stated that "it is quite clear...that the policy of this company was to keep its aircraft in the air at all costs and without any real regard for the requirements of maintenance." and that "it is not difficult for employers who are not unduly concerned to observe the regulations, to drive their employees and . . . to induce them to disregard the regulations designed to ensure safety in the air."

Aftermath

Brian Gibbons, a 14-year-old schoolboy, was awoken by the crash, which ignited a fire in his house. Despite receiving severe burns to his body he managed to save himself and his infant nephew by jumping from his window into the arms of rescuers. For his heroism he received the civilian class of the George Medal from Elizabeth II in 1959 making him the youngest male to have received the award.

References

• "Morning Disaster". British Pathe. 4 September 1958. Retrieved 20 March 2010.
• "Air Commerce: The Southall Accident: Report of the Public Inquiry". Flight, 21 August 1959, p. 58.
• "Air Commerce: Southall: The Aftermath". Flight, 28 August 1959. p. 91.
• Vickers 621 Viking 1 G-AIJE London Airport (LHR). Aviation Safety Network. 15 April 2007. Retrieved 20 March 2010.